Tips For Taking Exams/Tests

Mistryss Nite

Mistryss Nite

Is back from Beijing, China! ^.^
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For many, finals are starting or are coming up soon (at least in the USA). I thought it would be a good idea for fellow Pokebeachers to share their tips on taking exams, finals, tests, working on term papers, oral tests, speeches, etc. You can also share tips that don't work. Also, feel free to share tips on how you relieve stress during or after tests. However, refrain from entertaining ideas about cheating.


A few tips that I can share from personal experience:

~Chewing on gum (if your school/class allows it)
~Pop in a peppermint (I had elementary teachers that gave us peppermints before tests, and it seemed helpful).
~Listen to music before the exam (if you have a language test, listen to music of that language)
~Drink an espresso/coffee/tea drink and make sure you have plenty of water with you
~Google your topic for ideas (especially if you have an in class paper)
~Eat breakfast or at least get in some food during the exam (I used to take in frozen grapes or tamagoyaki for a snack during the exams)
~Skim through notes, reread the book, make sure you go to class, get some good sleep (which can be hard on nights before a test) and other obvious tips
~Find a show/ movie on the topic your test is on that you enjoy or you can at least stand
 
One thing that all teachers are guaranteed to say: stay off Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and any other social networking/forum site. They will distract you (I know this from experience) and one of my old teachers once said "Half an hour of revision without Facebook is the same as 3 hours with Facebook open." and this is true. I completely understand that a lot of people use the internet to revise, so these sites may seem tempting to go on, but it really doesn't help you revise.
In the same vein as this, video games can be a real distraction. If you're living with parents/guardians, then it isn't a bad idea to ask them to keep hold of any games consoles you have; if it's just sitting there then it is very tempting.
If you have friends who are taking the same exams as you, then it's not a bad thing to have revision sessions with them; it means you can test each other and can talk to each other about topics you're a bit rusty on.
One weird fact I've heard of is that if you chew gum whilst revising, then chew gum of the same flavour whilst taking the exam it will boost your memory.
 
When you say finals does it mean from high school or college?

What can I say?
- don't stay awake studying in the night before the exam, namely if you're reading stuff for the first time, because you'll be sleepy the next day and things will be mixed;
- don't talk about the topics right before the test unless it's just to take a quick doubt, because otherwise you might start hearing different things, adding new information to what you know and it might make you forget something;
- read the exam and start taking notes by the side of the questions;
- read the exam a second time to see if you missed something;
- when going to solve the questions read yet another time, more carefully;
- manage your time accordingly to the size of the exam; if there's too many questions, solve the ones you know and don't waste too much time on the others, coming back to them later;
- always check your answers.

Regarding studying:
- don't make excuses for delaying the study or make pauses during it, unless it's only a 5 minute stop to move your neck or going to the bathroom (again, don't go drink water just so you can have that excuse);
- stay focused, without any consoles near or internet. Study all you need and then go do something to relax that doesn't make you delve deep, or just go straight to bed after studying;
- make notes of the more important issues; writing does help to remember, more so if you've read it more than one time.

About oral exams...in Law school I had to do them wearing a suit but I've found out that what bothered me wasn't the suit, but actually the dress shoes because wearing them was unconfortable compared to what I was used to, so I started using a formal and discreet pair of sneakers and it helped a lot.
Also, I found out that staying in the room listening to other's oral exams left me nervous and anxious, so I started coming and staying outside waiting for my turn.
In both cases, it helped.
 
After spending a combined total of 19 years in school (kindergarten up to my final doctorate year), I'd like to think I've perfected my own study methods. That being said, just because the below works great for me, doesn't mean it'll work for everybody.

Study early and study often. Don't procrastinate. I'm not talking about cramming your entire semester into a single, daily study session (repeated constantly), but rather reviewing a few chapters daily weeks before your exams. Considering the majority of college students have finals within the next few weeks, this may be a slightly moot point, but it's good to consider for next fall.

Another good tip I've learned is to take small breaks every hour. Get up, stretch your legs, grab a snack, a drink, or go to the bathroom. It'll allow for better digestion of the material you just covered. Your brain can get saturated if you try to study in long sessions, mixing things from different topics together.

