Coffeeholic Writes: Preparing for Examinations

There is a distinction between studying a lesson for the first time with the view of understanding and retaining it, and re-studying the same lesson for an examination. The first needs mastery in techniques; whereas the second is a review of what has already been learned.

The best advice that can be given to anyone taking a test is: BE PREPARED. Preparation starts on the first day of school and not the day or night before the examination. Preparing for examinations means a methodical procedure of reviewing past lessons. There are many ways and approaches to the task of reviewing. The type of preparation needed varied with the breadth of the subject matter and the type of examination to be given. The latter is not easy to anticipate, and unless the teacher announces the type of test to be given, it is best to answer all types of test.

Cramming is a common sickness that is a result of procrastination. Effective study habits help eliminate cramming which is an unhealthy practice because it tires out the student and makes him physically and mentally exhausted to tackle an examination. Certainly, no one can learn in one day what he should have studies and understood in a week, a month or a whole semester.

To do away with cramming, a review schedule should form part of the daily chart of activities for a particular examination week. On the assumption, therefore, that lessons are diligently studied everyday, the following guides on how to conduct a review for a major examination are given:

The distributed method of practice is preferable to the massed. Several short review sessions are more advantageous than a lengthy and continuous session. Short reviews are easier to retain while a large number of ideas being read in one sitting tend to be confusing.

Time allotments for review should be scheduled apart from the regular study time. Daily preparation is still necessary for other subjects and the time allotted for these should not be sacrificed for an examination in one or two subjects.

Regular activities as eating, sleeping and exercise should never be given up in favor of a review. Recreation or social functions may have to be cut down if a longer time is needed for the review.