Finals are coming up soon and it’s a good time to begin your studying so there won’t be any last minute cramming happening. But wait – before you crack open that textbook, it’s a good idea to think about your studying strategies and learn more effectively so you can finish faster and ace that exam. Here are a few stress-reducing strategies that will help you improve your test scores.
Handwrite it.
Writing out your notes has been proven to help you retain information more effectively than typing. Research shows that the act of using your pen and creating shapes on paper sends feedback signals to your brain, which leaves an impression called a “motor memory”. This makes it easier for you to remember the information later on. Although you may finish studying a little later this way than if you typed out your notes, this method of studying could pay off more in the long run.
Take a break.
Instead of staying in a quiet room for hours on end, take a short break in between periods of studying. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not a good idea to study like there’s no tomorrow, sitting at your desk forever with your textbook as your only companion. It has been found that taking a 10-minute walking break will improve focus for up to two hours afterwards.
Change it up.
In addition to taking small breaks, changing locations can also help refresh your mind when it starts to lag. If you have been sitting at your desk, try moving to the kitchen table, or going to the library. This will help you regain your motivation and bring your focus back to studying, which in turn may help you improve your recollection of the material.
Drink water.
Energy drinks and coffee may help you stay awake, but these drinks can also make you dehydrated. Mild dehydration can impair cognitive function and mental performance; so make sure to keep a water bottle close at hand whenever you study.
Test yourself.
Start with some knowledge of the material – you may want to have written notes on the subject to familiarize yourself with it. But rather than just looking over those notes again and going into the exam, give yourself a test. A paper in the Journal of Experimental Psychology describes two key ways to enhance your “studying by testing” method. First, delay your test – the longer the time between testing and studying, the more advantage you gain. This is why it’s a good idea to commence studying early on. In addition, try to make your practice test as similar as possible to the actual exam. The more that the study situation resembles the testing situation, the more likely you are to remember the information during the test.
This method works because you train yourself to successfully get to the information in memory, and that makes the memories stronger and easier to retrieve later, i.e. at the exam.
Good luck on your studying! 🙂
