Studying for Exams: Dos & Don’ts

Posted on Wednesday, December 9th, 2015

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We know how stressful exams can be. Counsellor John Muldoon, of Counselling Services, has offered various resources and methods of studying to help students achieve their best potential. To enhance your studying experience, John provided these simple guidelines:

Do…

Choose your study environment carefully.

A well-lit, open area, with an upright chair is most beneficial. On campus there are several study-friendly locations: the AC Hub (E217) offers study pods and writable walls for group collaborations, Silent Study rooms (A118, E210) offer peace and quiet, and the Library (C205) offers multiple study resources, as well as a silent study area in the back of the space.

Regulate your study time.

Study for 25minute intervals, stopping to take 5minute breaks. Over the course of several days, this method allows your brain to transfer all the info from short-term to long-term memory.

Review for 15 minutes at the end of each day.

Write down key points or important lessons from each class that day. By doing this, you are more likely to remember this information later when studying, or while writing your exams, plus you can use these notes for a quick review!

Create a study plan.

Break up your course material into visible sections. Once they are separated, make a schedule of which chunks will be studied today, tomorrow, and so on. This method optimizes study sessions by breaking large chunks of course material down into manageable study portions.

Don’t…

Study in bed!

Your bed is one of the worst places to study. The brain is hardwired for sleep in the bedroom. Translation? You are more likely to nod off than you are to actually absorb study materials. Similarly, studying in bed can make it more difficult to sleep – you may find yourself restless, thinking about school. Poor sleeping patterns also affect your ability to learn, and decrease attention necessary for functioning the next day.

Study late at night.

Our brains cannot run at 100% all day long. Studying efficiency diminishes at night, especially after midnight. You may finish that assignment or those study notes at 3am, however the quality of work will not be the same as if you had completed the work at 3pm instead.

Pull all-nighters.

Last-minute cram sessions don’t allow your brain the time to transfer information from short-term to long-term memory. Short study sessions, over a period of time, are proven to be more effective when studying, and storing information. You wouldn’t work out at the gym for 7 hours the day before you run a marathon, similarly don’t cram 7 hours the night before a big exam.

The above was adapted from the AC Hub Newsletter, a monthly publication produced by Student Services.


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