For me and what I needed to know, studying different drugs and their dosages, dosage forms, ADRs, monitoring parameters, etc. could get confusing, so drawing and color-coding charts, tables, and graphs helped immensely. Mnemonics also help. Even though I still remember some things a bit...oddly, the fact is I still know that the target concentration for theophylline is 5 to 15 mcg/mL regardless of the fact that I associate it with the color blue or the colors of the warfarin tablets in increasing strength using the mnemonic "Please let Greg brown bring peaches to your wedding." Who cares HOW or WHY you know things...the important thing is that you know what you need to WHEN you need to. By coming up with memorization tools, you might find you can store away information in the long term, not just "until your exam is over."

Another tip is to review the VAK/VARK models of learning. I'm sure there are small surveys online to help you identify your preferred model if it isn't automatically apparent...and you can personalize your study styles from there.

Good luck everyone!
 
- Make your own notes of the stuff that's important.
- Only learn your own notes.
- Learn them so you can recall everything from memory.
- Stay up the whole last night revising everything.
- On the day of the test still revise everything.
- Stay awake during the test with the help of energy drinks.
 
Studying:

Use active recall methods. Meaning, look over your notes first and then present it (either to yourself or your "imaginary class"). This may sound odd, and even difficult to do, but it is one of the most efficient ways to truly understand concepts, as passive studying will only retain a certain amount of information, and takes much longer to retain within the long-term memory.

Study a few weeks in advance before the final exam. You definitely don't want to spend the last few days reviewing the material, since there is a low chance you'll remember all the information you passively study. It may be boring and difficult to stay focused, but the benefits are great.

I found this helpful article a few weeks back: http://calnewport.com/blog/2014/04/08/work-accomplished-time-spent-x-intensity/

Cal Newport, a straight-A student, goes over his techniques about studying. He uses a simple formula: Work Accomplished = Time Spent x Intensity

Tips:

-When you have to memorize certain things, it is helpful to create a picture/story within your mind about the subject.
-Keep yourself hydrated during studying sessions to help with your concentration.
-Eat before/after a study session to keep your energy up.
-Skim over your notes during the night before the test or in the morning of the day of your exam.
-Get good sleep.
-Youtube is a great resource to turn to if there is a concept you don't understand.
 
Don't forget to think about how your studies apply to your real life! It may seem kinda weird at first, but school stuff can really help your day-to-day life if you get creative with the stuff you learn about it!

Putting stuff like this in perspective can help you study.
 
I removed some posts for questionable content. Please, don't suggest medication here. We're not doctors. Thank you.
 
Here are very interesting ways to prepare for an examination.

-Last minute revision information is actually bad for you. It will make you forget what you previously learnt.
-Also, don't overstress the examination. A little stress will actually benefit you! But too much will result in poor concentration.
-Sleeping well at night is better than obtaining information after dark. It is recommended to have at least 8 hours sleep.
If you can't get to sleep, maybe count Mareep!
-Don't talk to anyone one hour before the examination. They might give you additional information which you might have not studied, and trying to fill in that bit of information will actually give more stress.
-If you need to stay awake, healthy food will do the trick more than sugar will. It is a proven fact that apples will keep you more awake than caffeine!
-The most important thing is thinking positively. If you're not good at a subject, instead of thinking :"I am going to fail this test," think, "I've done it before and I can do it again. If I try, I will succeed!"
 
I'll preface this by saying that I'm... Really bad at studying. Take my advice with a grain of salt. That bein' said, I have a 95% average in my course right now, so apparently I'm doin' somethin' right.

  • If you're gonna listen to music while studying, make sure it's instrumental. Any words at all will mess you up, or at least can. Even if they're in another language. Anime soundtracks (background music, typically) or video game soundtracks are fantastic for this, in my experience. (This also works with reading!)
  • I find that chewing gum can help keep me focused. There's apparently some link between doin' what you did while studying and while test taking that triggers memories. If you're allowed to chew gum while takin' the test, it can't hurt to try while studying and during the test.
  • SLEEP. I'm terrible for this, and always regret it. Get a full eight hours, or however much you need to feel fully rested (different for everyone).
  • If you have your own textbook, highlight the crap out of it. Anything that makes you think "Hey, this might be relevant" or "I'm not 100% certain about this" should be highlighted. If you feel fancy, you can colour code your highlighting.
  • Don't cram the night before. Another thing I'm terrible for, which causes me to have wicked test anxiety. Studying a bit extra the night before is fine, but don't wait til then to start. Trust me.
  • Bring extra pens/pencils and paper. I get anxious if I only have one pen. Maybe this won't be relevant to everyone, but it helps me.
Since exams aren't too far away for uni students, this is probably fairly relevant. Good luck, everyone! (o u o)b
 
please don't cram, all-nighters may work but it's still better to make light study over a week
 
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