How To Prepare For Exams? Our Guide Here!

Why Prepare For Incoming Exams?

Exam season has arrived. Students everywhere are scrambling to prepare for their exams. Some students are even rushing to buy study materials.

Studying for exams is the perfect time to get the most out of your study sessions. Why?

You can take advantage of the fact that you know what the exam will be about and you know every topic and how it is related to one another.

Thus, you can apply what you know and you don’t have to learn things you don’t need for the exam.

You can focus more on the books and less on the preparation. While studying for an exam is essential, there are other ways to prepare for the upcoming exams.

In this article, we will tackle all information how you can prepare for exams. 

Let’s start!

10 Ways to prepare for Exams

Exams are a necessary evil. They are part of life and everyone has to go through them at least once in their lifetime.

However, preparation for exams can be both stressful and frustrating.

If you are preparing for an exam, then you should follow these steps to ensure that you get the best possible result.

Steps to follow:  

1) Get a good night’s sleep – You should have a good night’s sleep as long as possible. This helps develop focus and enhances brain functioning.

You may not believe it, but lack of sleep can cause many problems, including stress, anxiety and depression.

Thus, if you want to clear your mind and increase productivity during the day, sleeping early would be beneficial.

Try to schedule some quality rest after 7 pm or earlier. This way, you can enjoy better results with fewer errors.

2) Eat well and stay hydrated – Make sure you eat enough food throughout the week. Even though you might feel like skipping breakfast because you have no energy, try to make up for it by eating something healthy before bedtime.

If your body lacks nutrients, it won’t function while trying to memorise everything. Also, drink plenty of water throughout the day so that you do not become dehydrated.

Dehydration causes fatigue, which makes you lose concentration. Drinking water could help boost your memory power.

3) Avoid distractions- Distractions kill our brain’s ability to keep new knowledge. It also affects our attention span.

Therefore, avoid using social media apps when studying. Instead, use free applications like Evernote. These tools allow you to create notes from websites and documents.

4) Stay organised – When organising your studies, keep a tab on where you put your stuff. Organising your material helps you find important items faster.

Organise your notes according to topics. That way, you can access anything without wasting precious minutes searching for the right thing.

5) Create a timetable – Having a proper structure works wonders. A timetable allows you to prioritise different activities and projects.

6) Study only one subject per time – It is recommended to divide your study into small chunks so that you can deal with smaller subjects instead of cramming several topics at once.

7) Prioritise learning – In order to maximise your effectiveness, list down the most crucial concepts first. Then work on those concepts until you master them.

Once you reach mastery level, move onto next set of concepts. Don’t forget to review previous lessons too. The key here is consistency. Always remember that repetition is the mother of perfection.

8) Use flashcards – Flashcards are used to test yourself over a period of days. By reviewing your words, you will learn them even without spending much effort.

This method will improve your speed in remembering information since there is less chance of forgetting what’s written on the card.

9) Rehearse tests – Before taking an actual examination, rehearse how you plan to answer each potential exam question. Doing so will eliminate unnecessary mistakes and save you valuable time. Practice answering many practice questions: multiple choice, true/false, and quick answers.

10) Give feedback to others – Giving constructive criticism improves communication skills.

When is the best time to study?

One of the most hard parts of being a student is choosing the right time to study. Often, it is very hard to get started, which is also very frustrating. This can be quite worrying.

It depends upon your own condition. Some people prefer morning hours, whereas some go out late at night or early in the morning.

However, I would recommend starting earlier than 6 AM as soon as possible.

Also note that it may be difficult to concentrate during midnight due to lack of sleep. You should try waking up before sunrise if you want to get excellent results.

It’s important to avoid getting too wrapped up in study materials, especially when you’re still learning how to study. The answer to the best time to study is somewhere in the middle.

What is the best studying method?

• Do homework every night

I know it sounds weird, but doing homework every day pays off. You should always be prepared for unexpected situations during exam time.

This means you must prepare ahead a bit of time. Therefore, if you need to leave home earlier than usual or wake up early because of unforeseen circumstances, then you shouldn’t procrastinate in completing assignments.

Try asking someone who has already passed their exams to give you some helpful tips on preparing for upcoming ones. ask about any tricks they may suggest as well.

• Try to understand why it matters

Learning just for sake will not get you anywhere. Understand why certain things matter before putting forth efforts to memorise them.

• Be consistent

As mentioned above, consistency is very vital in succeeding in exams. If you want to achieve success, then stick to the same schedule every day.

Make sure you don’t skip classes because you’re not feeling well. Also, make sure you have enough sleep. Lack of sleep leads to poor concentration, which results in lower grades.

Also, try not to waste money buying books when you could read online versions. Try reading articles related to the topic rather than books.

Reading from different sources helps expand your knowledge base. Use type of notes apps such as Notability Notebook to jot down important points while reading.

• Keep track of progress

A good way to keep track of where you stand right now would use note-taking software like Evernote.

There are many benefits to having a notebook app; however, the major benefit lies in its ability to help students organise ideas better.

• Learn by heart

Memorising facts doesn’t mean understanding them. Understanding requires practice, whereas memorisation involves rote memory recall.

So, do exercises daily where you repeat lines out loud.

What to Avoid before Exam?

You can never learn everything and there will always be something new to learn. However, these exact questions might seem irrelevant at first, but they hold all the answers.

Some common mistakes include:

• Not trying hard enough.
• Trying to cram information into short spans of time of day without spending adequate amounts of study time frame reviewing what was learned.
• Being overly confident.
• Failing to maintain proper hygiene.
• Lack of focus.
• Anxiety.
• Stay away from caffeine and alcohol.

What to do During Examination?  

Here’s a list of things one should remember during an examination session:

1. Breathe

Deep breathing helps calm yourself down and reduces nervousness. Try doing slow deep breaths through nose and mouth 2x per minute. This technique calms anxious minds.

2. Concentrate 

Distractions lead to failure. Therefore, focus on the task at hand. Remember, “If you don’t know something, ask someone else”.

If possible, discuss extra questions with friends/classmates beforehand. Ask them to answer those follow up question instead. Never, ever leave the room until the test ends.

3. Relax

Never panic because you got distracted. Panic leads nowhere. Instead, think positive thoughts like “You have done well in previous exams” or “This type of question was easy”.

4. Keep moving

Sitting still makes you tense up which affects concentration. Move often as sitting still for longer periods causes fatigue. Walk around now and then. Also, stretch your legs throughout the day.

 Helpful Tips

There is no perfect way to prepare for exams. However, there are some steps that can be taken to help you prepare for your exam.

Here are some useful tips:

• Have a routine – Having a regular eating pattern will definitely make life easier for you during examinations. Eating healthy foods can also improve your mood while studying.

It might sound odd, but try drinking water at least two hours before taking tests. Drinking plenty of fluids keeps us hydrated, so our brain works more effectively.

• Take breaks – Don’t study continuously without stopping for even 5 minutes. Taking short breaks allows you to rest and relax.

When you feel tired, take a break and walk around for 10 minutes. Walking increases oxygen flow to parts of your body that require attention.

However, avoid walking too much after class, especially if you haven’t studied properly. Worrying about how long you walked won’t change anything.

• Listen to music – Music has proven extra repeatedly to provide relief to exam nerves. You can listen to any kind of music or playlist – pop songs and classical pieces.

The best part is it does not disturb other people around who may try to concentrate on their own studies.

• Exercise regularly- Regular exercise improves overall health, including mental performance. Go to gym 3 times a week. Even 15 mins of moderate physical activity every day can reduce stress.