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- Studying for and
- Taking Tests
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- Before you start to study, you need to know what kind of test you are
going to take:
- Objective tests – multiple choice, True/False, fill-in-the blank, short
answer, matching, etc.
- Subjective test – essays – compare and contrast, explain connections,
describe a timeline, etc.
- Concept Learning tests – math story problems, manipulating concepts,
etc.
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- One major key to academic success is to study a little new each day and
review what you have already covered.
- This will make you feel like you know the material better so that you
can organize it the way you need to when it comes time to prepare for
the test.
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- After you have actually read all the materials and notes at least twice,
- Create a series of notes that help you link important pieces of
information because objective tests, in general, ask you to match
things.
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- Many people find creating study aids like flash cards help in this
process
- Front = 1492, Back = Columbus sailed the ocean blue
- Front = drooling dogs, back = Pavlov rings the bell
- This method can be used for any subject
- Experiment with what works best for you.
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- Essay exams ask you to tell stories and pull relevant bits of
information together
- Define, compare and contrast, put information in an historical context
or timeline
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- Look for themes in the materials you read
- Check lecture notes to see what’s been emphasized – these often become
topics for essay questions
- Ask yourself the kinds of questions the instructor might ask on the test
and begin organizing information based on those categories
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- Instructors will ask you to demonstrate your understanding of concepts
by asking you to manipulate them
- You will be taught: a+b=c
- The test question will ask you to explain: b=c-a
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- After learning the concepts, you must be able to ask yourself,
- “What does it look like from a variety of different angles?” or
- “How do all the components relate to each other?”
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- So, you are reading a little each day and reviewing previous reading and
notes
- You have organized the material as the test gets closer
- You have begun to study the material the way in which you will be tested
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- Well in advance, begin to decide how much time you will need to study
for a particular exam.
- Create a time plan with specific times you will study
- Also leave time for other important tasks you may need to do
- This will help you decide whether you will study by cramming or by
review over time
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- Plusses:
- Allows you to “cram” the amount of time you would spend over a number
of days into a smaller time period
- Is often best used with multiple choice exams (if you’re going to use
it)
- Minuses:
- Long-term memory of information is poor at best – so if you have a
cumulative test at the end of a semester, you won’t remember much from
the first test
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- Plusses:
- Increases mastery of material
- Most useful for long-term retention of information
- Minuses
- Requires more discipline and breaking larger tasks into smaller parts
- Can’t procrastinate
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- Besides studying by yourself, you can
- 1. Get a “study buddy” – to
study with
- Pick someone who gets good grades
- 2. Create or join a study group
- OR…
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- You can make an appointment to meet with your professor during office
hours
- Timed so that you have already studied a good bit, but a few days
before the test
- Make a list of all the topics you have studied
- Ask the professor to review the list and give feedback about its
completeness
- Then, go study what the professor suggests
- But…
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- NEVER EVER
- Ask what will be on the test
- Ask if there’s anything that is unimportant and that you don’t need to
study
- Go to meet the professor without first having prepared and having made
a list of that which you have studied
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- OK, so you’ve studied and prepared and it’s time to take the test.
- Here are some suggestions that can help you increase your performance:
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- Go to bed at a reasonable hour the night before the exam. Being awake and alert is the first key
to optimizing your performance.
- Being tired makes it harder to do well
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- In order to get to bed, don’t drink or take caffeine the night before
- Large amounts of caffeine will make you feel awake –
- But it will also make you feel jittery and make it difficult to relax
and sleep
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- Some students find it useful to have time before the test to review the
material
- This isn’t cramming, it’s just polishing
- Don’t rush this – only study what you have time for in a relaxed way
- This will help keep you calm and better able to perform.
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- Dress for Success
- Some students like to dress “up” when they take tests
- Others like to wear “comfortable” clothes.
- Choose to wear what will make you feel best.
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- Don’t freak yourself out!
- There’s a whole on-line presentation about anxiety management if you
need it…
- Repeating negative ideas reduces performance
- “I can’t do it.”, “This will be awful.”
