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What were/are your effective methods of studying for exams ???

R

Roddy

Senior member
Hi,

This is my first year at University... and I have been doin constant bits of study so far throughout the year... well.. mostly 😉

I was just wondering what your most effective methods of studying are for exams are ? (based on experience... )

eg. Do you just read over your notes... or do flash cards.. or write down notes, do exercises.. ??

Just need a few tips... as my exams start in just over a week... so I won't be cramming 😉

I have one exam on the 21st of June, another on the 24th and 26th... and the last exam is on 1st of July...

Thankyou for your help and suggestions 😀


-Roddy
 
Usually involves going to class and sleeping or not paying attention... then going to office hours and sounding like an idiot.
 
I used to put all my notes under my pillow and go to sleep. This way all the info would seep into my head as I rested.
 
To be completely honest, I never did learn how to study. My method of studying was to lay in bed reading a book and then fall asleep within 5 minutes of laying down........... Good luck though 🙂
 
i'm pretty lucky. When i am taught something, it usually gets stored in my head and i dont have to study the stuff all over again. I do glance over my notes and that usually jogs my memory enough. I have an accounting final today and a humanities one tomorrow.
 
here is how i do it.

i'm going to be a senior next year so i have several years of college under the belt.

well, first off, go to EVERY lecture and take notes. if you do that you will only need to study 1-3 hours before each exam and at no other time will you have to study or do any type of work. go to class, take notes, then review the notes and do a few sample problems before the day of the exam.

oh, don't bother buying books cause they don't help (i didn't buy a single book last year). well, they would probably help, but you probably won't read them, i never did anyway. they are only good for the problems and if you only study once between each exam ( like me ) you can just borrow someones book for the couple hours it takes, or just study with them.

so long as you don't slack and follow this method it will work fine with tons and tons of free time.
 
1. Classical Music
2. Earplugs to stop ambient noise
3. Go through all the material and write down what you think is important,
4. Go through what you wrote down a few times
 
I prefer to actually LEARN the material as opposed to memorizing it. But, that's now, when I was in HS and college I got B's on sheer memorization. hehe
 
I'm lucky in that I have a good memory. I go to all of my classes and don't cut. I take notes and pay attention and don't screw around in class when the teacher is telling us information.

When it comes to revision I look over the papers, notes. I look over past papers and read them and write on cards the things that I don't remember or didn't get right the first time. I write out equations on cards and read the cards. I have things stuck on my walls with paper with notes and equations. They are a constant reminder to me.

Exams go be alright. I do pretty good and get the grades. But as always you have to put in the work to get better grades. Or you can be lucky and scrap it in and not study😉 but I'd rather not take that chance......
 
Originally posted by: Cattlegod
here is how i do it.

i'm going to be a senior next year so i have several years of college under the belt.

well, first off, go to EVERY lecture and take notes. if you do that you will only need to study 1-3 hours before each exam and at no other time will you have to study or do any type of work. go to class, take notes, then review the notes and do a few sample problems before the day of the exam.

oh, don't bother buying books cause they don't help (i didn't buy a single book last year). well, they would probably help, but you probably won't read them, i never did anyway. they are only good for the problems and if you only study once between each exam ( like me ) you can just borrow someones book for the couple hours it takes, or just study with them.

so long as you don't slack and follow this method it will work fine with tons and tons of free time.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice Cattlegod 🙂

I usually followed the lecture notes ( we can download them off the internet before we go to the lectures ... they are the exact same lecture notes as the lecturer has ) and I usually reviewed them when I got home from the lectures.

I found that for preparing for study; reviewing the lecture notes etc... and doin a couple of sample problems... I thought should all add up in the long run before the exam.

I'll take your advice, and see how I go 😀


Cheers!

-Roddy

 
Originally posted by: Koing
I'm lucky in that I have a good memory. I go to all of my classes and don't cut. I take notes and pay attention and don't screw around in class when the teacher is telling us information.

When it comes to revision I look over the papers, notes. I look over past papers and read them and write on cards the things that I don't remember or didn't get right the first time. I write out equations on cards and read the cards. I have things stuck on my walls with paper with notes and equations. They are a constant reminder to me.

