Teachers at my school are very stupid and keep the tests in a drawer in the library. It stayed locked until some day i found it. My grades have been great ever since!
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How do YOU study for a test/quiz?
- Thread starter Perfect Cell
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I wait until the night (or two) before the exam and cram everything up. Read straight from the textbooks, highlight what I think is important and write down the most obvious questions that I could think of when reading and think are important, revise quickly after I'm done reading through the textbook, then read the highlights and answer the questions that I made.
When it comes to physics and maths though, I just read through problems and their solutions and if I study really well, I solve the problems and then check to see if my answers are right.
I barely study :|
When it comes to physics and maths though, I just read through problems and their solutions and if I study really well, I solve the problems and then check to see if my answers are right.
I barely study :|
This is a joke, right? Please say it is. If not, I wish I was so lucky. Have you found a key lying around anywhere in your school?;)
This is true! I picked the lock with a small clip that a girl gave me. It took like 3 minutes. However, i have to lock it again after i see the tests or else the teachers might suspect somethingKingpoleon said:
If it's a Sciences/Math thingy: Fuck notes etc (except for derivations/definitions)... do as many problems as you can
If it's a humanities thingy: Going over questions won't help, brainless witless idiots do that... so opposite tactic - Go over the source material and if then time permits notes from lectures
If it's a humanities thingy: Going over questions won't help, brainless witless idiots do that... so opposite tactic - Go over the source material and if then time permits notes from lectures
azn checking in xd
I'm not a fan of doing previous papers unlike many. But it depends on subject perhaps. Math is one where you spam previous papers. I mostly never touched past year papers for humanities. For science, I might do it based on topic if I want to see what's the typical kind of questions for a particular topic. Otherwise nah /me lazy
Whether it's notes or textbooks, I draw on them A LOT lol. Mainly Pokemon cos those are the only things I can draw :d Or just simple characters. It helps if you draw stuff related to the text beside the drawings. Like eg I drew a ball with hands / legs / face sucking in a bigger one like Kirby for the cation anion polarizing thingy and it actually helped me during a test once b/c I randomly remembered my drawing which explained the stuff kinda xd Drawing random sometimes makes memorizing stuff easier because you can associate text with images. I also highlight definitions and explanations. Or just things I think might be useful :s but don't overdo highlighting because then it defeats the purpose of it :0
Math is cool. If you have the time, write your own notes - not rewrite notes btw. I like to do it be topics and condense stuff. Leave out the simple examples. Basically have the formulas and specific examples that are trickier. Reading your own condensed versions of your notes is wayyy faster and works well in the long run. Got to be very motivated to do this though.
I don't do much for Bio besides reading textbook / notes :c definitions are important for random free marks. Definitions can also sometimes help explain stuff. I tend to try and think of what kind of potential questions can come out for bio. Pure memorization stinx but I think of reading bio books like reading story books :s Bio gets easier as more topic are taught imo b/c then stuff starts linking up instead of not being explained. Cross topic questions are common. Diagrams are great for physics. Draw them if the notes don't have them. Pictures explain stuff way clearer than a chunk of text. /me smack equations though. Chem is horrible u_u acronyms are useful for memorization. Maps are good for related equations for org chem. As for humanities, the more important thing perhaps, is to know how to answer the question. Like the question types, what they're asking for etc. Memorizing content is primary. If you can't properly decipher the question, you're still gg even if you got the content but you don't answer the question well :c
I also like to squat when I'm reading stuff b/c idk xD as for the question of whether you should study early or late / just before the test, it varies with person I guess. I just tend to study late b/c I'm lazy u_u!!! Results vary. If you already understand the topic well, studying late works. If not, you'll probably take a lot of time to understand stuff new to you.
How you sleep is also important for how you perform during the test too :/ having a good sleep cycle is good. Never study past 12. If I have no choice I just rush and hope for the best then go zzz xd you can wake up earlier to continue studying if it's an afternoon paper. Somehow 8-11 are very good times to complete studying :o
there's many diff ways. Try some out and see what fits you and just stick to that.
Also sirndpt should reply to this thread imo :0
edit: oooooooo taking breaks while studying is important !_! but your break shouldn't last >30 mins. Momentum is key :0 or you start to get lazy if you rest too long haha
I'm not a fan of doing previous papers unlike many. But it depends on subject perhaps. Math is one where you spam previous papers. I mostly never touched past year papers for humanities. For science, I might do it based on topic if I want to see what's the typical kind of questions for a particular topic. Otherwise nah /me lazy
Whether it's notes or textbooks, I draw on them A LOT lol. Mainly Pokemon cos those are the only things I can draw :d Or just simple characters. It helps if you draw stuff related to the text beside the drawings. Like eg I drew a ball with hands / legs / face sucking in a bigger one like Kirby for the cation anion polarizing thingy and it actually helped me during a test once b/c I randomly remembered my drawing which explained the stuff kinda xd Drawing random sometimes makes memorizing stuff easier because you can associate text with images. I also highlight definitions and explanations. Or just things I think might be useful :s but don't overdo highlighting because then it defeats the purpose of it :0
Math is cool. If you have the time, write your own notes - not rewrite notes btw. I like to do it be topics and condense stuff. Leave out the simple examples. Basically have the formulas and specific examples that are trickier. Reading your own condensed versions of your notes is wayyy faster and works well in the long run. Got to be very motivated to do this though.
