Taking exams don’t have to be stressful and worrisome. If you plan correctly, you can extinguish any fears or worries you may have with the unwavering confidence that comes from thorough preparation.

Here are just a few tips to help you prepare:

Prepare the right environment

Find a place where you can concentrate and not be distracted. It shouldn’t be a place where you sleep, watch television or play video games but a quiet place where you are able to focus. You want to feel relaxed when you get into bed, not surrounded by your study material. Having separate areas for relaxing and studying allow you to be refreshed in-between study sessions so try to avoid studying in your bedroom or living room.

Create a study schedule

Decide on a specific time you will study every day and stick to it. You can break up study material into chunks, maybe a half of a unit a day or one full group a day. Create cards with notes during these study sessions. On the last two days before the exam, review your cards and share the concepts with a study partner.

Explain answers in detail

Take practice tests and then explain your answers in detail to a study partner. This deepens your understanding of what you know by forcing you to integrate concepts in a way others will understand. That’s why it’s commonly said: “If you want to learn something, teach it.”

Albert Einstein was quoted saying “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough. Practice developing the habit of defining your answers, and you will not only improve your intellect and your ability to retain information, but you will be helping others grasp ideas and concepts easier also.

Integrating simple tips like this into your next exam preparation will ease the stress of exams and positively improve your study skills.

Al Carter

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