It’s that time of year again. Thousands of students across the country will once more descend upon college campuses, ready to choose electives, write assignments, and undertake exams. However, some might find that, after a long, glorious summer, it’s difficult to put their noses to the grindstone. Others will open the blank page of their notebook with enthusiasm and diligence, but find themselves unable to sustain that routine. How do you combat these issues, while maintaining your GPA and hopefully achieving straight-A grades?
Luckily, Zazzle has a Ph.D. in study techniques, and we’re here to share some of our favorite study tips for exams. These suggestions will show you how to ace a test, increase your productivity, and achieve an optimal work environment; you might even find that studying becomes a positive, constructive endeavor. It’s worth stating, of course, that not every single one of these techniques will work for everyone, but we’d encourage you to try them all, experimenting with habits and behaviors until you find what works best for you. With that in mind, we’re ready to go. Just take everything off the desk, switch off your cell phone, and don’t forget to answer the essay question at the end. You may now begin!
Study Every Day
It seems obvious that studying every day is important for those that want to do well. However, it’s actually our introduction to a famous motivational technique, often associated with Jerry Seinfeld. According to this method, known as ‘Don’t Break the Chain,’ the best way to see improvement in your work or grades is by working towards a set goal each day. On each day that you make progress towards your target, mark that day on the calendar with a big red X. As the X’s mount up and your study routine becomes a habit, you’ll become more and more determined not to ‘break the chain.’ This method works on the principle that the work you have already completed is a better motivating factor than the work you have yet to complete. You can also monitor your efforts online, though we prefer a calendarfor that old-school feel!
Use Environmental Cues
The classroom or exam hall where your tests take place is often one we associate with anxiety and dread. What would happen if you could change those associations, exploiting that environment to your own advantage? And no, we don’t mean that you should string together your answers from a bulletin board hung behind the teacher’s desk.
It’s common knowledge that when we return to a familiar place, our memories of that place are likely to return. However, the opposite is also true: “Learning will be most successful when the environment which you learn in is similar to the one you have to recall the learned information in,” as NeuroNation puts it. This isn’t always easy to organize, but if you can arrange to study in the room that your test will take place in, you’re more likely to recall the information come the week of your finals. Your mind will associate the sights and sounds of the classroom with those all-important theorems, quotes and dates when exposed to those same sensory cues, so you’ll recall the facts more readily.
Role of Music
Listening to music doesn’t suit every student, with some preferring complete silence. If you have to choose one kind of music, classical or orchestral is the best genre to listen to while studying.
While some have debunked the ‘Mozart Effect’ as the ‘Mozart Myth,’ meaning there isn’t a direct correlation between classical music and higher grades, it’s still relaxing, inspiring and worth recommending.
You see, classical music is enough of a diversion to drown out any background noise, but it isn’t enough to distract you from your textbook or laptop. Furthermore, the lack of lyrics or vocals in classical and orchestral music means that your attention isn’t split between the words on the page and the words in your ears.
Memory Techniques
Inventing memory techniques or ‘mnemonics’ is another useful way of facilitating recall in an exam situation. These can consist of simple acronyms or rhymes to help you remember lists or patterns; for example, the lines of the treble clef, EGBDF, being represented as ‘Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge.’ Other techniques are more complicated but are even more effective: the Method of Loci, originally used by Greek and Roman orators almost 2000 years ago, can be helpful in memorizing speeches and essays. This method requires you to visualize the information you need to remember as a series of points or stops on a journey. Each item that needs to be remembered is assigned to a particular location, and in order to retrieve that information, the person need only retrace their (imaginary) steps.
One important addendum to the use of mnemonics is that the invented phrase or trigger must be simple and fun to remember. If the mnemonic is too obscure, you’ll have to do double the work, trying to recall both the original information and the memory technique! A good way to reinforce your learning and cement something in your memory is to schedule revision of the material: you should return to something you’ve studied one hour, one day, and one week after you’ve initially encountered it to make sure that the knowledge has been solidified in your memory.
Time Yourself
You’ll probably be delighted to learn that long, break-free sessions of reading and revision are actually counterproductive. In fact, short, concentrated bursts of study are more effective, helping to ensure that your attention doesn’t wander. The ideal time limit, according to Francesco Cirillo, is 25 minutes, which he calls a ‘pomodoro’ (the Italian word for tomato, because of the tomato-shaped timer that Cirillo used in college). Set yourself a task, ready a timer, and work on that assignment until the clock rings; after 2 or 3 minutes, start again.
After four pomodori, you should take a longer break of about 15 to 30 minutes. For the breaks, some recommend doing an activity that contrasts with the task. For example, if you’re reading or writing during your pomodori, you could do a physical activity during your breaks, or you could chat with a friend or family member.
This helps to establish a clear work/rest routine, making the most of the Pomodoro Technique’s strict time limits.
Know Yourself
In order to figure out which of these tips and tricks will work best for you, it helps to know what kind of learner you are. For example, some people learn visually and are therefore best suited to information that’s represented through images, maps, or charts. If you’re a visual learner, then drawing mind maps and spider diagrams to plan and organize your ideas will help you immensely. Other students are kinesthetic learners, meaning that they learn best through tactile engagement and physical activity. If you’re a kinesthetic learner and respond best to movement and body language, then building models or role-playing is sure to benefit you.
The most ‘conventional’ form of learning is, of course, through reading and writing, and if you find both of these activities engaging and worthwhile, you’ll probably profit most from traditional academic work, such as writing essays and taking notes. But it’s still worth experimenting with other forms of learning, to see if you can refine and enhance your approach to study.
Pencils down! How did you find that? Not as difficult as you once thought? The above tips should enable you to study more and remember more, guaranteeing a smoother end-of-semester experience. Of course, if you have any questions or want to share some of your own study tips for exams, leave a comment, and we’ll be sure to examine them, too!
Eoin is a Content Specialist at Zazzle in Cork. He’s recently bought a house with his fiancée, and thus most of his time these days is spent trying to keep the walls from caving in and the wolves from the door. Still, he’s always open to book, game, and movie recommendations, so if you have some, let him know: he’ll add them to a very, very long list.
Another helpful tip. WRITE STUFF DOWN!!! I find that it’s easy to forget about additional assignments that are added (but weren’t on the original schedule) so writing stuff down can serve as a good reminder. Also, its easy to forget how fast big papers and exams approach and it’s helpful top have a visual reminder. I love my calendar from Zazzle because I can easily plan my days and know what I have coming up later in the month. Whether its an exam, a group meeting, or a social event, I’m always prepared because I have it written down and know exactly when it is.
This is such a great article. So many people try to “cram” at the last minute. While this may work in the short term, cramming does not allow you to retain the material in the long term.
The best study tip I ever got was from a college professor for text books with a lot of chapter reading. He said to skip actually reading the chapters and do this:
#1) Write down any of the words italicized along with their definitions from each chapter.
#2) Read the chapter summaries at the end of each chapter.
#3) Prep for testing by reviewing that list of definitions, reviewing any class notes and reviewing the chapter summaries.
Worked for me. (Now this is college level reading.)