Study Tips

[Guest treble charged]

OK, I have an exam tonight (in about 5 hours), and I haven't really studied for it, at all.

 

Does anyone have any tips or advice on good ways to cram a month's worth of information into my head in 4 hours, or so?

 

Thanks.

[Guest Flyboy]

You should have taken Cornell notes.

[Guest Lord of The Curry]

Call the school and threaten it with terrorist attacks if the exam goes through.......

[Guest Flyboy]

Silly, LOTC. There's Caller ID.

 

Oh wait, you Canadians haven't stumbled upon that invention yet.

[Guest treble charged]

Yeah, it's not like we INVENTED THE TELEPHONE, or anything.

[Guest goodhelmet]

read the first entence of every paragraph and every highlighted definition. hope you retain whatever is in there. and get off the computer. no good can come of reading this board.

[Guest Anglesault]

You could throw a rock at the school and tell them the sky is falling. It IS canada after all.

[Guest bob_barron]

How come the week before finals they have to have stuff on TV I need to watch??

 

Stupid hockey...

[Guest papacita]

Whenever I need to cram, I just read through my old notes and take notes on those in another book so that I can remember the info better. It gets to be a big waste of paper at times, but it works for me.

[Guest Kotzenjunge]

no good can come of reading this board.

And that's a SHOOT, BRUTHA!!! He's right, coming here is the worst thing to do when you're trying to do something else.

 

See: Patrick and his Tough Enough recaps.

 

Fo sheez,

Kotzenjunge

[Guest AM The Kid]

Silly Americans...

 

I use Papacitas method.

[Guest EricMM]

No more smarkboard until you're done /severe

 

Otherwise you will never be done. Just one more check to see if someone replied. Just one more...

 

You junky. You make me sick.

[Guest the pinjockey]

Studying is overrated anyway.

[Guest Ace309]

I was always a big fan of read/writing till 3 AM, taking a two-hour nap and then finishing before class. The nap REALLY helped.

[Guest DJ Jeff]

My advice is simple....

 

Get off the computer. It can't be helping that you're on here, when you should be studying for a big test. Will TSM help you become a lawyer? Highly unlikely. [/parent mode]

 

Seriously, just highlight the important stuff. That's what I do anyways.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

I usually study when I'm high. Aids in relaxation, so info sticks a little better. It works for me, anyway.

[Guest welshjerichomark]

drink lots of coffee and take a couple of paracetamols, that'll help you concerntrate

[Guest EricMM]

are those even legal in the states?

 

A name that long, it's gotta be good!

[Guest ElectricRaccoon]

I usually study when I'm high. Aids in relaxation, so info sticks a little better. It works for me, anyway.

I find the problem with that to be whatever you gain in focus, you lose in retention.

 

My suggestion - rather than going the normal route of studying with music/the tv/etc. on, study in absolute silence for 50 minutes of each hour, then take a ten minute break. This lets everything settle, but keeps your focus in one place while you're actually dealing with the material.

 

Also, while you study, WRITE. This helped me a LOT in undergrad - make summary notes of your notes while you study, then make summary notes OF your summary notes when you read over them. My usual ratio was 50-10-3, in that for every 50 pages of notes I had, I'd make 10 pages of summary notes while studying them, then condense those down to 3 pages of essentials (particularly definitions/lists/arguments/etc. that need to be memorized exactly). Then read the last batch of summary notes 1-2 more times (this doesn't take long), and everything is ETCHED. Something about the mechanics of writing combined with the fact that summarizing involves more engagement of the material than just reading, I guess.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

I go crazy buck wild with a highlighter, usually. Depends on the subject. I usually take lots of notes as well, though.