To engage in effective final exam preparation, you should begin with a complete understanding of the format and content of each exam. There should be no question as to how you will be tested, or what you will be tested on. If a professor does not communicate this basic information, you are encouraged to ask the following questions in class or during your professor’s office hours:
The answers to these fundamental questions should provide direction and guidance for exam preparation.
Creating a table with the pertinent details about each final you have is a great place to start your finals preparation. In some courses you may be able to fill out most of the Finals Preparation table from the course syllabus. In other courses you will find that there are details you do not yet know about the final, which will help you to form questions similar to the ones above to ask your instructor in class or office hours.
The next step for effective test preparation is making sure that you have a comprehensive and well-organized set of notes. (For more information on notes see our Note-taking Strategies ). If you consistently take and maintain good notes for each of your courses, you are engaging in one step of final exam preparation throughout the entire semester. Notes should include key terms, definitions, examples, and paraphrasing of the author’s and professor’s ideas. It is also recommended that notes include potential exam questions, either offered by the professor or generated by you. There is a strong relationship between a student’s ability to self-test prior to and their performance on an exam. Therefore, the more time spent developing and answering potential test questions, the better you should do on the actual exam.
One possible format for taking notes is the Cornell Style of Note-taking, which encourages students to formulate questions about the topics in their notes and summarize the content presented in class. To utilize the Cornell Style, divide a sheet of notebook paper into 3 sections: a roughly- 2” column on the left hand side of the page for questions, a 6” section on the right hand side for notes, and a summary section at the bottom of the page. Fill in the note-taking area during class with important information provided by your instructor. After class, review your notes and fill in the summary area at the bottom of the page with an overview of the topics covered on that page in your own words. Then fill in the questions column by developing and writing potential test questions about that material.
Find a place to study free from the distractions that usually get you off track. If you are distracted by social media or browsing other websites, turn off your computer’s internet connection while you study. If your cell phone distracts you, tell your friends and family you won't be available during study times, put your phone on silent and keep it out of sight. When selecting the location to study, be honest with yourself. If you enjoy “people-watching” and socializing, don’t try- to study in the busy areas of King Library or the student center where students are constantly coming and going. Don’t study on your bed or a blanket outside if you know that you might fall asleep in these situations. Smaller libraries around campus, quiet areas in King and empty-classrooms can all be great places to study.
Effective studying for an exam does not mean rereading, recopying, reciting, and regurgitating information. Successful review and preparation for an exam involves a process of gaining knowledge, reinforcing that knowledge through study, and practicing effective communication of that knowledge to someone else. Often times, college students invest a lot of time into learning information but spend little time practicing applying or communicating that information. This can be explained as students spend too much time cramming information into their brain, but not enough time practicing getting that information out of their brain. Thus, to be a successful student and well prepared for exams, many students must start to invest more time into practicing newly acquired skills and articulating newly understood information.
Another way of preparing for an exam is to transform your notes into visualizations or learning representations. Organizing information into hierarchies, sequences, matrices, graphs, and diagrams can help you to build mental connections between ideas and can assist in encoding information into long-term memory. A concept map is a type of visual aid where the main idea or topic is featured in the center with related ideas radiating out. Visual aids and learning constructs can help you reconstruct knowledge, integrate new knowledge with previously understood information, and apply ideas to new situations.
There are three styles of exam questions to prepare for. The first type is factual or content based. Factual questions require you to remember the content of the material presented in class or in the textbook. Often these kinds of questions ask you to recall specific information like names, dates, terms, and events. For factual questions it is often adequate enough to simply memorize or review material when studying.
A concept question requires you to look at a new situation and identify which concept applies. These questions are usually multiple-choice and require picking between several similar concepts that may apply to a specific or unique situation. For concept questions merely memorizing the concept may not be enough. Practicing applying the concept to numerous examples will help you prepare for this kind of exam question.
Try to internally answer questions before looking at given answers. Often, looking at multiple answers causes students to second guess their own thoughts about what is the correct answer. Make sure to answer the question being asked. Understand qualifying words such as all, most, some, none, always and never and avoid being deceived by double negatives. Underline, circle, or mark these words to pay special attention to them when deciding on the correct answer. Finally, do not spend too much time on any one question.
After receiving the exam, jot down easily forgotten words or ideas on the back or in the margins of the exam. Survey the exam and start with questions that are straightforward, reserving more difficult ones for later. If exact words, terms, or definitions cannot be remembered, write down any and all information that can be remembered about the topic. On occasion, professors will give partial credit if some knowledge can be demonstrated. Unless otherwise specified, do not leave questions unanswered.
Upon receiving the exam, jot down easily forgotten words or ideas on the back or in the margins of the exam. Survey the questions and determine how many must be answered and the value of each. In the first sentence, directly answer the question posed. Use this sentence to structure the remainder of the essay. Write the essay as if the audience (the professor) has no prior knowledge of the topic. Be explicit about every aspect of the answer. Offer concrete examples to illustrate the argument. In the conclusion of the essay, offer insights into the significance of the topic. Do not re-summarize the argument in the conclusion.
Mathematics and some sciences require a different kind of learning and thus require different strategies for test preparation and taking. Instead of simply understanding and remembering ideas, courses like calculus, statistics, chemistry, and physics require students to not only understand material, but also to be able to apply concepts and formulas to solving problems.
Another way that these courses are different is that they are cumulative in nature; meaning that content knowledge gradually builds on itself and later understanding is dependent on mastery of precursory knowledge. Whereas a history class can learn material in chapter 2 and then skip to chapter 4 without substantial impairment to understanding; in courses like calculus and chemistry, students must understand chapter 1 before going onto chapter 2. Thus, a commitment to attending class and practicing the problem solving process is key for success on problem based exams.
When you’re in the midst of preparing for and taking final exams, it can be easy to get so wrapped up in your studies that you forget to practice basic healthy habits. It’s important to remember to take care of yourself in order to do your best on your final exams!
It is very normal to experience some anxiety about any test, especially final exams. Being adequately prepared, rested, and taking care of yourself will help to alleviate some of this apprehension and stress. If you experience anxiety that feels overwhelming to you or is getting in the way of preparing for your finals or other parts of your life, contact the Student Counseling Service at 513-529-4634 to make an appointment to discuss your concerns with a counselor.
If you are interested in working with a Learning Specialist to better improve your note-taking, test- taking, or general study strategies, please contact the Rinella Learning Center at 513-529-8741.
