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| Your secret ways of revising for an exam |
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| wardah |
| 04/23/03 at 09:46:57 |
[slm] warahmatullah hope you are all in good health and the best state of imaan inshallah. i have some exams comming up and i want to do some serious revising inshallah. So...hmm many of you have probably been through exams and stuff so i thought that maybe you could tell me your *secret* way of revising so that i could try out different ways. would be much appreciated jazakallah khair [wlm] |
| Re: Your secret ways of revising for an exam |
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| Emerald |
| 04/23/03 at 22:01:39 |
| I'm so glad you started this thread out! Maybe I can learn some new learning techniques as well. :) (I'm having 3 exams myself and they're all this week- Argh!) Anyway, I've noticed that usually 3/4 of the material on exams comes from notes and what the professor states and 1/4 from reading. And you gotta focus on what he/she is saying because they sometimes stress upon certain points which are usually good indicators that they will be on tests. For me personally, when it comes to difficult courses that require alot of memorization, I frequently read my notes starting two weeks in advance. Oh AND...I found a new technique that has REALLY helped me out. It may sound stupid but it actually works. Take on the teacher role and try teaching a friend (OR an object- which is what I do) about what you're learning. I guess your best bet is to figure out what type of learner you are- audio/visual and work from that. Well, good luck! :) |
| Re: Your secret ways of revising for an exam |
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| panjul |
| 04/24/03 at 00:36:13 |
| [slm] The best way to study for an exam is two weeks before an test or final. Don't wait till the night before or even two nights. That's what works for me. I have all my notes typed out for my final exam which will be in two weeks, and look over them for several hours every day. Now for essays, most professors that i have had ususally give us 4-5, or 2-3 essay questions to study for and they might use any one of them or two. Now, for the essays, i write the essays to all the questions. type it out. and then i make an outline on note cards. I memorize the outline. Then i test myself and write the essays without looking at the outline or the actual essays. Then i compare them to the one i typed up. Wherever i mess up i concentrate on that. So for each essay, I have to write them out at least 4-5 times before i have all the answers embedded in my mind. Some have told me that it's too much. But it works for me and gets me the grade i desire. |
| Re: Your secret ways of revising for an exam |
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| jannah |
| 04/24/03 at 01:35:35 |
| [wlm] thought this article might be helpful... also what worked for me: 1. Take TONS of notes all through class. everything the professor says write it down. 2. Take notes from your text book summarizing and collating all the info in the chapters covered. 3. A week before the test start studying your notebook, highlight and underlining what you need to learn 4. Night before or day of CRAM! -note that for a final exam this should start earlier and be more intense -always study in a quiet comfortable place.. usually around the same time of day -group study never really worked for me except if it's after studying independently --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To become a successful student, you need: =========================================== 1. A positive attitude 2. A commitment and interest in learning 3. Pride in the best work you can do 4. A willingness to go beyond your comfort level You need a good place to do your homework. =========================================== Choose somewhere in your house that is quiet. (For example, you may choose to work in your bedroom.) You need to have good lighting, so you can see properly what you are doing. You need a table or desk that is big enough to hold your work materials. You need a proper chair so you can sit comfortably. Return to the top of the page You need the proper supplies to complete your assignments. Make sure you have the supplies you need. They may include: ============================================================ (Pencils, pens, paper, highlighter pens, eraser, ruler, calculator, scribblers, notebooks, dictionary/ thesaurus, work logs, calendar. Individual vocabulary notebook, topic browsing planners, graphic organizers, file folders, clock, etc.) If you are going to use a computer, make sure it is working properly, and that you know how to access / save your work. Have two file folders, labeled “work in progress” and “completed work.” You need to organize your time. ===================================================== Set aside a special time each day for your work. Try to make it earlier in the evening, or in the afternoon before supper. On the weekend, choose times when you are most alert. Set yourself a goal to finish within a certain time limit Then, set a beginning and end time. Lastly, do not leave assignments until the night before they are due, because you are unlikely to have access to the supports you need to complete the assignment. Plan ahead! Now that you have a time and a place, you need to organize yourself. ================================================================== Gather everything that you will need to complete your tasks. (Remember to include your homework notebook, or the assignment sheet given to you by the teacher.) Divide big assignments into smaller, more workable tasks. Set a time for each task. You can use a clock if you wish. Check your calendar for due dates of assignments, and fill in any new deadlines. Check your homework notebook for work to be completed for the following day. Divide