Anyone Have Tips On Studying for Exams?

[Imperial_120]

I'm sure most of you know, it's Exam time and everyone's getting ready to study for 'em. I'm just gonna get straight into it- I have NEVER studied a day in my life. My exams last semester were totally simple I didn't need too. But this coming Monday is my French exam.. and well.. I don't know one word of it.

 

 

 

I talked with a few of my "smarter" friends in other french classes and they all told me it was hard, really hard. They told me to study or else. I'm not really into summer school so I really want to pass this exam.

 

 

 

Well today I tried studying but I'm just wasting time, I don't know what the hell I'm doing. I'm reading over my notes but I just forget it within an hour. Now my question is, do you guys have any tips on studying?

 

 

 

Greatly appreciated.

[jjrox32]

Take a 2-5 minute break every 30 minutes or so. Studying for 6 hours straight will fry you.

[Sk4terpunk90]

This thread would've been useful to the majority of people if it were 2 weeks earlier but oh well.

 

 

 

 

 

I'd say make sure if your studying at your cp desk, that it is not on. Thats my problem right there.

[Imperial_120]

This thread would've been useful to the majority of people if it were 2 weeks earlier but oh well.

 

 

 

 

 

I'd say make sure if your studying at your cp desk, that it is not on. Thats my problem right there.

 

 

 

I guess it would have been useful a bit earlier, but I just realized I should be studying now. I usually remember everything in class but for French it's another story, I just don't understand the language :uhh:.

 

 

 

And I can't study without my laptop, it has all my music on it :P. And no, I don't have any mp3-device so I can't use that instead.

[foolgool]

Okay, for languages the big thing is remembering the conjugation patterns for each tense, as most verbs will follow a similar pattern. Also, review vocab in 15-20 minute increments, taking similar amounts of breaks in between.

[ROBOSRUS]

Just think of the wasted summer time you could spend at the nice sunny beach if you don't remember everything right in front of you.

 

It always works for me.

[ThurinEthir]

*Thinks to when I took my French final a week ago8

 

Oh yeah...I cheated...At least for part of it...

 

 

 

Okay...Well, if music helps you study, then sure, why not keep your laptop on. If it becomes a distraction, then you're going to have to face it. Either studying and possibly getting a good grade or listening to music.

 

As to studying tips...As well as what Foolgool said about conjugations, be sure to remember genders.

 

Also, when I didn't cheat, I would try to find connections between the English word and the French word.

 

 

 

And oh yes...It'd be best if you could figure out what type of learner you are. And how you learn best. Depending on what works for you, you could make flashcards, copy your notes over again and again, talk to yourself, or do something else I can't think of.

[zaquierming]

*Saying this whilst I'm supposed to be studying* As mentioned, take 5-10 minute breaks every hour or so, maybe go sit outside and study, a nice comfy chair, but NOT infront of the television or computer(:-w). Try to think of patterns, or something to help you remember what you're studying. Read a few pages, and then quiz yourself on it. Make sure to review what you have the most problems with frequently. Having a light snack while studying will help. Good luck on your exam. :)

[adam_ross0]

My advice? Whenever you get home from school or whatever, do something. Play a game. Do ANYTHING to get your mind off of the exam. But don't forget to study. Whenever you're calm, relaxed, and not in a rush..THEN open the book and study. Listen to music, also..a study says people concentrate harder when they listen to music while studying.

 

 

 

Whenever you're done studying..go relax. Study some more. Relax. Never study for more than 1 hour at a time..take a break every 10-30 minutes. Hey, works for me =\

[Marco]

I think each person's tip will only truly suit them, and it's up to you to try as many different methods as you can until you find a way of revising which is comfortable and efficiant.

 

 

 

I revise the same way for every exam I've had since I was 15 (18 now) which is to put it off and put it off until the very last day (or more recently it tends to be the actual last few hours before the exam, working through the small hours of the night :| ) and then doing as much as I possibly can with the time I have left.

 

I literally just pick up the textbook for the subject - for example Law - and read through it..

 

 

 

Seriously, I don't recommend taking the adive of a procrastinator like myself lol..

[Guthix_Girl]

try making flash cards. study them over and over. then if your notes are neat and understandable, rewrite them. writing them again helps you remmeber them better

[xvillexvalox]

Look online for the topics that are going to be on the exam. (For French).

 

 

 

Hopefully you'll find some games, I got an A- on a spanish exam just from playing games online. (I was getting a c- in the class :-w )

 

Most games you'll find will have you match words with conjugations and such, corny, but it helped me.

[Stilev]

what i did with my spanish exam was, i wrote down the defintion of every important word, and said them aloud and did 1; 1, 2; 1, 2, 3; etc for a couple hours, after i got 20 down, i would walk away for a few mins, get something to eat, then see if i remembered them all, if i did i move on to the next 20, if not try again, and mark the ones i didn't remember

 

 

 

btw i was terrible at spanish about 10% lower then all my other classes

[caldius]

Two tips,

 

 

 

Firstly make sure you have no distractions. I simply can not study at home because between the computer, tv, books or simply just lying in bed there is to much to distract me. I tend to go somewhere like parks or the beach to study, since I have to put in the effort to travel there I also seem to work harder.

