How to Study… Take Note. Score High!

.

Other stories that might interest you...

• Approaching AP Anxiousness
• To Read or Not to Read…
• Back to School Tips: What Teachers Want You to Know
• College Guide: College Prep Starts Now!
• College Board: On The Subject of Subject Tests

January 25, 2010 • written by Kaley Israels  
Filed under How to..., featured

The hall was filled with voices of chatty students, some worried for the test, others quizzing each other, and more just socializing. The teacher came out of the classroom and into the hall and called all the students in to take their exams. The students glanced at one another, some with smiles others with looks of worry as they all entered the classroom.

“Exams.”

The one word that may stop a student in his tracks. But why are exams such a big deal? Well, they are a much bigger than any of us may think. While students dread it, teachers do not, because it lets them see whether their students are learning… or not.

Although most students may get a little stressed about midterms, it turns out no one has to be. What do teachers always tell students to do before tests? STUDY!!! But “how to,” now that’s the real question to dig into.

If you Google this question, you are bound to get over 125,000,000 web articles on “how to study” skill techniques. Let us save you some time. Here are seven useful tips to learn and live by, as reported by www.how-to-study.com:

1. Manage your time well.
2. Take good notes in class and rewrite them at home. This process will help you review the subject as you’re writing it.
3. Study hard subjects firs and study in a quiet place. How to study is as important as where you study. Pick your favorite place and stick to it.
4. Read texts actively and slowly, before and after class. Reading your textbook helps understand the material and develop a good reading habit.
5. Do your homework. This will help you really learn, not just memorize the subject.
6. Study for exams (solo or in a group) a week or more before the actual date. Then, refresh your memory by reading your notes for fifteen minutes every day until the day of the exam.
7. Research and learn to write well. This will prepare you to write well-written essays.

If the above tips left you wanting more, just know this. Study is the answer to acing midterm week or a final exam.  Last month, we saw a flurry of activity at CCA as students were getting ready to take their first semester exams. If you were to review their grades now, you could easily ask: are students studying like they should be? Or are they just goofing off? Clearly, some students take exams seriously while others don’t. “I just listen in class and I’m good,” said one confident high school freshman. Defiantly not the right way to study, however one junior answered saying,” I pay really good attention in class during review week and do all the review work the teachers assign then study 10 minutes before the exam.”

While it is a good idea to pay attention in class, experts say there should be more time hitting the books outside of class. “I study a little each day so the information stays in my long term memory,” said a high school junior who would definitely get some bonus points from his CCA teachers. They recommend that students do not cram for their exams the night before. This is not the right way to study. According to scientific studies, when you sit down to study, how you transfer that massive amount of information from the books and notes in front of you to a reliable spot inside your brain is important. Your brain cannot retain the information if a lot of it comes in all at once. So, the next time you have an exam, don’t cram the night before, but instead study in advance a little bit at a time.