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Here is a method of studying that gives you
an accurate perception of how well you know the material,
and forces you to think about it, rather than just look over it.
- Review your notes and readings frequently, so the material
is "fresh"
- As you're reading your text or reviewing your notes,
generate and write down questions about the material.
Imagine you're teaching the course. What questions would you ask on
the exam?
- Keep track of any terms you need to know
- Write each question or term on the back of an index card
- On the front of each index card, write an answer
or an explanation for the question or term on the back.
Use your notes and text for a reference, but put the answer or
explanation in your own words whenever possible
- Shuffle the index cards (so you can't figure out
any answers based on their location in the deck
- Look at the card on the top of the deck:
Try to answer the question or explain the term. If you know it, great!
Put it on the bottom of the deck. If you don't know it, look at the
answer, and put it a few cards down in the deck (so you'll come back
to it soon)
- Proceed through the deck of cards until you know all of the
information
Some Tips:
- Carry your cards with you everywhere.
Take advantage of little pockets of time. Test yourself while you're
waiting on line, riding the bus, etc.
- If you think you know an answer,
but can't put it into words, you probably don't know it well enough.
Being able to explain the information is the only way to be sure that
you know it. It's also the best way to prevent test anxiety
- Consider testing yourself someplace where nobody can see you
(and think you're crazy), and reciting the answers out loud. That's
the best way to be sure that you can explain them
- Study with a friend from your class.
You can share ideas and help each other out with concepts. Also, you
can use each other to make sure that you're explaining your answers
adequately
Feedback to improve
this page
(please specify which page)
The Study Guides and Strategies web site was created and is
maintained by Joe
Landsberger,
academic web site developer at the University
of St. Thomas (UST), St. Paul, Minnesota. It is collaboratively
maintained across institutional and national boundaries, and last revised
September 04, 2002 .
Permission is granted to freely copy, adapt, print,
transmit, and distribute
Study Guides in settings that benefit learners. On the WWW, however, please link
rather than put up your own page since pages are frequently modified and
improved in consideration of educational research. No request to link is
necessary. Additional contributions and translations are warmly
received.
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