The best way to get high grades on an exam is to take your preparation period as a pre-exam. Because courses can last a few months to a whole year, you may find it difficult to make the connection between your daily homework, periodic assignments, and your final exam. To get high marks, start by recognizing that all academic work done through the semester, summer, or school year is exam studying.
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The strategies below can help you keep pace throughout the year. They will ensure exam success as well as mastery of the subject.
Set your goal
Read the course overview to understand what the course will cover and how it will be scored. Identify your goal in concrete terms and put it in writing to strengthen your resolve.
Manage your time
Time management skills can help you take control of your study workload, achieve more, and stress out less. There are many ways to make time work with you, instead of against you. Purchase an academic diary or study planner. Buy one which provides a week-at-a-glance or a month-at-a-glance view, so you can get a holistic view of the time you have available. Find out assignment due dates and quiz/test/exam dates and mark them in your study planner in advance. This way you’ll be able to avoid social commitments during pre-exam periods. Minimize distractions and keep your priorities straight. Focus on your goal of getting the highest marks possible. Schedule social activities around your study schedule and not vice-versa! Remember this is not only an academic challenge, it is your job in life right now. Make it a successful and enjoyable year!
Identify your learning style
Take a learning style assessment test and find out if you are a visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learner. This self-knowledge can help you make more effective use of your time. Remember, your learning style may be quite different from that of family members and friends. Adapting your study method to suit your own natural style will enable you to produce powerful results in less time.
Develop a study plan
For each course, figure out how much time you will need to spend outside of class, in order to keep up and in order to do well. Plan a study schedule that allows you to stay in control of the academic workload.
Keep up with reading
Particularly in college or university, staying up-to-date in terms of your reading is critical to your success. When you attend a lecture without having completed the required reading, you lose a valuable opportunity to add to your understanding.
Develop effective note-taking techniques
A variety of note-taking styles can help you record key information and see the bigger picture in terms of the subject matter. Good note-taking strategies can help you make the most of the time spent reading from textbooks and attending classes.
Attend classes regularly
Be an active learner. Attend lectures regularly and participate whenever possible. The interaction will help you to remember more than if you sit passively in class, dreaming of other things.
Work with concentration
It’s in your interest! One hour of concentrated study is worth several hours of distracted study. If you learn how to work with concentration, you will achieve more than 95% of the population. This critical skill enables you to do more in less time and is one of the distinguishing features of super achievers around the world.
Surround yourself with learning
Create a 24-hour learning environment by putting up review charts and points where you can see them daily on mirrors, doors, fridge, bathroom, television, or bedside table. If possible, purchase a whiteboard dry erase markers, so you can test your recall by reproducing the mind maps. Use bright-colored markers, include images to trigger your memory and most of all, have fun.
Use all your intelligence
Are you aware of the concept of multiple intelligence? Do you know it does not matter how smart you are but rather how you are smart? This concept was introduced by Howard Gardiner of Harvard University. It explains the number of different ways in which a human can have intelligence and how this self-knowledge can help us live, work, and study more efficiently.
