#exam tips

1. Stop passive studying . Active recall will help you retain the content better.

2. Read only important or past year questions, trying to finish everything is like willing entering a pitfall

3. Get adequate sleep ( 5 to 6 hours)

4. Eat well - eat healthy and nutritious food , avoid take outs and risk of GIT issues right before an exam.

5. Make a priority list , study all high priority topics first

6. Don't waste hours making a "perfect" schedule , just start , everything will fall in place

7. Eat the Frog ! Finish difficult topics first before panic starts

8. Time yourself : Don't spend too much time on one topic , you need to cover other important topics too and syllabus is vast in med school.

9. Study before hand. Being consistent and studying for 1 to 2 hours daily for 6 times a week will take you a long way instead of studying for 12 hours for 2 days a week.

10. Breathe. Take care of your mind . Journal. It will help with the stress. Ask yourself: what is bothering me? Why is it bothering me? What can i do about it ?

hi loves! so i have tests & exams coming up so in case it would help anyone else, i'm gonna be talking about my study schedule including some more additional things like mindsets and other actions that keep me motivated!

routine!

i have latin, spanish, 2 math, 2 science and a geography paper coming up. for me, the priority is the math, science and spanish tests so i will be focussing more on those.

so here's how i'd make a game plan:

choose the priority subjects, so you know what you need to work on.

do practice papers/ whatever revision technique that works for that subject. then anytime you make a mistake, note it down somewhere so you know thats something you may have to touch on ex: for studying math, i do practice papers and any time i don't know how to do a question/ get something wrong, i make sure to write it down somewhere so i know what i need to remember/ work on.

if creating a rigid schedule that u must follow after school doesn't work for you, create a bare minimum of studying that you need to do daily so even if u have literally 10 mins, you can still do something. what i do is that for the very bare minimum, I do at least a certain set of practice math questions everyday. that way even if i don't have too much time to do a lot of studying, i don't just put it off and say "oh i only have 20-30 mins, i'll just do it tmrw"

a couple things i'll be doing to keep me sane & motivated: 🎆🧁

~ changing up the environment. i'll go to starbucks or a nearby boba shop, or you can stay late at the school library- that way you can't get distracted, or if you can only stay at home, JAZZ IT UPP! work on the floor, in the living room, on the dining/ coffee table, or if ur on ur table, move some things around, light up candles, play different types of music to fully just romanticise and change things up!

Taking exams does not only involve studying: it is a stressful task, that includes cognitive (mental) and emotional fatigue.

Lately, my approach to exams has changed - it is by far more relaxed than it was before. and yet, I've been achieving better results: how did that happen?

I've gathered a couple of tips to share with you ♡

Sleep well = perform well

doesn't matter if I have not revised as much as I'd like: the night before an exam I always make sure I get good rest. personally, I've come to the conclusion that 8 hours is the amount of sleep time that makes me feel good, rested and energetic for my day.

resting well means that:

you have more energy and are more able to process information clearly

sleep contributes to proper emotional regulation: your emotions won't be all over the place (so so important when taking an exam!)

during our sleep, our brain processes information. this is key to memory.

all these points are backed up by science! I have not made this up, I just have tested it on myself and i can assure you THIS WORKS

Eat! Fuel your body and your brain

Taking an exam on a full stomach is WAYYY different than taking it while starving. Eating, similarly to sleeping, contributes to emotional regulation and simply gives you energy for the day.

Personally, I try to have a light meal a couple of hours before my exam, but I also always take with me some snacks, like cereal bars or so.

If you have more than one exam in the span of days, also make sure you eat something after each exam. This has helped me so so much in the process of recovering my energy and being ready to study for the following exam.

Also, obviously, remember to stay hydrated!

Looking good makes you feel good

It is extremely important to feel confindent when you're taking exam. If you normally wear makeup, I suggest you wear some makeup - something that feels true to yourself.

I'm not going to sugarcoat this: if your exam is a oral discussion, or a presentation, how you PRESENT YOURSELF is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.

my makeup on exam days consists of: concealer, blush, mascara, a bit of highliter in the inner conner of my eyes, eyebrow gel, and a lip oil. Nothing crazy, but it makes a difference.

my outfits are clean, simple, and I tend to wear a light colored top (white, cream, baby pink or baby blue). In my country, it is belief that wearing white brings you luck on exams, because it makes you look clean and polished. If I have a presentation, I tend to wear blazers.

I have at least one other post on exam tips, but they were mainly focused on giving tips on history exams. To me oral exams in academia have been the norm since high school, but I know that in other countries that might no be the case, so I decided to write down a list of advices coming from someone who is quite used to this kind of tests.

