what's a good way of studying for finals?

Question

i have trouble studying affectivley for tests, and i get very nervous.
any ideas?

Answer 1

First of all, if your teacher gives you a review sheet, use it! Fill it out COMPLETELY and study from it. Review sheets are almost always incredibly useful (there are only a very few, cruel teachers who don't test on what they say they will on the review sheet), and often you even get extra credit on the exam for turning them in. In fact, if the teacher mentions anything (like reading an extra book and writing a summary of it) you can do to get extra credit on an exam, do it, even if you don't think you'll need it...it doesn't hurt!
After that, what to do to study depends on the class. For math classes, it's usually useful to go go back over other tests, quizzes and homework problems and work through them again. If you don't have a ton of time, do the problems from tests and quizzes first, and if there's a particular problem you have difficulty with, figure out what section of the book it came from and do some of the homework problems related to that section, too. Also, only work through problems that you have access to the answer for (it does you know good to work through a problem and then have no idea if you got it right). I know this seems obvious, but it's a good idea to check before you start studying (e.g. if your textbook gives answers to odd problems in the back, only do odd problems).
For a history exam, look back over the notes you made in class (hopefully you've been taking notes!). If your notes aren't great, look back through the textbook...re-read it if you have time, and if not, skim it, but pay attention to vocabulary words, important people, and important dates. In fact, make a list (or even make flashcards) of vocab words, people, and dates, and study that list!
For an english exam, this sort of depends on what the exam is like. If it's going to be a vocab exam, or have a vocab section, make flashcards of all the words and study them. If it's going to be an essay, do as many practice essays as you can. Your teacher will probably give you practice essays in class, so work on those seriously and then ask him/her for feedback. If he/she doesn't give a lot of practice essays, or if you feel like you could still use more practice, talk to your teacher and ask for another essay to practice on. If the exam is going to be about a book or a play you're supposed to have read, then actually read the book/play, and pay attention to what's going on! Make a list of major characters and make sure you understand who they are and what their role in the story is. Sparknotes.com is a really good resource for preparing for exams on books, but it shouldn't be your only resource! Read the book first, and then go to sparknotes and review the major characters and themes of the book, and look over the summary of the plot. If there are any characters or any incidents listed on sparknotes that you can't remember, look back through the book and read through them again.
For a foreign language exam, make flashcards of vocabulary words and practice them OVER AND OVER AND OVER. If you know someone who's a native speaker of the language, ask them if you can spend a few hours practicing with them (but try to ask well before the exam so they'll have more time to fit you into their schedule). Otherwise, pratice speaking the language with a friend or two from the class (but no more than a few friends, or else it'll turn into a party instead of a study group!). Set a timer for ten minutes and only speak in that language for ten minutes. See if you can do it.
Finally, start studying for your exams as much in advance as you can. Sometimes life is so busy that this can't be until, like, the weekend before, but try to avoid putting it off until the very night before. Instead, start studying a few days before, study the evening before, but don't stay up too late. Once it's bedtime, tell yourself you've done all that you can, you've worked hard, you're well-prepared, and now you're going to sleep. And then get a goodnight's sleep. Good luck!

Answer 2

Just read all of the material at least once all the way through. Make sure you comprehend and understand it as you go before moving on. Don't wait until the last minute if you can help it, it just adds to the pressure. The day before and the day of the final go over the chapters, skimming the material, focusing on the bold lettered terms and margin topics. Read the chapter summaries. Try and understand what you're reading, not simply memorizing. Good Luck.

Answer 3

Be with a friend and do flash cards, they help, just keep doing it for about 20 minutes or so. Try other methods for example ask someone to quiz you on what you are gonna be quizzed on, like a pretest.

Answer 4

Do not "over study" trying to cram too much in for a long period of time.The brain is like our eyes, after too much use they become fuzzy. Take breaks to give your mind a relaxing time and then go back to it, refresh your mind

Answer 5

First, relax. Second, don't cram everything in one night, study for about fifteen to twenty minutes every night. Create your own study guide.