Effective studying tips for exams,techniques and methods (based on psychology)

Why do some students spend a lot of time studying without being productive? Is there a method to make studying for the exams more effective? Are there certain techniques or methods that can reduce studying time? In fact yes. There are many methods and techniques that can help you study more effectively for an exam or a test and i will tell you about them in this article.

How to study effectively for exams (Tips and techniques)

Below are few tips and techniques that are based on psychology and that can help you study more effectively for your exams whether you are a college student or a high school student.

Exam Studying tip#1, Eliminate distraction: The human mind has the ability to wander around whenever it finds a starting point. A single image, sound or memory can be a starting point for another day dream. If you want to study effectively then make sure you stay in a place where there are no distractions at all. Lock yourself up in your room without your phone, Ipod or anything else Exam Studying Tip#2, Self deception!!: Are you afraid to test your self worth? In my article thepsychology of self deception i explained how some students might distract themselves whenever they try to study for an exam just because they are afraid to test their self worth in that exam. Such a students feel more comfortable getting bad grades then blaming the fact that they didn't study rather than studying and testing their real worth. If you want to study for exams effectively then read this article to know how to prevent self deception Exam Studying Tip#3:, Get rid of procrastination: Procrastination is the worst enemy of the student who wants to study well for an exam. One of the best effective methods for studying quickly is to get over procrastination. Studying Procrastination can be caused by lack of proper self regulation skills, fear of failure in the exam or perceived difficulty of the subject or the chapter you want to study. Read this guide to know how to get over procrastination so that you can study for your exams more effectively Exam Studying Tip#4:, Begin with the easy part: Many students wonder whether its better to begin with the hard part that takes a lot of time or the easy one that can be studied quickly. Its much better to begin studying with the easy part because your mood will improve on finding that you fished many things in a short period of time. Studying the hard part first on the other hand might reduce your motivation as you will find that a lot of time passed yet you didn't finish anything Exam Studying Tip#5:,Keep an eye on time: One of the best studying tips you can follow is to keep an eye on time by putting a clock beside you. The only difference between Type A personalities and other people is that they are always conscious of time and that's why they finish their tasks quickly Exam Studying Tip#6:, Take breaks: While you are studying do nothing other than studying. Don't check your mail, your phone or think about turning the TV on. You can take a short break every two hours provided that its time limited. Taking breaks is a great method that can help you study better for exams because whenever you will feel like procrastinating you will find that you can wait for the next break to do what you want

More methods to increase the effectiveness of studying for exams

Apart from the previous techniques there are other tips you should follow in order to increase the effectiveness of studying for your exams. Make sure that you are sitting in a comfortable place, with adequate lighting and no noise. In one of my articles about stress i explained how such external factors can prevent you from concentrating while studying and thus reduce the effectiveness of your studying methods. Another extremely important studying tip is to make sure that information is being stored in your long term memory and not your short term memory. By writing what you studied or by studying it over and over again you will make sure that the information was stored in your long term memory. Of course this is not all. The links below will help you learn more methods and techniques that can help you study more effectively. 2knowmysef is not a complicated medical website nor a boring online encyclopedia but rather a place where you will find simple, to the point and effective information that is backed by psychology and presented in a simple way that you can understand and apply. If you think that this is some kind of marketing hype then see what other visitors say about 2knowmyself.The book How to make someone fall in love with you was released by 2knowmyself.com; the book will dramatically increase your chance of letting someone fall in love with you.

Psychological Tips for Effective Studying

PART 1 of 2 STUDY STRATEGIES * Revise regularly- Revision should be continuous if you are to gain a deep understanding of the subject. It should not be superficial and rushed. Cramming might help you remember a few facts but it will not give you the overall understanding of a subject, which you should be studying for in your University Education. * Be systematic- You should begin organizing a study schedule as soon as possible in the start of the semester * Use varied techniques- besides making summaries of your lecture notes, use varying strategies for your revision. Draw up schemes showing the relationship between the concepts you have studied in your subjects or form study groups with your fellow students to discuss the different topics and the relationships between them to reinforce both understanding and recall. * Use relationship to memorize- Understanding the relationships between pieces of information, such as their similarities and differences, and using their relationship to information already known is a definite advantage during stress of an examination.

