Good students know that for exams you
have to spend time planning and plenty of time actually diving into the books.
You need to a find a good place to study and start studying for long blocks of
time. Time spent worrying or fussing doesn't help, so just dive in.
One way to make your time studying productive is to set goals. That means
when you sit down to study European history, let’s say, set a reasonable goal
that can be accomplished in one hour - "I will summarize each of the reigns of
the Louises in France and write a very rough four page fake-exam essay comparing
the kings" —then don’t get up until you are done. This will streamline your
study by making you concentrate on your work. Instead of flittering through the
entire textbook and getting nothing done in an hour or so, at the end of the
hour (or two, if it takes you longer) you will at least have learned something.
As you dive in, you may realize that your time is getting shorter—the exam that
was three weeks away last week is now less than two weeks away. At this point,
some students begin to panic. Better students find sneaky ways to fit in more
studying time:
1. If you haven’t read all your textbooks or required reading and it is too
late to catch up, read about the books, or better yet, get audio tapes.
A-students love audio tapes because they can listen to them in the car, while
brushing their teeth, or even during work. Audio tapes are a great way to
reinforce what you know and learn what you don’t. They also give your eyes a
much-needed rest.
2. If you are a freshman or sophomore taking general survey classes—history
in Europe 1500-1950, for example—get general kids’ books about these topics out
of the public library. No kidding. Children’s books have tons of illustrations
and have a handy way of just communicating the basics. In the few minutes it
will take you to read these, you will have snapped up some general knowledge
that you can put into an essay question.
3. Carry a pen and paper with you and make little notes to yourself about
your exams while you wait in line, shop, or brush your teeth.