Are you struggling to prepare for your exams, or do you fail even after preparing for them? Or perhaps you cannot retain the concepts in your memory for longer. To be at a roadblock and finding it hard to prepare for your exam is quite common for students regardless of their level of studies.
But, often, it only takes changing your approach to solve the problem. You might focus too much on the bookish knowledge, so much so that you limit yourself and fail to unfurl your creative self. Or group study might not be working for you.
The possibilities are endless; you have to take a step back and think about what is going wrong and where you can improve.
But if nothing, not evening self-analysis is working for you; have a look at the steps and ways to ace your exam.
- Give online tests
Though you will find preparatory exercises, quizzes, and questions at the end of each chapter in the course books, they are still not enough to prepare you for the exams.
For an important exam, you need extra preparation. Consider solving past papers and quizzes. Preparing through past papers and mock tests means you can get hundreds of questions to practice one concept.
In the past, you had to buy past papers and practice books in printed form. Now online resource websites such as Wiley combine all the practice tests about a degree or course on one platform.
You can find material for degree programs as complicated as a CMA (Certified Management Accountant), for which it is challenging to find preparative material. But Wiley CMA test bank is a dream come true for any student enrolled in the course.
You will find countless tests and practice exams on one platform, ensuring you are fully prepared for your exam.
- Go beyond the bookish knowledge
Most students stick to the easier way to prepare for their exams—following the book included in their course. While there is no harm in preparing for the exam from your course books, it is still not an extraordinary way to go about it.
Often you need more than what your teacher has taught you in class. Therefore, visit your library, pick a few reference books for the course you are preparing, and consult them for the topics you find particularly difficult.
Consulting reference books give you extra knowledge and an alternate way to put your thoughts into words.
- Don’t wait for the last night to start studying
Some of you might be proud that they study a night before the exam and pass it. Well, you can pass the exam but not ace it, and neither can you retain the information or apply it in the actual work setting. Therefore, never, we repeat NEVER, rely on marathon study sessions.
Always plan your preparation schedule and start at least two weeks before the exam.
Instead of stuffing all the information in one day or trying to prepare all the lectures in one study session, study gradually and in parts.
Studying gradually allows you to assimilate the concepts and focus more on important areas. Research also shows that spaced repetition in which you memorize a large amount of information in smaller study sessions with a long space in between is more effective. Repetitive training also forms long-term memory.
- Listen to music that makes you focus
For some people listening to certain music helps them to focus. If that is the case with you, don’t hesitate to turn on your favorite music to make your study session more effective.
Ideally, the right music for enhancing focus is instrumental with no lyrics, as lyrical music can create the opposite effect by causing distraction.
Instrumental music blocks all the interferences and unnecessary noises (like your siblings watching a Netflix show or your roommates playing a video game) and helps you focus.
- Make sure there is no clutter around you
When studying for your exam, you need an environment free from disruptions, including the one created by the clutter around you.
If you study in your library, ensure it is clean, and all the books, parchments, and pens are placed where they belong. If you have clutter around, you will have an itch to multitask and get up multiple times during studying to clear the mess.
These unplanned breaks won’t let you concentrate and instead waste your time. The same applies when you are in your room. Your bed should not be crammed with the contents from the wardrobe, etc.
Conclusion
Preparing for an exam requires special arrangements and settings. There should be no distractions, and the surroundings should be clean. Also, you must consider the most productive study mode; is it a lone study or a group session? And finally, make sure you don’t rely on a marathon study session.