You have made it to the end of the semester and we are proud of you! We recognize the hard work, time, and energy that you put into your academics and co-curricular activities! As the weather is getting warmer, take a break, sit in the sunshine, go out for a walk with friends, play a game outside in between preparing for your final exams. Preparing for finals is important and your mental and physical well-being is critical.
In the Department of Resident Life, we are always here to support your academic ambitions and promote your success, but the strength and forward propulsion comes from you. Good luck on spring finals! You’ve got this!
• EXAM PREPARATION*
Preparing for a final can be daunting whether it’s your first or your tenth. If you are unsure where to start, here are some questions to ask your professor (or may be found in your syllabus):
1. How many questions will be on the exam?
2. What types of questions will be on the exam?
3. What material will be covered?
4. How much will the exam count toward the final grade?
5. Will the questions come primarily from the notes or the text?
6. Will partial credit be awarded for some answers?
7. How much time will we have for the exam?
8. Will there be any extra credit?
9. What materials (books, notes, calculators, and so on) will we be able to use?
10. What outside material (handouts, readings, and so on) will be included on the exams?
Your class syllabus is a great tool to prepare for finals as it will outline important themes and topics covered in the class and can become the skeleton of your study guide.
*Content adapted from Hamline University’s Questions to Ask Before an Exam.
“EDUCATION IS THE PASSPORT TO THE FUTURE, FOR TOMORROW BELONGS TO THOSE WHO PREPARE FOR IT TODAY.”
-Malcolm X
CREATING AN EXAM PREP PLAN
Ask yourself these questions to create an exam preparation plan.
• What type of final exam is it (e.g., multiple choice questions, short-answer, essay, true/false questions)?
• What is the date of the exam?
• How much time is needed to prepare for each final assignment?
ᴑ What classes or topics do you feel comfortable with?
ᴑ What classes or topics might you need to spend more time with?
• What materials will you need to successfully prepare for each final exam or assignment? Supplies like highlighters and flashcards, or class-related materials like handouts or study guides will be helpful.
Pro Tip: Schedule time to socialize with friends and to practice self-care. Knowing that you will have a break will keep you motivated during periods of studying.
• What commitments do you need to keep and what commitments can you let go during finals preparation time? You may need to continue working during finals period, but maybe you skip a few club meetings.
ᴑ Set the expectation with family and friends that you will need to study hard and that you might not be able to come home on the weekends, chat on the phone for hours, or play host during a surprise visit.
“FEAR, INHERENTLY, IS NOT MEANT TO LIMIT YOU. FEAR IS THE BRAIN’S WAY OF SAYING THAT THERE IS SOMETHING IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO OVERCOME.”
-Unknown
• What time of the day do you feel more productive? If you feel more productive in the morning, schedule the majority of your studying/finals preparation time during the morning.
• What is your ideal study environment? Consider noise level, amount of light, types of seating, amount of people, water fountains/fill station access, snacks nearby, etc. Use the Quiet Study Spaces Guide and the University Libraries’ Find A Space feature to find some study spaces on campus.
• For what classes might you need additional support? For those classes, create a study group. Study groups should include people in your class who are comfortable with the information and those who may struggle—not just friends.
• What is going to motivate you to study and prepare for finals exams? Set up personal accountability measures for yourself. Will you spend 90 minutes in the library each day? Will you complete non-final exam assignments by a certain date so you can get a jump-start on preparing for finals? Decide what will work best for you and make a commitment.
“IF YOU PRIORITIZE YOURSELF, YOU ARE GOING TO SAVE YOURSELF.”
-Gabrielle Union
REFLECTION ACTIVITY
Feeling indecisive and unsure how to move forward? Feeling overwhelmed on tackling your assignments? Take a deep breath and work through the following questions (out loud or in a journal).
QUESTIONS TO ASK WHEN YOU’RE STUCK OR SWAMPED
• What is the quickest solution?
• What is the easiest solution?
• Who can I ask for help?
• What progress can I make in one hour?
• Do I already have enough information to decide?