 

 

 

It also helps to work out how you best learn, audio, visual or kinesthetc (and maybe another one).

[The Dark Lord]

Focus mostly on the irregular verbs. Those are the harder ones. The regular verbs all have the same endings so they're easy to remember.

 

 

 

Write the conjugations of each verb 5-10 times each and it should help.

[pault]

Don't.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then say you did.

[Abelmisi]

Study and memorize a page. Say it back. Use the computer for 15 minutes. Repeat

 

 

 

At least what I did :XD:

 

 

 

EDIT:Umm...try making cheat sheets?

[Tribal]

Record yourself on a tape/Mp3 and play it over and over and over, while you're doing whatever on the computer, sleeping, waking up, watching TV. Subliminaly learn it, it's what I did my freshman year for my French exam, I wrote down all of the notes I needed, then said them on a tape and listened to it repeatedly for a few days. Passed my French final with an A. I did the same thing with Spanish, and I'm now in AP Spanish V as a Senior. . So it worked for me, might do the same for you.

[megakiller32]

Real revision hurts. It pains you to do it, so if your dieing while revising, your doing a good job :D

[xSxqPowerx]

Hehe I'm going to my final exam of this year in 5 mins (communications tech)

 

 

 

I'm not a good studier either, but I am good at remembering stuff.

 

But if you're not I would suggest making study notes, just write it down and it should help to remember.

[StrOwez]

Just finished all my exams, all I can recomend is doing past papers and past questions loads, they do help a lot! Find some on the net etc, because when you do a past paper and there is a question in it you don't know look it up in the book and write it down.

 

 

 

Also I found personally if I need to memorize a formula or a word or something I paint a picture in my head, usually its unusual if you know what i mean it sticks in easily.

 

 

 

For example for the Kinetic energy formula I imagine an old woman on a bike

 

I mentally slice her in half (her mass) then I image her peddling the bike real fast so her speed is squared.

 

 

 

Therefore KE= 0.5 x mass x speed squared.

[Imperial_120]

Thanks a lot for the tips guys! as I am typing im in my 5 minute break. I'm finding the intervals in my studying are really working. I study for 20 minutes, eat a snack, get back to it, go for a walk, etc.. Thanks for the tips guys! Hopefully this coming Monday i'll pass the damn thing.

 

 

 

Also, If anyone has anymore tips please share them :)

[woopidoo2]

My tips on people who have to learn/The way I learn:

 

 

 

-Even if you have 100 words to learn, you can do it. Dont think you will never manage to learn all those words, because you can.

 

 

 

-Learn with your brains. By saying that, I meen stay on subject, repeat the words over and over again by saying them. Stay focused.

 

 

 

-Start learning 4 to 5 words, if you are convinced that you know them go to the next 5 words. If you are done with those, go back to word 1 and test yourself untill word 10.

 

 

 

-If you have an own computer in your room, turn it off. It is too much distraction anyway. (I dont have an own compter, but my friends who do have one study less because of it.)

 

 

 

-I usually take something to eat, sometimes something to drink to my room.

 

 

 

-Another thing that might help you:

 

I dont sleep if I have drank a can of energy drink, strangely enough I can when I learn for a test week. It also helps you to spend your energy on learning, not to other things.

 

 

 

-Change from subject, and repeat that.

 

 

 

- Dont start a day before you have the test. I have tried to do that, but it doesnt work. I know, it can be hard to study for something you have in 3 days, but it will be worth it.

 

 

 

-If you dont want to study, think of the fact that this is your only oppertunity to learn. After the test, you cant learn. And you wouldnt like it if you failed for the test, while you could have learned more.

 

 

 

(There might be some spelling errors, my keyboard is allmost broke.)

 

 

 

There, my 2 cents :)

[greenslime89]

I'm sorry to say but I think you're a little late. Studies (har har) have shown that revising something 1 hour after learning it, 1 day after, 1 week after, 1 month after and 6 months later commits that knowledge to long term memory. It seems you're a little late for that.

 

 

 

I'd recommend that you try to learn what words to look for in the reading paper to look up so that you can get everything finished in time. I'm sure that you'll be exaggerating when you say you know nothing so wise up on your vocabulary, your teacher will have given you a vocab sheet I'm sure, and work on exam technique. Buy a past paper booklet these are invaluable practice for the exam.

 

 

 

Good luck in your exam. I suggest you try that long term memory technique for next year's subjects if you are continuing at school.

[woopidoo2]

I'm sorry to say but I think you're a little late. Studies (har har) have shown that revising something 1 hour after learning it, 1 day after, 1 week after, 1 month after and 6 months later commits that knowledge to long term memory. It seems you're a little late for that.

 

 

 

I'd recommend that you try to learn what words to look for in the reading paper to look up so that you can get everything finished in time. I'm sure that you'll be exaggerating when you say you know nothing so wise up on your vocabulary, your teacher will have given you a vocab sheet I'm sure, and work on exam technique. Buy a past paper booklet these are invaluable practice for the exam.

 

 

 

Good luck in your exam. I suggest you try that long term memory technique for next year's subjects if you are continuing at school.

 

 

 

To be honest, I forget everything after the test. The test is like a delivery point, where I give everything I learned away.

 

 

 

It might sound stupid, but I have no trouble so far with the short-term manner.