Top 10 Study Tips | General Advice
Start early and plan well. This one seems obvious, but there are so many times when we forget about exams or tests and leave studying until the last minute. I would recommend starting to study for tests about two weeks before, and exam about 1-2 months before.
Know what kind of learner you are. Each person will retain information best when it is presented in a certain way. This includes: visual, auditorial, read and write or kinaesthetic. If you don’t know which one you are, be sure to take a quiz to find out. I will be writing posts about how to best study for each of these in the near future.
Find your motivation - what is your WHY? Why are you bothering to wake up each morning and start studying? Is it to make your parents proud? Is it so that you aren’t behind your friends? Is it because you want to get into a good university to have as many options as possible in the future? You need to know why you are studying and keep that in the back of your mind at all times.
Master time management. Time management is essential, both in the long run and on a daily basis. Use one planner to keep track of your deadlines, tasks, events and make daily to do lists of things that MUST be done that day. The key is not to overplan or underplan.
Stop procrastinating. Easier said than done, right? My advice would be to remove ALL distractions from the area where you are studying. Keep your phone, tablet, laptop, etc outside of the room. Turn off all notifications or put your phone on airplane more. Keep your room tidy so that you don’t end up reorganising or tidying when you should be studying.
Condense your notes. This will allow you to quickly review the information just before the test/exam and also on a daily basis. My preferred method of condensing is to summarise everything onto flashcards and review these every day before I fall asleep.
Practice exam papers. This is probably the most important tip anyone will ever give you. Even though there is a lot of information to learn, it is useless to you if you cannot apply it to a question. Although this is vital for all subjects, it is particularly important in Maths based subjects.
Think of the examiner. While you are studying and taking the exam, think of what the examiner will be looking for and make it easy for them to find it. In an essay, clearly highlight that you are giving an example. In a maths problem, write out what the next step is and why you are doing it.
Don’t compare yourself to ANYONE else. Everyone will revise at different speeds and in different ways. As long as you are sticking to your own plan and know that this will allow you to cover everything you need to cover, you will be fine.
Know when to stop and take a break. As important as studying is, you can’t do it 24/7. Knowing when to take a short 5-minute break is just as important as knowing when to give yourself a few hours/days off. Obviously, you don’t want to be taking breaks every time you find something a bit more difficult or you get distracted, but when you can tell that the studying is not productive.
