SU ADVISORY :: EXAMS // EXAMS _Forget cramming until 5am, exams are all about good preparation! Exams are an unfortunate reality of education. Everyone says “If you study consistently during the year then exams will be no problem”. However, do you know anyone who really does this?! Many of us rely on cramming for the weeks before the exam and hope that this is enough to see us through. The weeks before the exam can be very stressful. If you haven’t really worked all year then you can feel that it’s too late. If you find college work difficult, then you’ll be wondering what’s the point anyway? Even if you have worked hard all year you may still be worrying because you don’t trust that it will be okay. Well stop stressing: this section has lots of useful tips on preparing for exams.
Preparing for exams
• Arrange your study space to ensure that it’s warm, quiet, and comfortable. • Make a study plan. Ask your friends or lecturers to help with this and try to be realistic about how much study you can get through every day. • Try to stick to the plan. If you have a lapse, don’t stress out, just go back to it again. • Don’t spend too much time on any one subject. • Make notes when you’re studying. Next time you study that subject, you can revise your notes. • Ask your lecturer for help with anything you don’t understand.
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• Practice exam questions. Time yourself and try to simulate an actual exam situation. • Avoid cutting out large parts of the course just because you don’t like them. Those topics might just be the ones that end up on the exam paper! • Take breaks and give yourself rewards for time spent studying. • Make sure you get enough sleep. You won’t perform well in an exam if you are sleep deprived. • Don’t compare yourself to your friends. Everybody has a different way of preparing for exams and what suits someone else might not work for you.
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