* Practice previous exam papers- You should obtain copies of previous exam papers as early as possible in the revision process. Doing these exams in the required time limit will give you practice in applying what you have learnt to specific topics and practice in examination techniques. This will also give you a good idea of the format, time limit and the number of questions in the examination. * Attend lectures- Pay attention in lectures and tutorials and so on for information relevant to exams. For example what topic might be expected in a test etc? Stress the following areas in your revision: Points emphasized in class or in the text Areas the Professor has advised for study Questions in study guides, past questions and reviews at the end of textbook chapters. STUDY HABITS * Decide what to study (choose a reasonable task) and how long or how many chapters, pages, problems, etc. Set and stick to deadline. * Do difficult tasks first. For procrastination, start with an easy interesting aspect of the project. * Have special places to study. Take into consideration, lighting, temperature, and availability of materials. * Study 50 minutes and then take a 10 minutes break. Stretch, relax, have energy snack. * If you get tired or bored, switch task/activity. Stop studying when you are no longer being productive. * Do rough memory tasks and review, especially detail, just before you fall asleep. * Study with a friend. Quiz each other compare notes and predicted test questions. STUDY SKILLS o Physical environment- Choose situations, which make you feel comfortable, for example a particular space in the library, in your own home or study room in halls of residence. o Plan a time table- Use a time schedule to prioritise study times and try to stick to your schedule. o Mental activity- Remember that your concentration span is limited. So do not sit for 3-4 hours at a time starting at one page of notes. Wait for an hour or so reading and making extra notes. Draft out or use real exam questions from past papers and consider how little you know and understand o Stop to take a break- Have a coffee or short walk and mentally review what you have achieved. Return to your studies. o You will find that the process of activity and review will be useful and will help you to set a pattern of study. o Quality of study- Remember that it is not time itself spent on studying which matters, it is the quality of the exercise of studying. Develop an understanding of the material you are working on. Information simply committed to memory will rarely see you safely through your exams.

o Choice of material- Dont shy away from material which you find most difficult to understand because if you do it will be precisely this material which will be problematic for you in the exam. Take this material first. o Problems- If there are sections of the syllabus, which you cannot understand, try to find the appropriate lecturer to help you. But try not to leave this until the day before the exam. Ask someone on the same course as you. If these strategies dont work for you try using a variety of different textbooks, some authors explain difficult concepts better than others. CONCENTRATION Concentration is the ability to direct ones thinking in whatever direction one would intend. We all have the ability to concentrate sometimes. Think of the time when you were engrossed in super novel or in a cinema -Total concentration. But at other times your thoughts are scattered and you mind races from one thing to another. Learn and practice concentration strategies. Poor concentration- External causes -Internal causes REVISION Revision is a process of looking over past work as preparation for examination. It is an activity which can produce good results and reduce exam nerves if it is carefully planned and carried out in a systematic way. Black coffee and sleepless nights just before your exams rarely allow you to do justice to your talents. Towards end of a course, a review of your completed written work and of past examination papers will often indicate the existence of close links between exam questions and essays, assignments and project work. On this basis, you select your own best work and use it for revision. Work, which has been less successful, should contain advice from a tutor and this can be followed up. What revisions can do for you: * Extends your ability to assess your own knowledge and understanding. * Provides an opportunity to analyze this in relation to the requirements of the examination. * Enable you to pass examination and gain recognition for your talents. GUIDELINES FOR SUCCESSFUL REVISION * Make sure you know well in advance the topics to be covered in the particular exam. * Keep copies of all course documents, projects, essay questions, title of assignments and reading list on file. * Make this the basis of your revision. Resist the temptation to try to start your course all over again from the beginning. * Review your own the assessed work, making a selection of that with the best grade. * Compare your own work with the question asked as past question papers.

