Tips for tests?

eggs • 4 January 2014 at 2:14 AM

My Finals are coming in 4 days (O^O) and I'm on a review frenzy! Does anyone have some little tips and tricks for reviewing/ test taking? \(o3o)/

trish • 4 January 2014 at 3:24 AM

@eggs I actually did really well on my finals a couple weeks ago except for my strongest subject which was geometry. XD They gave out an algebra test. 😋

Recommended tip:
Create a study/cheat sheet on the subject even if you aren't allowed to bring it to the test. Just by spending time and writing it down will make you remember it easier. Seriously, my bio teacher told us we can have a cheat sheet for the test and I spent HOURSS on it and during the time of the test I only peeked at one of the diagrams on my sheet since everything that I studied and put down on my cheat sheet just came to me. Scored 92% on that Bio final. 😊

Not Recommended But I Do It:
When I really don't know the question and it's multiple choiced, and all the choices are more than a few words, just choose the longest answer lol. Success rate is higher than actually trying to work it out when the words don't make sense.

karamel • 4 January 2014 at 3:51 AM

@eggs Oh gosh, good luck~! Do your best. ❤️

I know this might not be possible now, but this really helps in the long-term: review the work you've done at the end of the day. Before you sleep, while you're having a bath or brushing your teeth, while you're eating dinner, while you're doing homework, when you get back home, or even the next day in the morning when you've got a few minutes extra in bed! (Uh, right...) 😋 Make sure you don't just go on auto-pilot and skim your notes/textbook; actually /read it/.

After you've read your notes several times (and it has stuck in your mind), start to write down the words/terms/phrases and their definition. Then instead of just reading, cover up the definition and try to say it out loud yourself. I know it sounds weird talking to yourself and saying "right, this has a formula of so-and-so...", but if you really engage yourself in doing it, you'll be able to remember it. You could get a friend (ideally someone who's in the same class as you, so they can explain something if you don't understand!) or someone else you know to test you. c:

That's what works for me, at least. Might not work for you because everyone's different. x3 Sometimes it depends on the subject: for things like languages, I don't usually write down /every single word/ I've learnt, cover it up, then say the definition. It's just too repetitive; there are absolute /tons/ of words out there! I only do it for the words I struggle with; things like repeating the verb conjugations out loud (for French/German), or writing the character on a post-it note, sticking it on the wall by my bed, and writing the character(s) just when I wake up and just before bed (for Chinese). 😊

As for the test itself, don't panic! Especially if you find a question you can't answer. Don't sit and stare at the paper in hope of the answer magically revealing itself on those blank lines. Miss out the question and move on to the next one (you can put some sort of mark by it--like a star/asterisk--if you really want to make sure you don't forget it). Check the clock every so often to see how you're doing for time. Obviously don't look up from your paper every five minutes or each time you've finished a question (that'll waste time in the long run!), but checking every few pages--or at least quarter, half-way, and three-quarters through the paper is good enough. When you check about half-way through the paper, you're good for time if there's about half the test time left (or even more than half!).

I'm sure you'll do this and everyone knows this, but just in case--once you finish, don't sigh in relief, lean back, and stretch your arms! No rest for the weary. Double-check your paper, double-check it again, and quintuple-check both of those double-checks. 😋

Come prepared, too. Bring two sharp pencils (in case one breaks, or in the case of mechanical pencils, in case you don't have enough lead; don't bother sharpening as it wastes time), two working pens (biro, ink pen, whatever--as long as it's blue or black), an eraser, a ruler, and any other equipment you might need (such as a calculator, protractor, set square, etc). Check to see what equipment you need and what's not allowed (never taken a final, but some papers don't allow erasers? Not sure). 😉

In the case of a multi-choice, well... You're in for a proper treat. (No sarcasm intended.) I find these the easiest; even if you don't know the answer, eliminate the ones you /know/ aren't the answer!

Oh, a last thing--get some good sleep, eat healthily, and relax! 😊

jemmie • 4 January 2014 at 10:14 AM

@eggs

Yeah, um, Im eleven, so I can't help as much as Karamel.

However, I did indeed take the SSATs just a month ago, and trust me, I studied...a lot.

1.) When you read through your notes, actually /read/ it thoroughly. If you just skim it, your mind will go all "Oh, I know this stuff..." when you really don't. It's better for you.

2.) Take in the information, but also take breaks. Too much information at once can fry your brain. Take breaks to just relax... Don't overfry your brain!

3.) Personally, the night before the test and the morning of it, I didn't study at all. I took the time to relax, and gather up all my thoughts. It helps to not panic as much - I wasn't even nervous during my test! Did I mention that I got all 90% and up?

4.) No matter what subject, LEARN YOUR VOCABULARY! If you don't know what it means, it can really hurt your grade.

5.) Never take too much time on one question. If you don't know the answer, circle/star it and come back afterwards. I don't know what your finals - how your finals are scored.

>If you get points taken off for wrong answers: If you come back and are truly stumped, don't answer it at all. 0 points is better than -1 right?
>If you don't get points taken off: ANSWER EVERYTHING!

6.) Always check the clock. It's good to have a watch too, you you don't have to keep looking up at the wall. If you're halfway through your test and two thirds of the time has already gone by, pick up the speed. But if you are halfway and there is still more than half left, you're doing good.

