So my exams are over now ('bout frickin' time already), I'm, well, as confident as can be expected, really, given that I tend to underestimate myself more than anything else. I'm pretty sure I passed physics, though, which is the only one I really had to worry about. And italian speaking, but I already know I passed that. Which was TERRIFYING, by the way. But anyway. I know that most people in Australia, anyway, have already done their exams (I know TEE is all over, yay for all my twelvie friends). But one thing that we've all been talking about for, like, two months now: How the hell DO you actually study for exams?
Obviously, there's about as many methods as there are people doing exams; so I'm going to narrow it down a bit more, to what you should do the night before the exam. Or my advice, anyway, because I'm completely willing to give my opinion even on subjects where I have little to no authority.
First, though: What kind of study do you actually need?
a) You're sitting at your desk the night (or morning!) before your exam, and you haven't actually started studying yet. You have a social life to maintain, dammit!
i) You have studied a bit, but it's a subject that you kinda suck at
and you were mostly on facebook when you were studying anyway.
b) You've revised the year, but not in any real depth, and you're ok at the subject, but have no real interest in it. You just need to do well/ pass/ convince your parents that you tried.
c) You, you dedicated person, have not only studied, you're good at the subject but you're freaking out anyway because, hey, exams are stressful.
Method A: You're completely screwed.
The sooner you accept that fact, the easier this will be. Unless you're a genius (in which case, see below) there's just no way you're going to be able to revise and memorise an entire year's worth of material in the, what, eight, twelve hours before your exam? And yeah, you are going to need to sleep tonight. Pulling an all nighter just isn't worth it. However, a pass is not out of the question.
So instead, you need to be clever. Guaranteed, your exam will not actually test everything you're meant to know. You need to prioritise. Chances are, your teacher has been dropping hints like mad for the past, y'know, week... month... year... but there's also a strong chance you weren't listening, or that you missed it. Embrace that fact. If you're going to go on facebook or msn or whatever, and you just might- unless you've taken the precaution of unplugging your computer (you are a stronger person than I am) - ask if anyone else knows what'll be in it. Someone will probably have a fairly good idea.
If not, though, you're going to need to focus on broad concepts. Don't try to read a whole lit book overnight, because it's not going to happen and won't help you (and you don't really need to), and don't try to teach yourself the intricacies of Newtonian physics when applied to the moon (although I really don't know what that's doing in your syllabus.) Instead, focus on the general stuff. For example, the physics exam I just did. I didn't really know, exactly, the answers to a fair few of the questions, but I knew the theories that they were referring to, and I knew, generally, what the four topics - heat, electricity, motion and nuclear- were about, and I kinda chucked an answer together based on that. Likewise, with lit, if you haven't read the book, try googling it. There's quite a few sites out there that provide everything you might need to an exam, although only with certain books. You'll need quotes- try to get some that are multi-purpose. Write stuff down. Preferably in a semi-organised fashion.
Method B: You should be fine
Ok, we'll just assume that you've got the broad outlines down, probably some depth in at least a few areas. You just need a bit more certainty, and you need that little bit of extra knowledge in order to guarantee a nice score.Focus in particular on the areas you aren't that great at. If you're worried that you might forget how to do a certain type of problem, a certain order of events, whatever, try writing it down. With the problems, you'll need to actually do them- there should be some in your book. With the other stuff, do a mind map, or a timeline, or whatever floats your boat. I recommend coloured pens, but then, I always recommend coloured pens, so, y'know.
Method C: You'll be fine, seriously.
There's no real reason for you to be worrying, at this point, but you will anyway and we all know it. Revise the areas you have problems with, you know what those are. And then, if you have time, and you will, because you've been doing this for like weeks now, revise those small, extra things that are the ones that will make sure you get the top marks. You know. That quote from, like, Wordsworth that you can drop into the conclusion of your english essay. That small, quiet political shenanigan that just may have influenced the course of World War Two. Etcetera. You're going to pass, and you're going to pass well- at this point it's just a question of how well.
Method D: Eternal hatred from all.
Screw you. You haven't studied, you haven't done any work all year, but you're going to get the top mark anyway, and you know it. It's the night before your exam and you're playing video games or something. The rest of us hate you. (not really.)
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