• Can I revise this to make it better?
• Do I need a snack?
• Will I be brave enough to press send/submit?
Reflection questions adapted from @karacut and mentioned in the UMD Center for Leadership & Organizational Change’s Food for Thought newsletter.
“I DON’T FOCUS ON WHAT I’M UP AGAINST. I FOCUS ON MY GOALS AND I TRY TO IGNORE THE REST.”
-Venus Williams
DICTIONARY OF EXAM TERMS*
There may be terms on your exam that are new to you. Here is a list of common exam terms and what they mean.
Analyze: break the topic into its separate parts and write about (discuss, examine, or interpret) each one.
Criticize: evaluate the positive and negative effects of what is being discussed.
Define: provide the exact meaning of a word, concept, etc .
Describe: make the topic clear by giving the major details and supporting facts.
Discuss: consider and debate or argue the pros and cons of an issue.
Enumerate/list: recall and specify items in the form of a list.
Evaluate: give your opinion about the value or worth of something; include supporting evidence.
Explain: make an idea clear; show how a concept is developed or give reason for an occurrence.
Illustrate: explain by giving concrete examples.
Interpret: clarify the meaning or paraphrase the information; comment upon, give examples, describe relationships, explain the meaning (describe & evaluate).
Justify: explain the purpose behind or reasons for a statement.
Outline: describe the main ideas or points.
Prove: use evidence and arguments to support assertion.
Relate: reveal connections between subjects or ideas, often by putting the subject into a larger context. State: explain precisely.
Summarize: give a condensed account without unnecessary details.
Trace: show the development, history, order, or progress of a subject or event (often by showing cause and effect)
*Content adapted from Hamline University’s Questions to Ask Before an Exam.
“IT ISN’T WHERE YOU CAME FROM, IT’S WHERE YOU’RE GOING THAT COUNTS.”
-Ella Fitzgerald
DID YOU KNOW?
• Some of the library’s most popular workshops are now available as self-paced short courses in Open Learning. Check out what workshops are available by visiting the Open Learning webpage
• The Counseling Center offers a range of wellness workshops. Wellness workshops are held Monday through Thursday from 4 to 5 p.m. To check out the workshop schedule, visit the Counseling Center’s website. You can also view recordings of past workshops by going to the Counseling Center’s YouTube page.
• You can add your assignments in ELMS-Canvas to your Google Calendar. You can learn more about adding your calendar to keep track of assignments using this online guide.
• The Writing Center offers three different kinds of appointments. Choose from Face-To-Face, Live Online tutoring, and 24-Hour Feedback. Visit the Writing Center’s website to learn more.
• You can do a degree audit to see your academic progress toward your degree. You can learn more about a degree audit by visiting the u.achieve webpage.
• You can download free versions of the Adobe Creative Cloud (photoshop, Illustrator, etc), Office 365, and antivirus software. Check out the Terpware wepbage to see other free software .
• You can reserve study spaces in the libraries in advance. Check out the Library’s Find a Space webpage to see what spaces you can reserve and other study spaces available.
• There are apps that limit your access to various social media and other websites to help you stay on task. These apps include Forest, Moment, Flipd, SelfControl, and Cold Turkey.
• You can check out frisbees, footballs, hula hoops, yoga mats, resistance bands, and exercise ball chairs from the Terrapin Learning Commons (in McKeldin Library). Visit the McKeldin website to learn more.
• You can improve your focus by turning chapter headings into questions. Your focus improves because you are reading to answer the question.
• Research shows that our brains can only efficiently memorize 4 pieces of information at a time. Chunking is the act of grouping information in order to learn more efficiently. Take 2 minutes and watch this video about chunking to learn more.
“AM I GOOD ENOUGH? YES, I AM.” -Michelle Obama
HELPFUL CAMPUS RESOURCES
ACADEMIC COACHING
You can schedule a free 30-minute academic coaching session to develop and refine study strategies, enhance skills in various areas such as time management, note taking, test preparation and learn of other campus resources to support your academic success. To schedule an in-person or virtual appointment, visit go.umd.edu/learn . For more information, email learn@umd.edu
ACADEMIC SUCCESS AND TUTORIAL SERVICES
The Academic Success and Tutorial Services program provides free peer tutoring to all UMD students for over twenty 100- and 200-level general education courses and for historically difficult courses in areas such as biology, business, chemistry, computer science, economics, mathematics/statistics, and physics.
