“X.Com.” X (Formerly Twitter), x.com/ayunoko/status/1369986555075461129. Accessed 3 Dec. 2024. 

By: Valerie Tang

As exam approaches, students are facing the pressure of preparing for what many consider a crucial moment in their academic journey. Whether it’s about preparing for an upcoming test or quiz, midterms or exam for a certain subject, these pieces of paper bring a mix of excitement and anxiety. However, with the right preparation and planning out your time wisely to review concepts, you are able to succeed. Many students regret how they used their time, and think about what they should’ve done right after they have taken it, rather than before. In order to avoid this from happening, here are some of the best strategies you can use.

  1. Planning ahead of time

I personally think that this is by far the most important of all, due to the fact that every individual learns at a different pace and in order for them to memorize all the concepts, planning out your time and having time management is crucial. Some ways to incorporate this is:

  1. figuring roughly how long does it take for you to memorize concepts
  2. having a calendar ready to mark down which days you are going to study certain subjects and colour-coordinate it to keep it organized and clean
  3. once the planning is done, be sure to at least give yourself one week in advance to review so that you may feel confident in your exam preparations

Studying effectively

Many students make the mistake of studying all of their notes they took in class, rather than the key concepts of that subject. This leads to wasting time and not studying what is on that test, which can lead to getting a mark you are not proud of. Some ways to avoid this situation is:

  1. Ask your teacher what will be expected on the test and what you can do to prepare for it.
  2. Highlight key concepts that you know or think would be on the exam.
  3. Look at your past quizzes or test questions and practice them for the exam so you can have a visual on how it would be formatted. 

Review

Imagine studying for hours a day, and taking your exam but end up receiving a bad mark because you couldn’t memorize all of the content when you were studying. To avoid this scenario from happening you can study one subject/content one day, and the following day review the key information and study for a different subject, continue this cycle until the last day of the week and at the end you can summarize everything you have studied.

For example:

Monday – Geography

Tuesday – review geography and study math

Wednesday – review geo, math and study for religion

Thursday – review geo, math, and religion, while studying for English

Friday – Review or study any concepts you are still not familiar with

Saturday to Sunday – Review

As you review a certain subject each day as the week goes on, you will eventually understand the information better, which can lead to less time focusing on that subject and can give you more time to review for other subjects you are not as familiar with.

 This can help ensure that you understand what you learned during those study sessions doesn’t go to waste, and that you may prepare efficiently for the exam, test or quiz.  

These are just a few examples of ways to prepare efficiently for a quiz, test or exam, and I personally think that these are the key foundations to building up a good study habit. Remember that everyone is different and learns at a different pace, as well as find different study strategies to be more efficient than others. Additionally, in order to keep up these habits, it is important to take breaks so your mind can rest and come back with clarity, ensuring that you remember all the information you have learned and reviewed.