What is the best way to study for a final?

Question

This is for a social psych class at my college. The exam is 90 questions - 60 new and 30 (multi choice) from the rest of the semester - we covered 11 chapters in the book and have lecture notes -- the exam is Thursday at 1pm -- what do you think is the most effective way to study so i don't waste time -- besides being on yahoo answers!

:-)

thanks!!!!!!

Answer 1

Best way is to gather a study group.

Don't just read your lecture notes, re-write them, discuss amongst your study group, and teach one another.

This method has the best retention rate, studies have proved this true.

Answer 2

If you're in my same time zone, then you've already taken your exam. I hope you did well.

But for future exams, here's my advice:

The most important thing is to study as you go throughout the semester, as much as you can. Review your notes at the end of each week. Read all the assignments and highlight things that sound like good test questions.

Something I've been doing lately is recording myself on tape reading either the notes, study guide, or book, and then listening to it when I get the chance. I commute so I listen to it in the car. That's time that you normally would not spend studying that you can utilize by this method. And you'd be amazed at how much hearing your own voice saying the stuff can help you remember it.

Usually when a test is cumulative, the newest material will be tested in far more detail than the earlier material. So concentrate on the new material, but just go over the main points of the old. They don't have time to test you in detail on the old stuff. So just have a good general knowledge of that stuff.

You can put vocabulary words or concepts on index cards and quiz yourself, or even put these somewhere like the bathroom where you can see it frequently and learn it without any extra effort.

There's a little book called "Where there's a will there's an A" that has some really good ideas in it, especially for multiple choice questions and things like that. If you find it, I recommend it.

Answer 3

First of all each final is going to be different. The best way to start off is to go to each teacher and find out exactly what is on each final and their formats. The classes where you have the most borderline grades are the classes to focus most on. For math classes the best way to study is simple to do a lot of practice problems, especially retaking tests, because normally the final will be written by the same teacher that wrote the tests throughout the year. Any history or social science classes are simply a matter of time spent reviewing the material. The most practical thing to do would be to reread all the text but that is very unlikely to happen. So if you took notes from the actual text and class lectures, review that material. Again, retake and study previous tests because that is the most help full resource. And as a previous high school student I found that most of my finals were multiple and matching. So make sure you know all of the vocabulary in English and foreign language classes. In classes such as math and science that you need to know specific formulas and equations make sure you know these very well by either memorizing or if the class allows to have a cheat sheet on the final, make sure to spend a lot of time making a valuable and useful sheet. The ting i found is that making the cheat sheet is a very effective way of studying and you end up not using the sheet as much as you intend to, but it is still important to have an effective one so you know how to easily find the information if you need to during the test. For time management it depends on the person, if you are a person that likes to sit down ad master something you should just take a day or weekend for a subject and master it completely by spend all day mastering the material. Then sometimes it is better to learn the material over a long period of time. So make sure before finals begin you make a calendar that has a detailed study plan, that has the days of the exams and then the classes you need to do the best on. The classes you need to do the best on are the classes you need to focus the most on to master the material before entering the exam.

Answer 4

I am in nursing school so I know how you feel about all the chapters that you have to study at once. I find that the times I make the best grades on my test are when I didn't wait until the last minute to study. You don't necessarily have to study with a group, you can study alone. What alot of the nursing students I go to school with do is to read over all your notes every day before the test. When you look over them every day it can get monotonous but it drums the information into your head! You also do the questions in the book or any questions that the teacher gave out pertaining to the issues. I know this helps because I wasn't studying this way at the begining of the semester and I was making c's but then I tried this and i made an A on my test!!

Answer 5

I'm hoping this test is next Thursday or I'm answering this in vain.

I've found that the best way I learn is to review old tests. I'm talking tests you've taken, quizzes, end of chapter review questions, and a lot of texts now have "practice exams" online that can prepare you for the real thing.

Don't cheat, ask the professor if there are any previous tests that you can look at to gauge the difficulty of the questions.

Take these practice tests without studying at all, this will let you know where your strong and weak areas are. Focus first on your weakest areas; look up every question you missed from a certain chapter, and retake the review of that chapter ONLY. Once you feel confident you know the material, move forward.

