Exam Day: Survival Tips

Test-Taking

Part 1

http://www.collegeboard.com/student/plan/boost-your-skills/10296.html

Essential Test-Taking Advice

Try out these strategies while you’re still in high school, and by the time you get to college, you’ll be a test-taking expert.

Before the Test

Eat well.

Studies show that you need good nutrition to concentrate and perform your best.

Bring the right supplies.

Bring your pencils, erasers, pens, rulers, compasses, calculators or whatever else you need on test day.

Review the whole test before you start.

See how many sections and what types of questions are on the test. Determine how much time to allow for completing each section.

CHOOSE THE RIGHT!!!

Successful Students

9

9. . . . Don’t cram for exams. Successful students know that divided periods of study are more effective than cram sessions, and they practice it.

If there is one thing that study skills specialists agree on, it is that distributed study is better than massed, late-night, light-ditch efforts known as cramming. You’ll learn more, remember more, and earn a higher grade by studying in four, one-hour-night sessions for Friday’s exam than studying for four hours straight on Thursday night. Short, concentrated preparatory efforts are more efficient and rewarding than wasteful, inattentive, last moment marathons. Yet so many students fail to learn this lesson and end up repeating it over and over again until it becomes a wasteful habit. Not too clear, huh?

When you cram, you are taking the shortcut, and shortcuts never produce any real worthwhile results. Also, when you take shortcuts, you fell rather rotten knowing that you could have done better but didn’t. Shortcuts cut you short. You can’t plant watermelon seeds and harvest fresh watermelons the next day. It takes time. Cramming for a test or a project and expecting to make a high score the next day is like planting watermelon seeds and expecting to harvest and eat fresh watermelon the next day. Plus cramming for a test or project doesn’t help you academically, so why even do it. Plan ahead, prepare ahead. Give yourself plenty and weeks to prepare for upcoming accountability opportunities.

CHOOSE THE RIGHT!!!

Dropbox

Study for Multiple Exams

Part 2

My strategies for written assignments: Everyone has their own writing styles. I generally come up with an idea and do massive amount of research before I ever think about writing. I then organize my research then sometimes prepare an outline before actually writing. I always print out the paper and come back to it the next day and reread it. That is the easiest way for me to catch my own mistakes. I have to give my eyes a break from it, and if I just wrote it I think it looks perfect. But if I look at it a day later I almost always find grammatical errors or phrases and sentences I just want to reword.

How I succeed in team projects: never assume someone is doing what they are supposed to be doing. Have regular meetings and have each member show their work, not just given you or group their word for it.

CHOOSE THE RIGHT!!!

Dropbox

Study for Multiple Exams

Part 1

How I study for multiple exams, deal with multiple projects: Really it is my time management that I explained above. If I see I have multiple things due or to study for all the same time I spread out my time beforehand. For example, if I have a test Monday, and 2 tests Tuesday then I will study for my Monday test Thursday and part of Friday. Start studying for my next test on the second half of Friday and part of Saturday, then my second Tuesday test on Saturday as well and part of Sunday. Then Sunday night I can review for my Monday test because I already studied for it, when that is over I can begin reviewing for the other tests.

My overall study method: I try to break it up over several days or at least two. I get bogged down if I try to pull an all nighter.

How I’ve overcome an initial bad grade: If I received a low grade I probably knew it was coming because I didn’t prepare properly or I didn’t use the right study habit for that class. I usually try to get over what I did wrong and sometime discuss with the teacher what I can do differently on the next exam or what they suggest I do for studying for the next exam.

CHOOSE THE RIGHT!!!

Dropbox