General "Studying for a Test" Tips

1. Answer Questions

Come up and answer all potential questions based on your notes (even for the practice problems). This method, will test you and improve the skills needed for the subject.  

2. Review Notes

Create 3 types of review sheets that are time-consuming, but very helpful to make: 

   - First of all, create a general review of all concepts and information associated with it. In the first review, you should include everything (even the info that you know 100%). That way when you are dealing with a final exam preparation, you don't have to redo everything as you have a complete understanding of a unit.

  - Secondly, create a condensed review, that preferably should fit onto 1-2 pages. Cover anything that you are unsure about, and that way you've outlined specifically what you have to study for. 

   - Lastly, create an emergency review note. This review should be maximum half of page and should cover the information that you absolutely couldn't memorise. You should create abbreviations, poems, or whatever it is that helps you remember. 

In terms of the timing, the first review must be done minimum 2-3 days prior to the test, the second, should be done the day before, and the third - the day of. 

3. Practice

If you are dealing with a practice-based subject, remember to:

- Correct all problems that you ever got wrong (we naturally learn from our own mistakes, therefore this is an effective method to remember the information).

- Do at least 2-3 more questions alike to the ones you got wrong (make sure you understand every single detail of a question and how to answer it). 

- Search for patterns (math based problems all have certain patterns of solution. you could group some questions into one type and see if they have similar patterns of solutions. by doing this, you decrease the amount of memorisation you have to do).

- Redo ( if you are dealing with timelines or cycles of events, you should consider redrawing them until they are perfectly correct. if available, do hands-on stuff and that way, you are stimulating your mechanical memory, which is definitely useful for the patterns that are not easily predictable).