Study Smart: How to Make the Most of a Cram Session - The ...

Study Smart: How to Make the Most of a Cram Session ... students usually have to hustle at the end of the semester to prepare for a busy line-up of exams. JobSearchFindingaJobResumesResumeExamplesCoverLettersNetworkingInterviewingJobOfferViewallinJobSearch>CareerPathsExploringCareersCareersinDataandAnalyticsCareersinFinanceCareersinMarketingCareersinSalesCareersinSoftwareEngineeringCareerStoriesCareerChangeTrainingandDevelopmentViewallinCareerPaths>SucceedingatWorkWorkandCOVID-19ProductivityGettingAheadWorkRelationshipsWork-LifeBalanceWorkingParentsRemoteWorkMoneyChangingJobsManagementBreakRoomViewallinSucceedingatWork>DiversityandInclusionAnti-RacismatWorkLGBTQatWorkDisabilityandWorkGenderandWorkViewallinDiversityandInclusion>MoreVideosJobSearchVideosCareerAdviceVideosCareerStoryVideosCompanySpotlightVideosIndustrySpotlightVideosEmployerResourcesTraining&DevelopmentStudySmart:HowtoMaketheMostofaCramSessionbyTamaraPowellIt’sfinalsweek,andyou’retryingtomakethemostofyourstudytime.Youprobablyknowbynowthatcrammingisn’tthebestwaytolearn(orlive),buteventhebeststudentsusuallyhavetohustleattheendofthesemestertoprepareforabusyline-upofexams.Beforeyouhitthebooks,reviewthesestudysecrets,whichwillmaximizeyourcrammingeffortsandhelpyoustaysane,too.PlanYourAttackAtthebeginningofanystudysession,reviewexactlywhatyouneedtoaccomplishandsetyourpriorities.Howmuchtimedoyouhave?Whatdoyouneedtostudy?Howandwherewillyouworkbest?Takingafewminutestodeviseaplanwillkeepyoufromfeelingoverwhelmed,plusmakesureyouwon’tforgetanessentialtaskorprioritizeinappropriately.WhenIsitdownforastudysession,ImakealistofthetopicsIneedtoreviewandhowmuchtimeeachwillrequire.Ithencreateaschedulewith30-minutetimeslots,whichIfillfirstwiththetopicsthataregivingmethemosttrouble.ReviewReadingsYouwon’tbeabletore-readyourassignmentsforthesemester,butyoushouldgooverallofyourreadingnotes.Ifyoudidn’tkeepgoodreadingnotes,findbookreviewsorsecondarysourceswithsummariesofthemesandimportantpoints.Next,ifyouhavetime,readtheintroductionandconclusionofthearticlesorbooksyou’llbetestedon.Itcanalsobehelpfultoworkwithaclassmatetoreviewthemostimportantpassagesandtalkthroughthemainarguments.WhenIreviewreadings,IrelyonannotationsthatImadethefirsttimeIreadtohelpmeskimlater.Obviously,annotatingissomethingyouhavetodobeforeyoucram,soitmaynothelpyouthisweek.But,ifyoudidn’tuseanannotationmethodthissemester,youshouldnextsemester.Carefulannotationwillhelpyouidentitykeyargumentsandsupportingpointswithouthavingtorereadtheentiretext.Here’sashorttutorialononemethodforannotatingatext.SpaceOutRepetitionsIfyouhavealotofinformationyouneedtomemorize,you’reprobablyplanningtorelyonrepetition.It’swidelyknownthatrepetitionaidsmemory,butwhatmostofusdon’trealizeisthathowwespacethoserepetitionsisimportant,too.Welearnbetterwhenwespaceoutstudyrepetitionsovertime,ratherthanbunchingthemtogether.What’smore,intervals—orleavingtimeinbetweenrepetitions—arenotthemostefficientuseofstudytime.Instead,tryinterleaving.Leaveonesubjectofstudy,reviewanother,andthencomeback.You’llfindthebestresultsifyoublockyourstudyrepetitionsinarandomizedorder. Forexample,ifyouhavethreesubjectstoreview,startwiththefirst,thenmoveontothethird,backtothefirst,ontothesecond,backtothethird,thensecond.Trynottorepeatthepatternsothatyourbrainhastoguesswhatcomesnext.StudyinaSimilarContextHaveyoueverwalkedintoafamiliarroomandhadanoldmemorypopup?Thathappensbecausecontextualinformation—sights,sounds,smells,andfeelings—canaffectourabilitytorecall.Inotherwords,oursurroundingsoftencuememories.Iliketostudyinalibraryoranemptylecturehallsincethetemperature,sounds,andsmellsaresimilartotheexamsetting.Ibeginbytakingfiveminutestositquietlyandclearmyheadinordertogetintoanexam-likestateoffocusbeforestudying.Don’tSkiponSleepStudyingisthekeytotestingsuccess,butwhatmanystudentsfailtoappreciateisthatsleepisalsoessential.Sleepdeprivationhindersyourabilitytoperformcomplexcognitivetasks,so,sacrificingafewhourssleepforextracrammingtimecanactuallybecounterproductive.Evenifitmeanslesstimespentwithyourmaterial,makesureyousleepwellthenightbeforeanexam.Stayawayfromcaffeine,limitnapsto30minutes,andturnofyourmobiledevices. Whatotherstudystrategiesworkforyou?Tellusyourtips!PhotoofstudentstudyingcourtesyofShutterstock.Updated6/19/2020TamaraPowellisalecturerinCommunicationStudiesatCaliforniaStateUniversity,SacramentoandadoctoralcandidateattheUniversityofCalifornia,SanDiego.TamaralivesinSacramentowithherhusbandandenjoysrunning,gardening,andbrewingkombucha.Connectwithheratwww.tamarapowell.com.MorefromTamaraPowell