Midterm Study Tips
Kennedy George
With midterms being only a few weeks away, panic is starting to set in for many students. Studying for midterms is stressful and difficult because there is an exam for every class a student takes. That’s a lot of information to review and remember. Although studying for these tests may be hard, it’s not impossible. Here are some studying tips that will be sure to lead to success.
- Take regular breaks while studying. Forty minute studying periods with ten minute breaks in between is much more efficient than hours straight of studying.
- Avoid the internet. Unless the internet is needed for the actual studying, avoid it at all costs.
- Don’t feel like you have to sacrifice your sleep to get good grades. On test day, having enough sleep will be more beneficial to you than having a few more hours of studying under your belt.
- Organize what you’re going to study and when you’re going to study it. If you have a plan, it’ll be easier to spend part of each night studying.
- Caffeine will keep you alert and more able to focus. Drinks like coffee and tea can be beneficial to your studying by allowing you concentrate better (although make sure you don’t learn to rely on caffeine for every time you need to study).
- Reading information out loud can help you retain it better.
- Copying important notes over again will help you be more likely to remember them on test day.
- Don’t try to relearn a whole subject in one night; space your studying out.
- Right before you go to sleep and right after you wake up are both good times to study because it’s been shown that you absorb information the best at these times.
- Making flashcards is a great way to study. Not only do you get to write down information (which helps you retain it) but you also now have an easy way to quiz yourself anywhere.
- Focus on the main ideas of the topic first and then move on to the little details. It’ll help the topic make more sense and this way if you run out of time for studying, you’ll still know the most important ideas.
- When you start studying, make sure that all of the materials you could possibly need are out. This will prevent you from wasting time looking for things and will make the studying process smoother and more effective.
- Make sure you’re in a good studying environment. You’re going to want to be away from all distractions. If there’s no place like this in your house, consider utilizing one of the local libraries.
- Study alone. Group studying seldom works because distractions are easy and frequent. If you are determined to study in a group, make sure it’s with people who are determined and prepared to study and make sure it’s not too large of a group.
Sources:
- 10 High School Study Tips for Students. About. n.d. Web. 11 Jan 2015.
- Study Tips and Study Skills. Test Taking Tips. n.d. Web. 11 Jan 2015.
- 22 Science-Backed Study Tips to Ace A Test. Greatist. 2012. Web. Jan 11 2015.