* At this stage it is vital that you will have enough material to answer all the likely questions. * If you decide on to expand what you have already got, look at less successful papers and see if you can improve them by careful editing, filling in gaps, correcting errors of fact or understanding. * Reduce each piece of work to note form. TIME MANAGEMENT Avoid overload. Organize your hours to include ample time for rest, relaxation, sleep, eating, exercising and socializing. Break the study time into manageable amounts of time to avoid boredom and loss of concentration. Sessions lasting 20-30 minutes are the best Studying for six half hour sessions is much more effective than studying for 3 straight hours. Dont put everything off until the last minute. PRACTICE EFFECTIVE STUDY TECHNIQUES Have appropriate study environments. Split large task into more manageable tasks. Read for comprehension rather than get to the end of the chapter. Be prepared to ask questions as they come up during study, rather than waiting until just before and exam. Dont wait until the last minute to complete your projects. Read the syllabus as soon as you get it and note all due dates( and milestone times) on your calendar. Be a model student. Be attentive and participative in the class and punctual, prepared and eager to learn. BE ABLE TO BE FLEXIBILE The unexpected happenings, e.g. Sickness, need to be able to fit into our schedule. Know how to rearrange your schedule when necessary (so that it doesnt manage you, but you manage it). HAVE A VISION Dont forget the big picture. Why are you doing the task? Is it important for your long-term goals? Have and follow a personal mission statement (personal and career) Are your activities ultimately helping you to achieve your goals. Know what is important to you. (What do you value most) Have a positive attitude.

Steps
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Rewriting. Rewriting your notes is great if you're a kinesthetic learner. Also, when you re-write something, you will probably think about what you are writing, what it's about, and why you wrote it down. Most importantly, it refreshes your memory. If you took notes a month ago and just found out that those notes will be relevant in your exam, rewriting them will remind you of them when you need it for your exam. Ads by Google Problem Solving Practice Test Check our free McKinsey-like Problem Solving Test ConsultingGuru.com

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Find the right hours. Don't study when you're really tired. It's better to study for two hours in one day than to try and cram in that daily hour of studying at two in the morning. You won't remember much and you're likely to stop before you have studied what you need.

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Don't cram. Cramming the night before is proven to be useless, because you're taking in so much information at once that it's impossible to memorize it at all -- in fact, you'll hardly retain anything. I know it's been preached to you many times before, but it's true: Studying before and going over it multiple times really is the best way to learn the material. This is especially true with things like history and subjects dealing with theory.

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Subjects. If it's math you're studying for, work on the problems. Don't just read over it like you would for a history class, because you can actually do math, but you can seldom dohistory. Working problems out will help burn them into your mind, and remember: if you can't solve the problem before the exam, you won't be able to solve it on the exam either. If you are studying for a more social subject, do your research! Make sure you know what you're talking about!

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Surroundings. How do you study best? In your PJ's, or your favorite t-shirt? With music or without? In your room or outside? Regardless, you probably won't be able to study while there are distractions like:

o o o o o

Your darling little brother or sister is running screaming around the house. You are going to end up watching movies because they are far too distracting. Your older brother or sister is bothering you on purpose. Your music is not relaxing, or is a song you want to sing along to instead of studying. It's too dark. Your eyes will strain in dim light. You're in a mess. Clean your room, as the mess around you really can distract you from what you're doing.

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Correct lighting. For men, try studying with a dimmer light (though not overly dim). Statistics say that 75% of guys that do this will focus better. For girls, it's indicated that 90% of the time, they study and focus better in a brighter room with little noise.

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TV. Some people like to have the TV on quietly in the background. This can cut both ways in that it can distract you from time to time, but also can help you to continue studying. It's a risky strategy to have the TV on: nobody really knows how much it takes away from your attention and may be distracting you more than you realize.

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Take Breaks. You need some time to have fun and it is better to revise when you are feeling relaxed than to exhaust yourself studying all day! The only caveat is, you need to avoid procrastination.

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Plan: Always create a plan before you start studying, not to mention that this plan has to be achievable. If out of 5 lessons 3 are easy and can be finished fast, finish them first, that way you can spend quality time on the difficult lessons without fretting. Small tricks like these will help you complete your portions quickly.

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Review. When you are finished studying one page of your notes, before you move on to the next page, ask yourself questions relating to the material on that page to see if you have remembered

what you just studied. It also helps to say the answers to your questions out loud as if you were trying to explain it to someone else.

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Ask for help. If you need help, ask someone who is good at these subjects. Example : Friends , Family , Teachers , etc.... Ads by Google