It’s that time of the semester again. Yes, that’s right, one of the most dreaded periods in school (exams period) is here and no matter how much some of you are not tempted to kill yourselves for it, y’all need to snap out of it and study for your parents.
It’s no secret that the University requires a whole lot of studying which is why we’re bombarded with lots of reading materials for our various courses. To bost your lecturers’ brains, or at least pass without a re-sit, you need to be smart to study effectively and this can be a challenge especially for the procrastinators, who are yet to start studying for exams.
However, with the right tips and tricks, you can combat your study woes. Here are a few you can try out:
Find your zone
Find out which place you study best. Everyone has their perfect studying environment. For some, it’s a quiet reading room while others prefer the bustle of pubs. Some like to study in their rooms, and others need complete silence. Try out different locations if you still haven’t figured that out, to know which works best for you. Oh and if you’re the “study with music” type of person, look for a fire playlist that will keep you awake for as long as you need to study.
Stay organized
Keep a detailed study timetable that advantageously correlates with your exams timetable. Get it? Make study arrangement on your timetable so that you’d have enough study hours for every course. More hours for very demanding ones and enough hours for the ones you think you’re conversant with. Also, organize your study materials. This is probably the time to photocopy the notes you don’t have, get all those reading materials that are mandatory for the course, or take pictures of your friend’s past questions you refused to buy.
Start studying difficult courses now
By now you should already know the courses that may probably kick your butt if you slack. Everyone has that course they dread or even at this point, have no idea what the course is about. Yes that one, start studying it now. Familiarize yourself with it early so that it doesn’t look like an encoded message when you try to study or cram everything in the last minute. We hate to break it to you but it won’t work! Sorry.
Make good notes
You’ll be marvelled at the correlation between good notes and good study habits. However, this doesn’t come naturally to everyone. The key is to write down KEY points while studying or in class and be sure not to miss any important detail. This is necessary for when you need to revise your notes or refresh your mind without having to go through the whole textbook. And oh, highlighting too works fine for others, you could try that too.
Don’t pick a particular study shift
First of all, there isn’t enough time till exam starts. Secondly, anything can end up distracting you and wasting your study time and we can’t have that, not right now. Some students are fond of assigning particular study shifts to themselves. Like “oh I’m a night time reader” or “I study better during the day”. See scratch that! Now is not the time for picking shifts, unless of course, you’ve been reading since the semester began. If not then please, you cannot afford to do that.
It’s not for you! Study during the day as well if you’re a night reader and vice versa.
Don’t over study
For most students over studying seems impossible. But if you’re the sort of person who camps in the library, you might be doing more work than you need to. This may be due to panic but look, relax, take your time and understand what you’re reading. You need to figure out which aspects are necessary and those that aren’t, so you can just brush through or not sweat over it. Paranoia can cause you to read the appendix and glossary and trust me, now is not the time for that.
Take breaks
Because in as much as we want to avoid re-sits or grab the ‘A’s, we also cannot come and kill ourselves. Oh, really, you’ve earned it. Take a ten-minute break after about an hour of studying. It will help you stay energized and focused because the exams pressure and stress is overwhelming. This is very necessary and probably the most important of the study tips.
Try these out as you study for your papers.
All the best in your exams kuulpeeps!
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