Preparing for university examinations is often feared and dreaded among university students. However, exams have a poor reputation as sources of stress and poor performance because students fail to follow proven tips and techniques.
Studying for University Exams in the Right Environment
University students often flock to the same study locations to prepare for exams: libraries and coffee shops. Unfortunately, these study spaces become social gathering locations during exam times and can prove distracting. The volume of fellow students alone at these common study spots can increase the chance for noise. Find a quiet classroom or empty lecture theater instead.
According to The Open University, a leader in distance education in the UK, university exams have a worse reputation than deserved. The university notes that you should plan studying around the fact that students are never asked about any material not covered in the course.
Remember that instructors, teaching assistants, libraries and all other support people at the university, including family and friends, want students to succeed with exams. Instructors hope to challenge students with the exam by ensuring that course materials are well understood and remembered.
How to Ace Exams with Adequate Preparation
Do not leave exam study until the last minute. Start by gathering all notes, books and other course materials in order by lecture or unit. Draw up a timetable starting at least two weeks before the exam with two-hour study blocks. Stick to the schedule and ensure these are times of day when you are the most fresh, rested and alert.
Studying for exams can sometimes seem like an exercise in memory work. Open University, however, notes that exams are designed to test understanding and ideas. Spending precious exam study time remembering lists of facts and figures can, as a result, just distract students from truly absorbing the concepts and theories.
Open University also notes the importance of checking your handwriting skills. Most students rarely write and take lecture notes on laptops. Practice with a past examination to ensure handwriting is readable and fast.
Top Exam Marks Happen with Clear Writing, Grammar
During the exam, map out your answers on scratch paper to help clarify thinking. Use key terms from the course, correct punctuation and spelling. Poor grammar and spelling mistakes distracts exam markers from essential points that equal marks.
Athabasca University, Canada’s largest online university, identifies essential steps to reducing exam anxiety. For example, the university notes that effective studying means that university students who write exams successfully do not cram the night before and instead, plan for 50-minute study sessions followed by five to 10-minute breaks.
Keeping a healthy lifestyle during exams periods, if not throughout the school year, includes regular sleep, exercise and keeping positive thoughts.
Prepare for University Exams by Checking Details
Make sure exam information is accurate. Double-check the exam time, location and length. Find out if calculators, books or other materials can be brought into the exam.
Upgrade your attitude by planning to do something special as a post-exam celebration including going to a movie or out with friends and family. A good attitude during exams means having rational, instead of irrational thinking. Interrupt negative thoughts by reassuring yourself about your ability to succeed.
Exam-taking strategies are critically important. At the exam, read the instructions completely and quickly survey each page of the exam. Reread the instructions and answer the easiest questions first to guarantee marks in the least amount of time. This strategy also increases confidence to answer the harder questions. Breathe.
Preparing for a university exam can be a student’s chance to shine. Preparing by mapping out a study schedule at least two weeks before exam day, learning all the course material and finding quiet study space are just a few keys to success.
Shelley Aylesworth-Spink - Shelley Aylesworth-Spink has worked in support of communications, marketing and advertising for nearly 25 years in the private and public ...
