It doesn’t matter how many exams you give in your life; you will still feel the stress of an upcoming exam. We all develop our mantras to study for exams throughout our lives. Despite the success of our respective mantras, they are liable to fail. This article is meant to help you at that time when your trusted exam methodologies are not working out for you. To give you a different perspective on how to ace your exam, this article will discuss six handy tips for your exam preparations.

1)   Go beyond the course materials

If you’re feeling stumped before the exam and your syllabus books and notes cannot help you prepare, then it’s time for you to explore online resources. Studying and preparing for exams through online resources is becoming more and more common due to the ease of accessibility. While online materials may not offer the same structure as your textbook, they offer plenty of diversity in learning and exam preparation options. YouTube videos and lectures are an excellent free resource for visually and comprehensively learning complex subjects. Moreover, you can also look for online demo tests based on your exam subject to test your knowledge beforehand. For instance, accountants preparing for their CPA exam can consider seeking help from Wiley CPA Review through its demo tests before their formal exam.

2)   Avoid marathon sessions

Embarking on a study marathon before the exam is common among students. However, research has consistently shown that it’s counterproductive for exam preparation and learning in general. It’s best not to leave all of your exam preparation for the night before. You should do your best to get a good night’s sleep before the exam night. Cramming for hours right before the exam is not good in any way. Instead, you can try to study in short burst sessions that could even last as less as fifteen minutes. Short burst sessions are incredibly productive. You set aside time to prepare in a focused manner by shutting off all physical or digital distractions. You can do your sessions with breaks to recharge physically and mentally. It is important as intense burst sessions with consistent breaks allow you to create a risk-reward cycle for yourself and ensure your exam preparation remains on track.

3)   Play music for concentration

Music can be a potent aid for exam preparation sessions. Instrumental music, ideally piano or classical music, without lyrics can help you focus better. If you don’t know what to play or listen to, you can start by listening to Mozart. Researchers have now coined the “Mozart” effect whereby children and students find it easier to learn and concentrate while listening to Mozart’s compositions. Furthermore, typical music platforms such as YouTube and Spotify already consist of many playlists titled music for studying or music for concentration. You can search for these playlists on your choice of music platform to find a good compilation. An additional and unique option in this area is listening to natural sounds. Some people find it easier to study with sounds of nature such as rain, waves, and wind.

4)   Don’t multitask while studying

Whenever you’re studying for your exams, you have to identify and shut off all potential sources of distraction consciously. Our brains find it challenging to do two things simultaneously, which is even more consuming when engaging in a cognitively intense exercise such as exam preparation. Therefore, you must resist the urge to engage in your usual activities like checking your social media, responding to messages on the phone, watching TV, or surfing the web. It can be pretty tricky, but you must ensure that you don’t engage during your studying sessions. If you can do so, you will learn the benefits of focused study time. You will get through the syllabus faster and more efficiently without distractions.

5)   Study to learn, not for exam

Once your academic calendar has commenced, you get a relatively accurate sense of which weeks will be laden with exams and term projects. You also get a sense of your “light weeks.” Light weeks are when you are not required to produce academic outputs and have considerable spare time. You can look to study during these light weeks, ideally, after your classes, to review your course materials and your learnings thus far. It will shift your approach to learning for personal growth rather than solely for exam preparation. Rather than limiting yourself to stressful exam weeks or exam days for preparation, you will be utilizing your light weeks for preparation. This way, you spend considerable time on your academic calendar preparing for your exams to advance your knowledge in the subject area rather than just passing the course.

6)   Have different study spaces

Don’t limit yourself to a particular location for your study sessions. Research has shown that studying in different spaces can improve the concentration and retention of students. For instance, the exact location may not be suitable for exam preparation, depending on the time of day and `the type of study. Hence, you should be adaptable and conscious of the utility of your different study spaces. Studying at a coffee shop in the morning after waking up could be effective as you can review your materials or plan your day while having your morning coffee. Studying in an isolated or quiet space like your room or the library may work better during the afternoon or later day hours for concentration.

Final Thoughts

Exam performance vis-à-vis exam preparation is an essential task for you. This article discusses six tips to galvanize your studying sessions and ensure you ace your exams. You can consider exploring online resources for learning and taking demo tests. Avoid studying in extensive marathon sessions on exam night. Instead, it would be best if you considered studying in intense burst sessions with music for concentrations and shutting out all sources of potential distractions. You can consider studying and preparing for your exams during your academic calendar’s “light weeks.” Lastly, you should be adaptable to your study space and choose your study space best suited to the time of day and nature of study for maximizing efficiency.