- Repeating positive ideas increases performance
- “I have prepared the best I can.”, “I will do my best.”
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- RELAX!!!!!!!
- Here’s an easy thing to do
- Take a deep breath, hold it for just a moment, then let it out slowly
- Repeat this 4 or 5 more times
- Being relaxed increases your performance
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- Get ready to answer questions by
- Reading the instructions completely to understand what you are being
asked to do
- If questions are weighted, plan your time so that you don’t spend more
time on the questions with less weight leaving too little time for the
questions carrying the most points
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- Start Answering Questions
- Unless otherwise instructed, you probably don’t necessarily need to
answer question #1 first.
- Instead, start with a question you feel very confident about answering
(If that happens to be question #1, that’s OK) and continue through
the test by answering those questions you feel most confident
about. Then go back to the
beginning, answering those you are less confident about, etc.
- Answering questions you feel confident about helps you to relax and
remember more.
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- Guessing
- What are the rules for guessing?
- If there is no penalty for a wrong answer, always guess at something.
- If there is a penalty for guessing (on multiple choice), if you can
eliminate 2 of 4 answers, your odds improve from 1:4 to 1:2 and you
should guess.
- If you can’t eliminate some answers, leave the item blank.
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- RELAX!!!!!
- If you feel yourself getting tense, take a moment to relax – do the
breathing thing…then go back to work
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- Should I change my answer?
- The best person to answer this is you
- Think about how you’ve done in the past and whether changing answers
has been helpful or not
- If changing tends to increase your score, change your answer
- If your first response if often the right one, stick with it unless
you have a good reason to change.
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- Don’t worry about what others are doing
- You may be the first one in class who finishes
- You may be the last one in class to finish
- You may be in the middle
- There’s no correlation between when someone finishes a test and grades
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- Do something nice for yourself just because you did the best you could
- Don’t over-predict your score
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- If you did well, don’t attribute it just to luck.
- If you did poorly
- Meet with your professor after you have reviewed the test and get
feedback
- The professor has the most experience understanding what went wrong
- Get suggestions on how to do better next time
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- Whether you did well or poorly, incorporate what you learned or received
feedback about to make a good plan or a different plan for how to study
and take the next exam.
- Remember, if you did poorly, doing the same thing again the next time
will probably get you the same results!
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- Your professor is your first, best resource to help you with content.
- Departments often offer tutoring
- Labs for specific skills may be available
- Math Lab, Writing Lab, Science Lab, etc.
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- Disability Support Services CFO 105 940-898-3835
- Learning Assistance Office CFO 106 940-898-2046
- Math & Computer Sciences CFO 812 940-898-2166
- Science Learning Resource Ctr. SCI 212 940-898-2553
- Writing Center CFO 131 940-898-2341
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- Currently enrolled campus-based TWU Students may call or stop by the
Counseling Center for an appointment.
Counseling is free and confidential.
- Denton: West Jones Hall 940-898-3801
- Dallas: Parkland, Room
120 214-689-6655
- Dallas: Presbyterian, Room
16 214-706-2416
- Houston: North Residence
Hall 713-794-2059
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- Visit any of the TWU Counseling Center waiting areas to pick up handouts
about study skills, test taking, and other topics of interest.
- Denton: West Jones Hall
- Dallas: Parkland Room 120,
Presbyterian Room 16
- Houston: North Residence Hall
- Some handouts are also available on our web site at: http://www/twu.edu/o-sl/selfhelp.html.
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- On the Web, visit the Virtual Pamphlet Collection at http://ub-counseling.buffalo.edu. This web site contains handouts and
pamphlets, created by university counseling centers across the country,
on a variety of topics including stress and stress management.
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- This presentation was created by Donald Rosen, Ph.D., Director, Texas
Woman’s University Counseling Center.
- This presentation was created for educational purposes only. The TWU Counseling Center does not
provide on-going counseling via the internet, telephone, or e-mail.
- Comments and suggestions about this presentation may be sent to the
author at drosen@twu.edu.
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- Thank you for stopping by to visit this site. We hope you found it useful.
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Notes
