Get Ready for Finals

• Avoid cramming by planning ahead

• Cramming is only useful as a last resort

• Regularly spaced study periods are the most effective way to learn

1. Plan your time wisely.

• Gather together all of your materials for each course
• Identify the days and times of all of your exams
• Set Priorities (look at the relative value of the exams and your standing in the class)
• Create a daily study plan, budgeting your time based upon your priorities and your level of prior preparation.

2. Plan and organize the content areas you need to study.

• Set priorities for the material you need to study
• Identify what source of information will most likely be covered on the final
• Survey your notebook, textbook, past tests, study guides, other handouts, and syllabus
• Concentrate on the material that is most important
• Concentrate on the material that is less difficult to understand (avoid material that is very complex and time-consuming)

3. Skim over all of the material you identified.

• Create a list of the most likely topics to be covered on the final
• Use the table of contents, your highlights in the book and notes, the syllabus, ask your fellow classmates

4. Employ a learning strategy.

• Choose a study strategy that forces you to test your knowledge as it will be required on the exam; e.g., recall or recognition
• Create flashcards, a study guide, practice test questions, graphic organizers, charts, etc.

References

Information adapted from Test-Taking Power, Fred Orr and Study Strategies for College, Theodore O. Knight.