your time into: review, reading and writing time, on-going project or research time. You may want to work from a list and check it off as you complete each task. This serves to give you a sense of accomplishment. Remember you owe it to yourself to always do your best work. Have pride in what you do. It will make you feel more successful. What do you do if you need help? ====================================== Decide what questions you need to ask. This is very effective because people then know how they can help. If you are well organized, you have time to ask your professor. Lastly, you could call a friend. Writing Skills: ==================================== Decide who your audience is, because this will help you determine your writing style. Brainstorm your ideas, make webs or clusters or lists. Some people like to use tape recorders to tape their ideas. Some people like to make lists on paper, or on their computers. You may wish to use graphic organizers, an individual vocabulary book, or, topic browser planners. Organize your ideas into a proper sequence. Write your rough draft to get your ideas on paper. Read the draft aloud to check for mistakes. Revise your work. Edit your work. Write the Good copy, and check it. Write the Final copy. Return to the top of the page Reading Skills: ========================================== Determine your purpose for reading. Are you reading for enjoyment or for information? Highlight main ideas, and make jot notes as you go along. Look up unfamiliar words, and record them in your individual vocabulary book. Review the information you read to help you remember it. Keep your recorded information in a topic browser planner, and store it in alphabetical order, so it is easy to find. If you are reading with a study partner, ask each other questions, covering the questions -- who, what, why, when, where and how? Keep a reading log. Important Questions: To get the best information, and to provide good detail in your written assignments, remember the “5W” approach. Ask yourself the questions, WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY In-Class Suggestions: Get plenty of rest and eat properly. You can think more clearly when you are not tired. In preparation for doing assignments well, consider the following. Listen to the instructions given by the professor in class. That way, you have the details to complete your assignments. If you do not understand what the professor has said, ask right away |
| 04/24/03 at 01:38:57 |
| jannah |
| Re: Your secret ways of revising for an exam |
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| wardah |
| 04/25/03 at 13:45:08 |
| wow :o :-* jazakallah khair verry much for your help , i'll try and try all the revising techniques out inshallah, cause i have like over two weeks for my exam, so enough time to experiment with the revising techniques :-) :-* |
| Re: Your secret ways of revising for an exam |
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| Dude |
| 04/25/03 at 14:41:51 |
| I asked my cousin this once, as he was fairly successful at balancing a heavy course load with work. At the time, I had a very heavy course load (7 courses / semester at BCIT), and was unraveling. Here's what he told me: "Change your address to the library!" Basically, myself and 4 other formed a permanent study group, and we literally spent all our time together. We were in the same courses, so our schedules meshed. As exam time neared, we literally stayed overnight in some of the classrooms, until the exam the next day. Simply put: study, study, study! The group sessions helped because we'd quizz each other, and help each other out. Oh yeah...eat healthy food, and learn to love coffee! |
| Re: Your secret ways of revising for an exam |
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| theOriginal |
| 04/25/03 at 16:34:57 |
| [slm] I find it really depends on what your goal is for this revision. If you just want the grade (which is usually the case for when I'm studying stupid marketing, stupid IT, or stupid organizational behaviour courses...no offence to people who may be majoring in these subjects :) In case you haven't guessed, i'm sorta bitter), then it's all about what I refer to as the "scoop and dump." This is only effective if you start studying 2 hours before the exam...because then your brain's retention capacity is very limited. This also only works if you have attended all the lectures that semester. Now, if you haven't, don't worry, just start studying four hours before exam time :D Basically, you utilize your God-given photographic memory...which every single human being has, but which every single human being employs and uses differently. For me, if I write something down, I won't forget it (at least not in the next few hours)... A friend of mine finds it only works if she goes through her book (which us scammers have obviously photocopied at the beginning of the semester) and highlights only key words. Now, a note about highlighting...choose your color wisely. They did a study on this dude, who tried every single effective study technique out there, but who wasn't getting the grades no matter how hard he tried. They figured it must be linked to the color of his highlighter somehow. So they asked him...it turns out his highlighter was black. (Okay that wasn't my lamest attempt at a joke to date.) Unfortunately, I had to use this technique for my derivatives course this semester. Good course, but I just was really pressed for time...I had another exam that same day, and one the day before. It's a pity, because I can't remember a thing, since it's now all been "dumped" out of my brain. Anyway, it took me 4 hours to cover 14 chapters. So, like I said, know your pace, and it CAN be done. (InshaAllah)... Now, if you actually want to learn something in this course...or if you are taking a very technical course, then your studying begins the DAY BEFORE the