I don't do much for Bio besides reading textbook / notes :c definitions are important for random free marks. Definitions can also sometimes help explain stuff. I tend to try and think of what kind of potential questions can come out for bio. Pure memorization stinx but I think of reading bio books like reading story books :s Bio gets easier as more topic are taught imo b/c then stuff starts linking up instead of not being explained. Cross topic questions are common. Diagrams are great for physics. Draw them if the notes don't have them. Pictures explain stuff way clearer than a chunk of text. /me smack equations though. Chem is horrible u_u acronyms are useful for memorization. Maps are good for related equations for org chem. As for humanities, the more important thing perhaps, is to know how to answer the question. Like the question types, what they're asking for etc. Memorizing content is primary. If you can't properly decipher the question, you're still gg even if you got the content but you don't answer the question well :c
I also like to squat when I'm reading stuff b/c idk xD as for the question of whether you should study early or late / just before the test, it varies with person I guess. I just tend to study late b/c I'm lazy u_u!!! Results vary. If you already understand the topic well, studying late works. If not, you'll probably take a lot of time to understand stuff new to you.
How you sleep is also important for how you perform during the test too :/ having a good sleep cycle is good. Never study past 12. If I have no choice I just rush and hope for the best then go zzz xd you can wake up earlier to continue studying if it's an afternoon paper. Somehow 8-11 are very good times to complete studying :o
there's many diff ways. Try some out and see what fits you and just stick to that.
Also sirndpt should reply to this thread imo :0
edit: oooooooo taking breaks while studying is important !_! but your break shouldn't last >30 mins. Momentum is key :0 or you start to get lazy if you rest too long haha
Never studied in my life and never got worse than a B+ (except in any language not called English). My school doesn't even do that many lectures, and if they do I spend most of it drawing on my hands. We just do lots of work in class which is honestly the only way to get anything to stick.
Does anyone else go into some tests "free-balling"?
Usually the lectures give me everything I need, but occasionally I will miss class or the teacher will make the test based on book reading. I like the challenge of figuring out the answers in the middle of a test I don't know the content for using a few different techniques. I usually only get a B this way, but it is more entertaining.
Usually the lectures give me everything I need, but occasionally I will miss class or the teacher will make the test based on book reading. I like the challenge of figuring out the answers in the middle of a test I don't know the content for using a few different techniques. I usually only get a B this way, but it is more entertaining.
Stratos
Banned deucer.
i agree entirely. I love the feeling of going into a physics test and it's just me, my equation sheet, and whatever I can remember from the lectures vs the world. Also, fuck studying, I'd rather spend all my time making shitposts on Smogon.
usually i have around 6 weeks from test to test. since its med school and its all about memorization, i spend the first 3 weeks on a binge of reading the thousand pages i have to read. then i make a summary with literally every bit of information that might appear on the test so now instead of 1000 pages i have 250. the last 3 weeks are reading from the summary, 50 pages a day and weekends free so i dont completely overload myself. then on the last 2 days before the test its 12~ hours a day of reading again from the 1000 pages from the books in order to retain as much info as you can that you didnt write down as well as memorizing the stuff youve been reading for weeks now more.
then the test comes and of course theres a good 20 out of 100 questions that god knows where the fuck the doctors read them from because im 100 fucking percent sure they werent in the book.
then the test comes and of course theres a good 20 out of 100 questions that god knows where the fuck the doctors read them from because im 100 fucking percent sure they werent in the book.
This is more specific to the type of curriculum I'm currently enrolled in (engineering/sciences) and it generally echoes what others have said for similar subject matter, note however that these are of course going to be heavily biased based on my personal experiences:
for most mathematics courses, mechanical problem solving ability relative to your peers will end up being sufficient for a good grade, but it's important to familiarize yourself with proving. Many people react begrudgingly to proofs, but they're often just as mechanical (and can be extraordinarily simple) as normal problems. Practicing proofs, from my experience, is about expanding your toolbox. Set about a plan of attack, and layout all of the possible moves you can make from point a to point b, kinda like one of those word ladders where you shift one letter at a time.
for my "newer material" physics courses (quantum physics/statistical mechanics), I found doing the problem sets moderately helpful, not for the practice, as most of the time it was just algebra, but for the concepts they would reveal/reinforce. You can often bullshit your way through higher level courses just by regurgitating relatively simple mathematics, but it's hard to do really well without understanding why you're applying the mathematics the way you are. This is something I'm gonna say again, but if you don't understand why you're doing something, figure out why you're doing it. There is little point in continuing on a problem if you are just going to spill out algebra.