Do this for every chapter, or "module" if the chapter are grouped together, and when you are done re-take the entire practice test (hopefully one with different questions). Repeat the process until you feel good about your knowledge. I have had a lot of success with this method, bringing my initial scores of 68% on the practice exams to high nineties on the actual exam.

Good Luck!!!

Answer 6

If you got your answers back from the rest of the semester, look them over for the 30 multi choice questions. Only spend a couple hours at most on this, it's just a refresher on what you already have been tested on. Read all of your notes, and any notes the proffessor may have given out/posted on the web. In your main text book, read everything in those chapters that is in bold, or made to stick out above everything else first. Then if you have time, read a little more in every section. Skim it, if you can. Make sure you get at least 6 hours of sleep. 8 is better. That's just a side note, though. Skim over everything about an hour before you go into the test. Make sure you are calm and ready before you enter the class room. And you should do just fine.
Hope this helps, and you do well on your test tomorrow!

Answer 7

It was better if you studied right after each lecture for about 30 and if you were to read the chapters before going to lecture. That way you wouldnt be so lost. Right now if you are trying to cram everything in one day you should have a study group. You guys should make your own test. That way you guys make your own questions based on the class which makes it easier if you see a similar question on the test. The night before the test try studying for three hours and then wake up early in the morning to review everything that you have studied. Have a good lunch so you wont be thinking of food during the test =). Right before the test once again review all your notes. Remember, The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will.

Answer 8

Well first off study habits are something that should have been developed long before you entered college. but putting that aside, a multiple guess exam are among the easiest. Usually there are 4 choices and just by logical deduction you can eliminate 2 answers and make your choice a 50:50 chance rather than a 1 in 4 chance. By the way, the best time to study is in the morning after waking up...and not with a hangover. the brain has more glucose in the AM and that help to promote memory function. Good Luck.

Answer 9

I might be late in answering this, but here goes.

How to study:

First: Don't wait until the last minute to study. You should give yourself a week or more in advance of studying. Most of the time cramming doesn't work, and it's not efficient enough. Don't study everything at once. Sit down for an hour and look over your notes. Write them out again. If you must, write them three or five times each. After an hour take a ten minute break to refresh your mind.

Second: Go back to your studies. Select the first chapter that will be on the final. Read the chapter and take your own notes. Try to think of what could be on the final. Write your notes in the form of questions and answer them. After an hour, take another ten minute break. Attempt two chapters per day if you can. If you must aim for three. But don't overstudy. By this I mean, don't study so much in one day for hours on end, with no breaks. It will only hurt your chances.

Get away from anything distractive. This includes television, music, people, animals, telephones, computers; anything that could prevent you from studying.

Try to eat well. Limit yourself from foods high in sugar and high in caffeinated substances.

Get plenty of rest. Don't attempt to study if you're tired. Take a short nap first if you're tired, then allow about ten minutes to regenerate your process of thinking.

Above all, don't slack off.

Answer 10

Did your instructor base most prior exam questions from the lecture or from the text? If from lecture, I would put my focus there. I find that studying a little each day for a final is the best way. You won't feel so overwhelmed as you would if you wait to study at the last minute. Also, one little hint, sometimes if you look back through the final as you are taking it you may find some answers to one question by reading some of the other questions. I'm sure if you have been successful at your other exams then you will be fine on this one. Good Luck! Happy Holidays!

Answer 11

Skim through the chapters and go over the major summary points. Make sure you study every single day because the brain learns over time, not by cramming. Get lots of sleep TWO nights in advance not necessarily the night before because our bodies operate on sleep from 2 days prior. Do not cram! This will actually hurt you. The day of the test get a good breakfast and take some chocolate with you. Eat the chocolate 2-5 minutes before the test starts, this will increase your awareness. Also, when you receive the test do not look at it right away. Do a breathing exercise where you take in a breath and breath out twice as long as you breathed in. Wait for a minute then start the test. These are all nontraditional ways of studying and preparing that have helped me over the 5 years as a professional student :)