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Study tips to get you exam-ready

Civil engineering major, Sheick Traore, studies for exam. Lilly Kujawski | Washtenaw Voice

By Catherine Engstrom-Hadley
Staff Writer

Final exams are on the horizon for most students. That means it’s time to break out the books and get to work. WCC students lead busy lives and balancing a full load of course information can be tricky. We talked to local psychologists about the best ways to get your brain ready for exams.

1) Over-study: read your chapters two the three times. Review your notes a few times. The brain retains more information when it is repeated.

2) Sleep and eat: Get a good night’s sleep, at least six hours but ideally eight. Eat a healthy breakfast or lunch before your exam. These things seem like no brainers, but for those who like to burn the midnight oil before an exam, switching up this behavior might prove beneficial to your grade.

3) Use study breaks: After 45 minutes, your brain will struggle to focus and make retaining information harder. Take a 15-minute study break once an hour during your study sessions.

4) Priming: Write about some the of subjects you studied on the test. Writing a few lines of the most important information will help connect the information in your mind. Priming is best used right before an exam.

5) Mnemonic Devices: Most people remember “Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge”. Create your own acronyms for your study material.

6) Keep a positive attitude: A positive attitude towards math created a better performance in the subject of math, according to a recent study from Stanford Medicine. Apply this to your own test taking. The researchers found that the positive attitude acts directly on the memory and learning systems in one’s brain.

7) Interweave subjects: The American Psychological Association recommends mixing up your subject material, instead of sitting down night of just one subject. Making connections between the material can be very helpful for memorization.

8) Practice Chunking: create a group of words you need to memorize, then create groups (or chunks) of words from the list to quiz yourself. Write them down without looking back. Chunking is a great way to memorize a large group of words or terms you need to memorize for an exam.