Productive tips on how to study for exams
ABU DHABI. May 27. KAZINFORM As the academic year draws to a close and it's time for final exams, it is understandable that university students are stressed and urgency pervades their lives. This is human nature - however many times we are told, and tell ourselves, that it could have been much easier if we studied continuously throughout the term rather than trying to learn it all just before final exams, so we still end up feeling a sense of urgency and pressure until the end.
A comforting fact is that this is the case for even the most conscientious of students. Of course, the importance of exams and their ability to make or break an entire academic year for a student means that studying and revising suddenly become the most essential activity shared around the world.
Now, wouldn't it be great if there were some other way of measuring knowledge? Because, let's face it, while the system of final exams tries to ensure fairness for all examinees, it's actually not completely equitable, because people are so different. Some thrive under pressure, while for others it's just the opposite - they can be paralyzed by anxiety and unable to get excellent results despite their intelligence and great efforts.
Sadly, it's probably impossible to be equally fair to everyone, although educators do try, by presenting equal, easily assessable challenges to all students. Given that we are stuck with this arrangement for determining academic achievement, there are some ideally productive ways to deal with it all and to boost your results while limiting the cost to your mental health. Maybe the most important thing is to know yourself and your limitations; some students can write a morning exam after pulling an all-nighter studying and still do well, but others simply can't function at all without enough sleep. By university, you should know yourself well enough to have a good idea of what will and won't work for you. Accept your limitations and work within them.
Take care of your basic needs. Even if you are the type of person who can go without sleep for long periods of time, you're still better off not putting yourself in that position. Research shows that we actually lose cognitive functioning when we don't sleep enough. And the same goes for food - make sure you eat healthy food regularly. And get up from and move around every now and then. Sitting still for long hours isn't good for anybody!
Always study with a system in mind. The time you spend making up a schedule and a plan before diving in, is time well spent. Without a plan, you'll use time inefficiently and may not cover everything. With a plan, you'll have a sense of achievement from being able to track your progress.
And finally, here's a little trick I picked up when I was in school - the more muscles you use while trying to learn something, the better chance you have of remembering it. Using muscles actually lays down pathways in the brain. If you study just by reading over the material, or, worse yet, if you hope to learn just by listening, you're using hardly any muscles. Whatever you happen to remember will be just a matter of luck. Reading silently is not a good study method. Reading aloud is a bit better, but the best of all, I found, is writing. Write down everything you want to remember - just once, or several times. Your attention won't wander and the fact that you're using some muscles almost guarantees you'll remember.
Good luck to all the university students during this exam period!
Email: saudipulse@arabnews.com
Source: Arab News