preparation for exams for 500, Alex.

Preparing for an exam can be a number of things and fun is not one of them. People have always told me not to cram the night before a test, but for some reason I always end up doing it. I really do feel that cramming is my biggest weakness in the realm of academics. There are many tactics to prevent this, but all it really comes down to is pure motivation.

Preparing for an exam is like a cooking recipe. It takes time and each step is extremely important. For me the steps include, making a study guide (usually utilizing the 20 minute technique over the course of a week), usually reading through the textbook and comparing it with the lecture notes, and finally anticipating test questions. This process usually takes me a total of around two weeks; so cramming it in the night before, while it is possible is not my idea of a good time.

Recently I started to use jeopardy notes. I was really intrigued by this for many reasons. One of them being that I am a visual learner. The action I took was to go through all my lecture notes and ask questions that were based on both abstract information as well as the bolded terms. The page is then folded in the middle, with the questions on one side and the answers on the other. The material I used it for was my Sport Management class because I have an exam this week on a good amount of information. I would say that this is a good technique because as I mentioned before I am a visual learner so seeing the answers and questions separately and right in front of me really does aid me. Jeopardy notes work even better for me when they are complemented by the 20 minute test prep. This is because when I use the 20 minute test prep I take a lot of information from the textbook and notes. When I use the jeopardy notes I usually cut out all of the extraneous information. Also, for some reason when I write things down I also remember them a lot better.

Preparing for tests undoubtedly can cause a good amount of anxiety. However, when it is done right you should go into your exams feeling confident, and you should actually be anxious to take the test because you know you are going to do well on it. Preparation for exams is something you cannot cut corners with, it is imperative to find out what techniques work for you and then you must execute them to a t.