If you aren't used to having oral exams, you might need to change your study method, or at least add a few steps. I recently made a post entirely dedicated to my study method, which might be useful for this, but what I suggest is to add a step in which you review things out loud. What I would do is to just sit down with your notes or your materials and pretend to give a lecture on everything. Even better if you have a friend or family member to listen to you, because by having an active listener you will be forced to not skip stuff and have clear explainations, and they might ask you questions or clarifications. Those are always good because that might happen during the exam as well, but also it will help you memorizing those things. I recommend reviewing out loud multiple times. This way you will get more comfortable with the exposition of the topics you will be tested on, and you'll have a chance to find your own "voice".

by finding your own voice I mean finding a good compromise between using your own words to explain things, while still using the correct specific vocabulary of whatever topic you'll be tested on. This is fundamental. You are not there to recite a poem by heart, you are there to show you have understood the topic, that you sat with it and made it yours. You have to show you know how to clearly explain things but also reflect on it, making links with other things, and so on. At the same time there's some academic and specific vocabulary you want to include, because you are not in fact discussing the topic with a friend. So practicing out loud before the exam is good to find a good compromise between these two things.

I kind of mentioned it already, but it is absolutely fundamental to show that you understood the topic and not just memorized it. Whatever you do do not learn things by heart. It's better to be slightly insicure about a specific date, than to repeat your book word by word. And if you practice enough, and are comfortable enough with the informations in general believe me you can work around those things you can't remember perfectly well as you are being tested. Moreover your mark on the exam will be much higher than if you just learn things by heart.

on the very delicate topic of not remembering something specific you have been asked. Don't panic, you can still kind of save it. Whatever happens do not stay silent. There are several things you can do depending on whatever the question is, and I will later tell you a very specific example of something that happened to me. As I said do not panic, surely you will remember about some context on the topic so start by talking about that. As you are giving the context you might start to remember additionals informations, or you might build up enough informations to be able to logically guess whatever you are not remembering correctly. If you are half sure about something go for it, even if it's the wrong info if you contextualise it well enough you'll show you knew about that and it might just be read as a slip of you confusing two things. Now there might be situations in which the question is so direct that you can't do much, it happened to me once during my Greek history exam. I was asked the specific date of an event, and I could not for the love of the gods remember it. You know what I did? I told the professor, I cann't rememebr the exact date, but giving certain informations (that I then explained) I can tell you it was more or less in this half of this century. What I did was admit a fault, but while doing that I showed her that I knew what we were talking about it, I had enough informations on the matter to logically place it on the chronological line and contextualize it, and showed her that I can in fact work with the informations I studied. And at the end of my exam the professor complimented me on those exact things, saying she appreciated seeing me use my brain instead of midlessly memorizing informations I didn't understand.

So whatever happens do not stay silent. Anything is better than that.

Another potentially bad thing that might happen, and believe me it happened to me multiple times, is panicking so bad that you cannot get the words out, or confuse things. You know what happened everytime I found myself in that situation? The professor clearly saw me panicking, and told me to calm down, wait a couple of minutes, get my ideas in order and try again. And I got good grrades despite that in the end. You are under a lot of pressure, because you are giving an exam, and you have to be quick and ready instead of being able to reflect like with a written exam. Professors know that, and they keep it in mind, and they can tell when you are mixing things up because you are nervous, and not because you don't know things. I once had a professor look at me in the eye after i mixed up numbers on two dates twice in a row, and told me I know you know them take two deep breaths and try again. And I did. I have so many personal stories from my previous degree in which professors saw I was nervous and told me that it was okay I just needed to take a minute and breathe, and honestly that was exactly it. It was okay and I really needed to breathe, and then the exam when well.

The best tip I can give on answering questions is to balance the actual answer of the question with additional informations. You want to give context and add more infos to whatever has been asked to you, but you should also try not to lose focus on what was being asked. My personal way of doing this is to structure the answer in three parts: 1. general context that works as an introduction to the actual direct answer 2. the actual answer 3. further additions like more context, comparaisons and links with other topics or informations you had to study. This way you show off you know things, you make sure to show the professor you are not just rambling because you don't know the answer, and finally show you are comfortable enough with the informations to reflect on them and link them to other things. Ideally the professor will stop you while you are speaking, that in my experience is the best possible sign, because they are satisfied with your exposition and want to move onto other things.

So always build up on the answer to the question you have been asked. Never stop at just the information that serves as an aswer. You studied, it's your time to shine and make yourself proud.

Contextualizing your informations is absolutely fundamental no matter what, again because it shows you have a clear idea about what you are talking about. This can mean making a small introduction on the time and place, if you are an historian like me, or maybe give an introduction on the person you are talking about (whether they are an historical figure or a scholar you are talking about). Adding the little informations you weren't asked about is great. You are briefly mentioning an even and know the date? Add it in. Everything is a good addition.

Again I have definitely already mentioned in previous points but showing you are capable of reflect on the topics you are talking about is always a bonus. Make sure that when you are giving personal options or personal reflections you are stating this is your thought, but that is usually appreciated. After a good exposition of a topic you might even get the professor asking you your opinion on certain things. It happened to me multiple times, often I was asked to give an opinion of books I had to study for the exam, and that always prooved as an oportunity to add more informations and as I said show that I could make reflections of my own.