THE COUNSELING CENTER
The Counseling Center is the primary campus provider of free and confidential therapy to help students manage personal, social, and academic challenges. The Counseling Center also offers wellness workshops and a variety of resources to help students with common student concerns .
GUIDED STUDY SESSIONS
The Guided Study Sessions (GSS) program offers FREE, regularly scheduled group review sessions for students in traditionally difficult courses. GSS Leaders have taken your course and earned an A, so they know what it takes to stay on track in lectures and prepare for exams. Go once, a few times, or attend every session—it’s never too late to start attending GSS. Visit the GSS Schedule to view the available sessions.
LIBRARIES
The University Libraries offer plenty of resources including those for getting started on research and places to study. There are six libraries on campus and all have different hours .
HELPFUL CAMPUS RESOURCES
KEYSTONE CENTER
Located in the J. M. Patterson building, the Keystone Center is available for you to work on homework or group projects, use the computer labs, or study for exams. Upper-level undergraduate and graduate students can assist you in answering questions in fundamental engineering and STEM courses: CHEM135, MATH140, MATH141, MATH241, and MATH246.
MATH SUCCESS PROGRAM
The Math Success Program offers free, drop-in math coaching and tutoring services for all undergraduate students. The program is open Sunday - Thursday from 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays are held in ESJ 0224, Sundays are virtual and require an appointment. Visit the Math Success Program website to get more information and access the program.
MATH TUTORING ROOM & MATLAB TUTORING
TAs available daily for most introductory math courses in Math Building Room 0203. To see all courses offered and a full schedule, please see the Undergraduate Tutoring Hours.
MATH TEST BANK
Gain access to past exams from the Math Department for multiple courses to use as practice material and studying.
OFFICE OF MULTI-ETHNIC STUDENT EDUCATION (OMSE)
OMSE offers a free, walk-in tutorial program that covers most key courses in Writing, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, and Economics, among other courses. Individual and small group tutoring is available each semester in most undergraduate courses. Check out the OMSE tutoring site to learn more. You can also check out these short videos on some traditionally difficult concepts.
HELPFUL CAMPUS RESOURCES
OFFICE OF STUDENT CONDUCT
The Office of Student Conduct serves the UMD community by investigating referrals, enforcing the Codes (Code of Academic Integrity and Code of Student Conduct ), and committing to a fair, honest, and transparent conduct process. If you are unsure of rules about academic integrity, the Office of Student Conduct has resources to assist you.
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS CENTER (OCC)
The OCC provides peer consulting for presentations, speeches, and other modes of oral communication, speech planning and practice assistance, interactive workshops on a variety of relevant communication skills, special events and workshop series. You can schedule an appointment here
QUIET STUDY SPACES
These spaces offer some great opportunities to safely explore campus and find new places to get your work done. Please visit the Quiet Study Spaces list to view the spaces that are available and guidelines around using the spaces.
TUTORING & ACADEMIC SUCCESS RESOURCES
The University is committed to academic excellence, and provides a variety of tutoring and other academic resources to support student success—available on campus, from our peer institutions, and other non-university websites. To learn more about the available resources, visit tutoring. umd.edu . Also checkout these helpful resources to tackle some common academic concerns.
THE WRITING CENTER
The Writing Center provides opportunities for undergraduate students to improve their writing, research, and critical thinking skills in preparation for successful academic, professional, and civic lives. In a supportive atmosphere, trained consultants from a variety of backgrounds and majors assist writers in-person and online throughout the writing process. Visit the Writing Center’s website to schedule an appointment.
You’ve got this, the end of the semester is right around the corner!
And remember: study hard, go to class, get enough sleep and ask for help when needed.
