Make no mistake, exams are stressful. But there are strategies you can use to minimise the stress, and maximise your results.
Organisation, consistency and common sense are your friends. Procrastination and avoidance most definitely aren’t. Here are a few simple but useful tips to help you stay on top of things this term.
Create concise notes
It goes without saying that keeping up with assignments, attending lectures and tutorials, and taking good notes will make life easier come exam time.
After attending every class or lecture, consolidate your notes. Actively read through them and create a whittled down version as you do. This will not only reinforce what you’ve just learned – it will be a handy resource to go back to come exam time. Your future self will be thanking you!
Study past exam papers
You’ll know from the joys of the Leaving Cert that past papers matter. You should be able to get hold of them from your tutor or your college’s learning system, such as Moodle.
Review as many past papers as you can, as this will help you to prioritise. It’s also a good idea to have a go at some of the questions.
Finally, plan out your exam time. How much time are you going to allocate to each section, how many marks is each question worth? This is where all that sixth year suffering may come in handy.
Make a detailed revision plan
When you’re getting down to the actual revision, create a detailed plan. Make sure it’s realistic and that you can keep to it. Consider how much you can do each day, and make sure sure it includes every class, topic or subject that it needs to.
Prioritise the parts of your course that you find most challenging or tough going. The last thing you want is to be dealing with those areas the night before an exam. Trust us on this one...
Use memory techniques
When it comes to study, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach – so do what works for you. Maybe you like to use mnemonics. Or you might be more of a visual person and prefer using visual diagrams. Or perhaps you record your notes and listen back.
Just stick to your favoured approach or approaches; it doesn’t matter what others are doing to learn stuff. Though it must be said that study groups, and testing each other on your knowledge can be pretty useful too.
Try not to cram... as much as possible
Now, this might come as a shock, but exam prep should ideally involve reviewing existing knowledge as opposed to learning anything new. (We know, we were amazed too.)
In all seriousness though, keeping on top of your learning all term long will save you a lot of hassle.
If you do find yourself in the unenviable position of cramming, try to do it sensibly. Tackle as much as you can while still getting enough sleep, a little exercise and eating right. No exam is worth your health and wellbeing. Soon enough, your exam paper will be ancient history.