7.) I don't know if there is reading, but if you do and you struggle with time:

>Look through your test booklet and scan all the passages. Normally nonfictional ones are easiest, so number them lightly from 1 to whatever. Try to go in this order: Nonfiction, Fiction, Poetry. Always do poetry last if you struggle with time, they keep you back the most in my opinion.

8.) Personally, I took 3 practice tests in the weeks before the real test. It helped me understand what the formatting would be.

Good luck, I hope you do well.

naturegirl1999 • 4 January 2014 at 7:07 PM

i am only in 8th grade but i do know a tip.

look up the answers and keep trying to memorize them untill you can see the answers in your head.

Thats what I do and it works with me so if it doesn't work for you i am sorry.

eggs • 10 January 2014 at 12:16 AM

The finals are finally over! Thanks so much everyone! 😃 (I'm in 8th grade, just in case you're curious)

@trish

I made a study sheet (For Biology and Physics) like you said! It really helped, thank you! 😊

@karamel

Thank you soooooo much! 😃 Your tips were really helpful!

@jemmie

Wow, thanks so much! ^-^

@naturegirl1999

I'm in 8th grade too! ^O^ Thanks for the tip! 😃

jemmie • 10 January 2014 at 8:20 AM

@eggs xD I hope I helped, cuz once again, eleven year old...

Oh, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

wolphire • 21 January 2014 at 11:17 PM

@eggs

You really should be constantly reviewing the material throughout the semester. One professor put it like this:

* Look over the Table of Contents of the book, since it let's you know the flow of logic in how the book was structured
* Read the book once before class
* Read the book again, taking notes on the material in the textbook
* During class, take notes
* Immediately after class, go through your notes
* Star anything really important the professor/teacher emphasized
* Write additional notes that you may have forgotten to write on the page margins
* Read over your notes later that night
* Before class, review the notes you took last class to refresh your memory on the material you're covering in class
❤️ Right before an exam or throughout the semester, make a cheat/study sheet of the course material. You can collaborate with classmates to make one, then study off of it.

However, that's really complicated, so I recommend:
* Read the book before class
* Take notes if that helps you remember the material better or you want something to study off of later (index cards worked for me in one class; I kept one topic/subject per note card, then stuck them in my textbook for later use)
* Take notes in class
* Read over your notes either as soon as possible or later that night, making corrections or additional clarifications as necessary
* Copy over your notes if that helps you memorize the material
* Read your notes before class starts

Personally, I do this:
* Go to my best friend who shares most of the same classes the night before and study with her. She has a good sense of what will be on an exam and what will not, despite either not going to class or paying attention in them. The two of us also test and absorb the information really well, so that's why we can get away with so little studying. I do not recommend doing so yourself.

han • 29 January 2014 at 10:22 PM

@eggs
Okay, your finals are over but I have some extra tips in case you need them for the future? I'm 11 turning 12 (grade 6) so idk if I can help 😊

~ Always double check. I swear on this, if you don't double check you'll make silly mistakes (I always do). You can double check as you go or double check when you're finished, or both.

~ Take notes during or after class. If your teacher makes presentations for classtimes, ask him/her if they can send you the files so you can study off of them. Writing things down usually makes it more familiar to your brain, so you'll be able to remember it easier.

~ Spend free time studying. Read textbooks, workbooks, do worksheets or any extra assignments, go over your past assignments... just do whatever you can to study anything that will be on the test. Anything. I swear this helps.

~ Don't study at the last minute, like right before the test. Sounds weird and unhelpful, but it's confusing to study right before the test unless you haven't studied at all (but you probably do study). Try to leave like 10-30 minutes gap between studying time and test time, and review in your head before the test.

~ Take notes with 2 columns; one skinny column and another for the actual notes. In the skinny column emphasize important points (especially if a teacher says "This will be on the test!") and key questions or things you're confused about.

~ Talk to the teacher about ANYTHING you are remotely confused about. It doesn't matter how confused you are about it; as long as you are even slightly confused about anything- tell the teacher. This really helps (unless your teacher is a bad one).

~ Make a study guide for yourself. It's better (in my view) to do handwritten, because it makes you feel more "connected" with the material, but if you are more comfortable typing it or something, that's fine.

~ I find it helpful to just talk to people about the material. Randomly chattering about whatever you think is in your test can clear your head a bit because you feel like you actually know it.

Not a lot, and probably stuff you've already heard, but I hope it helps! 😊

metaphor • 2 February 2014 at 4:52 PM

If you've been given a study guide, I would try studying piece by piece using that guide. Take the first five terms on the list, read about those concepts, make flashcards do whatever you have to do, and then move on to the next five concepts. Don't look back until you've been through all the concepts. Of course, in order for this to be effective, you need to start reviewing maybe a week in advance, but it actually is a lot less stressful and time-consuming than cramming. I did this for my Intro to Language course last semester, and while I did have to motivate myself to want to do it, it paid off and I'm happy I did it the way I did.

mightyeglantine • 2 February 2014 at 5:00 PM

@eggs
I actually don't study at all, I'm quite the learner though so I don't think, don't worry and just do.
I somehow manage to pass all my courses with at least a B or higher.

If I fail I know I need to pay attention more, so my big tip would be PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT IS BEING TAUGHT and IF YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND, DON'T WAIT UNTIL LATER TO ASK.