There are a lot of courses that I have found doing previous problem sets and past exams/test incredibly helpful, granted. Most people should be able to identify them pretty quickly.
Lastly, I really, really struggle with memorization based courses. I've coped with them a bit better recently, however, it takes me a lot of time. Like so many other people have posted here, write out a lot, and rewrite it. I personally go through my lecture slides word by word, and the instant I don't understand anything, I have to get my head wrapped around it. If I don't understand something, I find it much, much harder to memorize it, so even if it takes me 10 definitions until I finally understand everything (especially for biology, where I've found myself facing a definition of a word in a definition that I don't understand filled with more words I don't understand), I'll do the work to do it.
for most mathematics courses, mechanical problem solving ability relative to your peers will end up being sufficient for a good grade, but it's important to familiarize yourself with proving. Many people react begrudgingly to proofs, but they're often just as mechanical (and can be extraordinarily simple) as normal problems. Practicing proofs, from my experience, is about expanding your toolbox. Set about a plan of attack, and layout all of the possible moves you can make from point a to point b, kinda like one of those word ladders where you shift one letter at a time.
for my "newer material" physics courses (quantum physics/statistical mechanics), I found doing the problem sets moderately helpful, not for the practice, as most of the time it was just algebra, but for the concepts they would reveal/reinforce. You can often bullshit your way through higher level courses just by regurgitating relatively simple mathematics, but it's hard to do really well without understanding why you're applying the mathematics the way you are. This is something I'm gonna say again, but if you don't understand why you're doing something, figure out why you're doing it. There is little point in continuing on a problem if you are just going to spill out algebra.
There are a lot of courses that I have found doing previous problem sets and past exams/test incredibly helpful, granted. Most people should be able to identify them pretty quickly.
Lastly, I really, really struggle with memorization based courses. I've coped with them a bit better recently, however, it takes me a lot of time. Like so many other people have posted here, write out a lot, and rewrite it. I personally go through my lecture slides word by word, and the instant I don't understand anything, I have to get my head wrapped around it. If I don't understand something, I find it much, much harder to memorize it, so even if it takes me 10 definitions until I finally understand everything (especially for biology, where I've found myself facing a definition of a word in a definition that I don't understand filled with more words I don't understand), I'll do the work to do it.
For those struggling with memorization, association is the key. Your brain remembers things by making connections. You remember general concepts better because you connect it to other concepts and you connect ideas within the concept.
For example, with medical terms learning the latin/greek roots to the words gives me an association to cement it in my brain while also making it easier in the future if I see that root again.
I always make as many associations as possible rather than pure memorization and I think that's why I haven't really forgotten anything I have learned. Like the serratus muscle is named for the latin meaning to saw because it looks like a fucking saw. I'm never gonna forget that now that I know why it is named that. I also remember looking it up when trying to make my lats look more defined so that's another association which will stop me from forgetting what most people see as a vocab word on a memorization list.
For example, with medical terms learning the latin/greek roots to the words gives me an association to cement it in my brain while also making it easier in the future if I see that root again.
I always make as many associations as possible rather than pure memorization and I think that's why I haven't really forgotten anything I have learned. Like the serratus muscle is named for the latin meaning to saw because it looks like a fucking saw. I'm never gonna forget that now that I know why it is named that. I also remember looking it up when trying to make my lats look more defined so that's another association which will stop me from forgetting what most people see as a vocab word on a memorization list.
speaking from experience in medicine, for basic things association is cool. like yeah theres a muscle called the serratur magnus. the problem isnt knowing it looks like a saw, is: insertion, origin, innervation, action, direction of fibers. association can only take you so far. the rest is pure squeezing your brains out until it stays there.
With a little anatomical intuition, you can kinda fit some stuff into an internal model to make it easier (for example, if you know the insertion and origin, you have a pretty good guess as to its action). It isn't always pure rote memorization, although yeah, there is a point where you do just gotta stuff it in there.
I agree, but lets consider this is only for muscles and theres another billion things you have to learn in which intuition wont help. Histology, for example: learning all of the markers for lymphocites and their interleukins has just about nothing to do but just stuff it in there.
For anatomy though, even though theres asses that call me gay for using this (hint hint whistle) i find mnemotechnics to be really, really useful. right now im studying arteries and veins and being able to cram 15 divisions of an artery in a sentence is so useful.