Exams go be alright. I do pretty good and get the grades. But as always you have to put in the work to get better grades. Or you can be lucky and scrap it in and not study😉 but I'd rather not take that chance......
Click to expand...


I 100% agree with your thinking ! 🙂

Unforutnately I had to learn the hard way in my senior year at high school that if you don't put in the hard work, don't expect decent grades. As a teacher said " If you fail to prepare, prepare to fail. " ..

I prefer to do constant study over a 1 to maybe 2 week period instead of cramming it in on the last nite.. (ie: learning all the material for 4 different subjects the night before) I find that I just get overloaded with information and confused... 😱

Thanks for your input ! 🙂


Cheers!

-Roddy
 
Usually I try to make sure that I understand what is being said during lectures. I attend all the tutorials, try to submit all assignments.

Before exams, I make some notes, (I find it the hardest and most boring thing to do.) Emphasizing on harder stuff. Then I concentrate on past exam questions.

🙂 Good Luck!! Im through uni.
 
Like other people said, go to class, take notes, pay attention.

One of the actual tactics I used for studying for semester exams was rewriting ALL of my notes for the semester (I did this on computer since I can't read my own writing anymore and I can type WAY faster than I can write.) I'd rewrite the first draft recovering everything from top to bottom. Then I'd make a second revision covering all the big points and major supporting points. Then I'd make a third revision covering just the major top-line points. By that point, after paying attention all semester AND going over everything 3 times in wider and wider circles (which if you have essay questions is an EXTREMELY important way to come at things) then I knew the material VERY VERY well. I could just look at the major subject line and tell you everything you needed to know about the stuff supporting it from a broad or narrow scope. Plus, you always had your previous two copies to look at should you get stumped or if you wanted to clarify something. All of this never really took all that long assuming you took decent notes in class and if you're a fast typer. And even if you didn't take decent notes, you can sometimes get the same effect from outlining your textbook(s) material on the subjects (assuming they're the same content covered in class.) This usually takes a LOT longer though.
 
i never found an effective way to study, but if its a math or science course, i work through every sample problem, chapter problem, and whatever questions they have in the book usually that works....with things like humanities and english, i try to read the book, and then give up cuz i know it won't hlep
 
My study habits go a little something like this:
  • Multiple 500+ page text books.
  • A case of Code Red.
  • A carton of cigarettes.
  • A large pizza.

That's about it, I just stay awake and cram for a few days. It works for me, but for some people it doesn't seem to work too well.
 
In this day and age, many people cheat. So, hard studying from a grade perspective, may not be the most worthwhile pursuit.
 
Originally posted by: freebee
In this day and age, many people cheat. So, hard studying from a grade perspective, may not be the most worthwhile pursuit.
Click to expand...

You can cheat in school, but it's harder to cheat when you're working in a place that won't tolerate half assed projects.
 
this is what i tend to do.... don't do this:

think about going to class. if going, sleep... if not, convince self that i will study the material later

cram like a mofo the night before a midterm and a final

pray to god and pull a passing grade out of my ars for 2-3 nights of work instead of a quarter's worth.

😉 worked so far... but i think i'm going to have to start changing that soon
 
Different things work for different people - one thing you should note is what people are studying for ... there are different study habits for say engineering versus humanities ... but as a general rule and as others ahve mentioned, go to lectures, take notes, and do your hwk. In regards to buying books (the engineering side), I'm all for it, sometimes you end up with some jack@ss prof., or a prof. that cannot speak any english, the book would help so much. good luck!

ls
 
Originally posted by: ratkil
To be completely honest, I never did learn how to study. My method of studying was to lay in bed reading a book and then fall asleep within 5 minutes of laying down........... Good luck though 🙂
Click to expand...

That's pretty much mine, too... 😀 I've found that if I turn music on, then sit down to a desk that's relatively far away from my computer monitor, I can focus okay.

I have to study by myself... being around people is too much of a distraction.
 
Put the book under your pillow at night while you sleep. Through the laws of osmosis, your brain will absorb the knowledge contained in the book.
 
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