SecondaryExams BrainSkillsReference Desk Menu |
Exam Cram StrategyMake Choices Don’t attempt to learn everything when you decide to cram. Pick out a couple of important elements and memorize them until they are engraved in your brain. Sometimes choosing the more important elements can be hard. Work with a classmate. You may want to go over everything. Don’t. You won’t remember any of it during the exam. For example, you can spend most of your time on topic sentences, charts, and tables in a large reading assignment. Seventy five percent of your time should be spent memorizing and drilling the material into your brain; only twenty five percent on learning new material. Form a Plan Cramming is always done when you’re out of time. All the more reason to form a plan of action. Decide what you want to study, determine how much time you’ve got, and set goals and deadlines for yourself. It’s easy to panic or get frustrated and dive right in. Forming a plan can save you time and allow you to work faster. Flash Cards and Mindmaps Take the material you have chosen and make mindmaps. Try recreating the mindmaps. Choose a few elements from your mindmaps to put on flash cards. Drill yourself with the flashcards. Recite, Recite, Recite The idea of cramming is repetition. Repeating and reciting can carve facts into your brain better than any other method of studying. Try tape-recording yourself while you practice. Then play the tape as you fall asleep and as you wake up. Say out loud what you have chosen to study until you are sure you will be able to remember it. Relax, Relax, Relax Because you don’t learn material as well when you cram, you are more likely to forget it during the exam. Try relaxation both before and during your exam to reduce stress.
Credits |