For anatomy though, even though theres asses that call me gay for using this (hint hint whistle) i find mnemotechnics to be really, really useful. right now im studying arteries and veins and being able to cram 15 divisions of an artery in a sentence is so useful.
Yeah, I majored in engineering, so most of my studying was just doing lots of various types of practice problems. Word problems are key - they make you think about the concepts and apply them in different ways, instead of just memorizing formulas or steps required to solve a specific type of problem.
For the non-math/engr stuff, I usually wrote down all the information that I thought would be relevant on a sheet of paper. I tried to do this about a week before the test, and then read it over 2-3 times per day all the days leading up to it. I was usually pretty familiar with it by the time the test rolled around.
Whooo, yeah. Especially during hectic weeks (finals???), sometimes I just had to prioritize, and just skip studying for one class. Usually something like Physics or Dynamics that was super equation-heavy. You just have to sack up and hope you can do the entire test off the equation sheet.
For the non-math/engr stuff, I usually wrote down all the information that I thought would be relevant on a sheet of paper. I tried to do this about a week before the test, and then read it over 2-3 times per day all the days leading up to it. I was usually pretty familiar with it by the time the test rolled around.
Whooo, yeah. Especially during hectic weeks (finals???), sometimes I just had to prioritize, and just skip studying for one class. Usually something like Physics or Dynamics that was super equation-heavy. You just have to sack up and hope you can do the entire test off the equation sheet.
I study exactly like in this video XD
I never took classes very seriously, and I think the strict irony of it all is that while I was at the University of Texas, I had to study more to get a 3.0 when I was actively ignoring the classes I was attending (ignoring with video games, skipping classes routinely, doing little of the homework) than I had to study to get a 4.0 the final year. The final year I went to class with a pen, all my class books, and spiral notebook. If I ignored a teacher when bored, I only ignored the teacher by reading one of my textbooks or other class reading. I barely studied outside of this and my grades immensely improved despite it being my final year and what were purportedly my hardest classes.
S1 - 4.0; easiest classes, figured I could now get perfect grades no matter what I did
S2 - 3.5; skipped every class that did not have a final exam, given that I still scored this well while attending almost no classes I was pretty pleased with myself
Y2 - 3.0; attended most classes, but played video games in each and every class of the semester
Y3 - 4.0; pen, paper, and textbooks only, missed literally 0 class periods in the entire year, "studied" the least by far out of any year, on the other hand read the most textbooks in a daily manner
An extra note about Y2 - I did not care at all Y2, S1 and was amused by my mediocrity (I never studied and just watched anime), but S2 I was actually pretty bothered that it happened again and studied very hard for my final exams. It made no difference, even studying about 10 hours+ for a few exams I did worse than I have ever done, including by far the worst test grade of my life (a 44 or some shit on an economics final). I think going to and paying attention in class is a lot better than studying for any class that does not involve highly technical knowledge.
Anyway, a proper tl;dr of my advice - if you are going to fuck around, do it before you hit upper level classes =j
In lieu of highlighting, I wrote things like WOOOOO and DAMNNNNNNN NIGGA/HONKEY all over my books, I hope the next owners enjoyed my incredibly incisive abilities.
S1 - 4.0; easiest classes, figured I could now get perfect grades no matter what I did
S2 - 3.5; skipped every class that did not have a final exam, given that I still scored this well while attending almost no classes I was pretty pleased with myself
Y2 - 3.0; attended most classes, but played video games in each and every class of the semester
Y3 - 4.0; pen, paper, and textbooks only, missed literally 0 class periods in the entire year, "studied" the least by far out of any year, on the other hand read the most textbooks in a daily manner
An extra note about Y2 - I did not care at all Y2, S1 and was amused by my mediocrity (I never studied and just watched anime), but S2 I was actually pretty bothered that it happened again and studied very hard for my final exams. It made no difference, even studying about 10 hours+ for a few exams I did worse than I have ever done, including by far the worst test grade of my life (a 44 or some shit on an economics final). I think going to and paying attention in class is a lot better than studying for any class that does not involve highly technical knowledge.
Anyway, a proper tl;dr of my advice - if you are going to fuck around, do it before you hit upper level classes =j
In lieu of highlighting, I wrote things like WOOOOO and DAMNNNNNNN NIGGA/HONKEY all over my books, I hope the next owners enjoyed my incredibly incisive abilities.
I take out the textbook. Close it. Go on Youtube and Showdown. Go to gym. Sleep. Get to test and wing it.
That's pretty much what I do when I have a maths test, every single time.
I just read over equations and problems and shit and then take the exam, see a couple problems I've never seen before and somehow mess up, and then barely pass the exam.
Fuck maths.
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