How To Avoid Winter Finals Sneaking Up On You This Year
Winter Finals are approaching, and you need the best you can on your exams. These tips will help the winter finals from sneaking up on you!
1. Plan Ahead
Have you ever waited to the last minutes and begin and realize that you do not have time to study all the minutes that you need to know for the final. I don’t know about you, but I have. More times than I wan to say! The trick to not be in this pertinent is to plan ahead for your winter finals and stick to the plans you made. It is easy to make a goal about what you want to accomplish, but it is important to create a plan that you are going to stick with to be successful for your winter exams.
2. Find Out The Exam Date
One of the worst things that you can do is miss your winter finals. The best thing that you can do for yourself is to find out when your exam is scheduled. Some schools have days when the department exams and the professor might choose to have there an exam on a separate day. This has happened to me. My exam was on the previous day, and I showed up to the school department dated exam. Make sure you have the right day of the final and then write it down on a calendar.
Tip: It is most likely in your syllabus when the exam is going to be held, but double-check with the professor any way because things can happen science the begin of the semester. Also, verify the location of the exam. It would be awful if you were running late to the exam already and get to the room and find out the final is in another room.
3. Know What The Final Is Going To Cover
Why waste your time studying material that you are not going to need to know for your winter finals??? Work smart with the time that you have left to study for the exam. Ask the professor what the exam is going to cover, and it could possibly be in your syllabus. You are going to want to know if this is a cumulative exam way in advance in order to review the material from the begin of the semester.
4. Create Study Time
When you know that it is going to be on the exam, you can create a study time plan. It will give you enough time to review all the material without feeling rushed. It is simple to do. Just block off a few hours in your schedule to study. If you do the studying early, it will allow you to still enjoy the end of the semester engagements going on around campus.
5. Know The Best Way You Learn
Learning is not a one size fit all approach, and you shouldn’t study the way that other people study. It will cause you to not be able to learn the material in a retainable way. They are four types of learners that are categories: the visual learner, the auditory learner, the kinesthetic learner, and the reading and writing learner. Since each person learns in a different way. I am pretty sure that these overlap and some other ways that can help you study. Whatever way that works for you, just use that option, and you will be on your way to passing your winter finals.
6. Take Breaks
You need a break. One more time, you need a break. The best way to learn the material is to allow yourself to take breaks. You do not want to work too hard. By taking breaks, it will help you be able to study and learn the material so that you can retain it. The method I use is I work for an hour than I take a break for 15 minutes. Breaks allow you to refresh your mind because you are focusing on something else for a little while.
7. Form A Study Group
Depending on the type of class that you are studying for, for your winter finals will depict if you want to form a study group. Accountability is a way to keep you on track with the things that you need to get done. A study group can be that for you while you are studying for your winter finals. It is simple to go to class and ask the other students if they were interested in forming a study group. Then set up a time and place to meet and start studying.
Tip: It has been proven that students learn better when they learn from each other. This is one reason it is a good idea to start a study group.
8. Go To Review Sessions
Some classes offer students review sessions to help the students to get ready for the exam. The review session is a way to scope out possible questions on the exam and narrow down the information to especially looking at. Especially if the professors say, chapter 7 is going to be on the exam. It narrows down your scope to what to pay close attention to. Still looking over the whole chapter as well. Go to the review session with questions. If you have a problem with understanding specific material, this is your chance to get your questions answered. This also your time to hear the other students’ questions and going some more understanding just in time for your winter finals.
Tip: If you have a very specific question that is going to take a considerable amount of time to explain and has many follow up questions, make sure that you go to your professor’s office hours. There they should be able to help you more in-depth.
9. Notes
Hopefully, you took notes throughout the semester. Reviewing your notes is a great way to get a quick over chapters. Depending on how detailed your notes are will gauge how much more rereading you will have to do before your winter finals.
Tip: If you are running out of time to review the chapters for the finals. Try to read the summary at the end of the chapter to help jog your memory.
10. Study Guide
Some professors are generous and give you a study guide with key concepts you should know for the exam, but not all professors will give a study guide. If that is the cause, you could try and create your own study guide. If your book has learning objectives in the book or keys words, and write down that information down, and it will help you with reviewing the material.
11. Quiz Yourself
Quizzing is a tool that you can use to help you see how much of the information you can remember, and if you understand the concepts, you have been learning for your winter finals. It also lets you know what you need to go back and review again.
Tip: Quizlet is a great site if you are a person that learns better from a screen. It will run through flashcards for you, and it can generate the flashcards into a quiz. The site is interactive and is design to help you remember the material that you are studying.
12. Sleep
I do not know about you, but I like to sleep. Sleep helps with refreshing your mind and helps you keep up with the material that you have learned. It is not good for the body to not sleep for days. It causes you to forget simple things. By studying early, you will be able to retain all the information that you have obtained and been able to rest instead of staying up for nights, not retaining information for some people. By sleeping, you will also be well-rested for your winter finals.
These are just a few tips that you can use to help winter finals from sneaking up on you this year.