semester BEGINS. And it's all about time management. If you've studied all throughout the semester (max 20 minutes per course, per day), you won't even need revision. It'll be a piece of cake, and the mark won't really matter, anyway. Then you just gotta make du'aa. The way I organize my time: I find that those little book agenda thingies, are extremely useless. I have 3 different calendars. One is a 4-month calendar, which shows my goals for that semester. I hang it somewhere on my wall so I can PHYSICALLY view approaching deadlines. It really can put pressure on you if you can see this stuff. The other one is a weekly thing. It has days across the top (Mon-Sun), and hour blocks going down. I pencil in the hours that I work, that I'm in class, that I need to pray Jumuah, that I spend commuting, etc...And then I pencil in stuff I need to do (including assignments, daily revision (bout 10 minutes daily per subject), eating (since I tend to forget that), family commitments, and any social activities I have..).. This way, I find I don't spend useless hours hanging out with people talking about useless things such as "Oh My Gawd! Did you see what that bro was wearing today?" The third one is a daily "to-do" list. (Laundry, call uncle in NYC, e-mail prof, study, whatever)... Lastly, WILL POWER. Get yourself a cheering squad, a personal posse, usually headed by the two people who matter most anyway (Mommy and Daddy)... OMG, I gotta go...but I hope it helped...if you need more cramming techniques...seriously, I have kind of mastered the art. Wasalaam. |
| 04/25/03 at 16:36:01 |
| theOriginal |
| Re: Your secret ways of revising for an exam |
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| salaampeaceshalom |
| 04/25/03 at 19:31:11 |
| [slm] I think everyone is different when it comes to exams, revision, etc. Personally for me I do end up doing things last minute but I have to all my notes etc done way before, because then I panic majorly if I haven't already. I would seriously stress revising early because that way, as the days get less and your exams get nearer, you can start to eliminate spending ages on certain material because by then insha'Allaah you should be somewhat confident in knowing it. Emerald's method of saying out loud what you've learnt is soo helpful for me, I've done that for so many years. I really study my stuff and then, (this is going to sound stupid!!), I pretend I'm a newsbroadcaster and am retelling everything from memory to my audience. (U have to have very patient and tolerant people around you, so that they don't think your crazy!! Or just even do it alone in a room with an imaginary audience). That has seriously been working for me for years. This no longer works as effectively for me, but when it used to, it used to be awesome and I'd get the best marks. I used to tape my voice reading my notes and then listen to the tape, pause it at certain places, and say out loud what I'd just heard myself say. Seriously that was really good for me in the past. I also sometimes write essays like panjul mentioned, that's also really good. I write out a paragraph, and then rewrite it about 5 times from memory, and go back if I got anything wrong or missed out anything. Finally (sorry, this is so long!!), it is so good to review your stuff with a friend, testing each other. BUT this only worked for me if I had atcually bothered learning, otherwise I use to get stressed because it seemed everyone else knew so much more than I did, and then that would lead to another panic attack. So if you do this one, then make sure you know your stuff first before you have a testing session with a mate/group. One of my friends use to have an A3 sheet and use to make us brainstorm things on a certain topic (this didn't really work for me, but it was so effective for her, and her only way of learning!) Ok, I know I said finally previously, but really this one will be the last one! Some lecturers are really cool if you write out essays on topics that you think might come up in the exam, and they'll mark it for you (I only did this a couple of times). This way, you can get to see what your weaknesses/strengths are just before the exams so you can really focus on them, and make sure you do your best in the real thing. Anyways, hope insha'Allaah all goes well!! :) |
| Re: Your secret ways of revising for an exam |
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| wardah |
| 04/26/03 at 16:15:25 |
[slm] [quote]Oh yeah...eat healthy food, and learn to love coffee! [/quote] i eat healthy food alhamdullilah :) well at least i think i do! i drink cappucino sometimes and i think its disgusting but i still drink it sometimes cause my brothers do - lol, yes i know thats silly :P [quote]I find it really depends on what your goal is for this revision.[/quote] i just want a good grade inshallah, and i think thats all that matters for me :-* [quote]I use to get stressed because it seemed everyone else knew so much more than I did[/quote] thats whats happening to me!! cause i went on holiday, well it wasn't a holiday but i took some time off school - a whole month of important work! :( so now i have to revise, revise, and...REVISE recently i've been like literally copying out the whole revision book into my own words!!! and i think less than 50% of the things i need to know is actually going in my head! I think i'll try pretending i'm a news broadcaster to the cupboard in my bedroom - lol! *sigh* yea i will inshallah :) you lot are so nice mashallah :) really! jazakallah khair :-) you can all have some [] |
| Re: Your secret ways of revising for an exam |
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| AyeshaZ |
| 04/27/03 at 01:35:44 |
Masha'Allah you all are GOOD Students.. sniff :'( ;) :) Typed notessss subhan'Allah!!!!! Panjul you reminded of a girl I had in one of my classes.. Oh how I admired her :) |
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