Last thing, that again kind of came out from other points, is that you want to show you are comfortable enough with the topic to be able to jump from one point to the other while reflecting on things or making comparaisons.

Just gave my first exam and damn. I feel alright, mostly because now I only have 5 more exams. I think we got this. I just wanna sleep because fasting plus studying and travelling is equal to draining. I just hope the examiners have some mercy.

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How to study

Everyone has experienced that situation where they have a lot of homework and assignments to complete, yet it can be difficult to get started (I can relate!). We try various methods and even tidy up our room, but still struggle to concentrate. As someone with ADHD, I have faced this challenge throughout my life. Therefore, I have dedicated this blog post to researching the best strategies for getting motivated and staying focused while studying. My aim is to assist all those who also struggle with this issue, just in time for exam season!

Pinterest

This one is my own tip, however its very helpful! I personally love the social media Pinterest, its just a space where people get together to share their gallery! Create your own study board, and go look at pictures of people studying. Usually looking at the tidy spaces and notes help inspire someone to actually do the same. It would make you think “oh, this is pretty… maybe I should do the same!”. It also inspires you to put effort into your notes or work, as you might want to recreate this. If you need an inspiration board feel free to check mine! Trust me, this will inspire you and I update it consistently https://pin.it/8lpKfrA

Create a study space

This one is suggested in many researches, including in the International Carer Institution. They mention that “Your study environment should be clean, quiet, organised, and comfortable. Remove any distractions like game consoles and tablets, and ensure you have comfortable seating” (2022). Make sure your study space is the ideal place, because even the tiniest distraction will send you into a spiral which will lead you to distracting yourself even more. Just dedicate a good amount of your time to cleaning your desk, room, and bed. I know many people would not want to leave their room, and thats ok! You can definitely study in your room, but you have to make sure you don’t fall into the trap of the bed. Your ass can not leave that chair. The second you sit on your bed you will succumb to it’s comfort and wont leave it. Instead stand up from you chair, walk around your room. If you really want to sit not on your chair, sit on the floor (I know this sounds weird, but try it).

Set the mood

This is another personal tip that has worked for me for many years. I like to set the mood of my study space, as it helps me work more effectively! It help me when i imagine i am somewhere else while still in my room, for you it could be anywhere, library, coffee shop, work office, etc. For me, I like to set my mood to hogwards. Just imagining i’m studying in the great mighty magical school of witchcraft, helps me going. You can set your mood through ambiance YouTube videos. Some of those even have a Pomodoro installed in it, which is really helpful to getting started slowly slowly. Here is my favourite videos which you could use to set the mood!

https://youtu.be/YwMSH3dHTw4?si=DO43svTvA4BWhk5f - Christmas at the Great hall with Harry Potter! Ambiance and soft music.

https://youtu.be/5epBz_hHYiM?si=BeaYwcAH5DsqmfDb - an Astronomers Great library! Ambiance

https://youtu.be/zCi9ABxuQZQ?si=ds2nAs8CM2i5bi7d - Hogwarts Classes ambience. 4 classes total. Pomodoro

https://youtu.be/BRgPGqCV_cw?si=pMtfK7uSOsogG_Fe - 24 hour Hogwarts ambiance (intense). Pomodoro

https://youtu.be/Aw0BfB4EMY8?si=ntorGn2aEmvf0iAf - hogwarts library ambiance and soft music

https://youtu.be/m8HEoICBdTY?si=pUx-LMcV0ENKK85X - sunny ambiance - perfect for morning mood setting

More ideas to setting the mode could include the following actions: candle, diffusers, change of clothes, and adjust the light (if you have LED lights, or a smart lightbulb like Wiz, defiantly set a warm light for a relaxing atmosphere or bright white one for focus).

For the love of god put your phone down

This is the number one reason you cant get up from wherever you are seating right now, and unable to study. Your phone is a curse and a saviour at the same time. Your phone has all kind of distractions which are stopping you from actually standing up and starting your study. You start with “oh lets just take 5 more minutes” or “oh… 3 more videos wont harm” YES IT WILL. Put your phone far away, under a pillow or in the drawer. Put it on do not disturb mode, and make sure your phone is whitelisted to important people like your guardian in case they need your help. Trust me, the second your phone is away, everything will become easier. Only use your phone on long breaks, after you had a long session.

Write down your to do-list

So you finally sat down on your desk, everything is clean, everything is perfect… what now? Write your to do-list. Writing down everything you need to, helps you actually realise how much you have to do. And when you see everything written down, its easier to sort and understand what you need to do.

Work in your pace

I know you’re watching those influencers online that study for a really large period of times, but not anyone can do this AND it doesn’t work for everyone. Set your own pace, work for 20 minutes or 15 minutes and take a 5 minute break (🍅), and as you do that, you end up getting hyper concentrated at some point, and then watch the magic of studying happen.