Ten Easy Steps To Exam Success!

Averaging 4 hours of sleep a night, constant butterflies in your stomach, piles of lecture notes to organise, fighting for a quiet corner in a busy library and having to wait 20 minutes to grab a free computer. Sounds like only one week - dead week!

We are all familiar with the stress that surrounds finals week. We all promise ourselves that next year will be different. Next year I will be more organised, next year I will make study notes throughout the year, next year I will get plenty of sleep. However, we are not all perfect students and some things never work out as planned.

This is why we all need simple study tips to get us through this stressful time. Here are some useful tips to keep in mind when you are preparing for your exams.

1. Know what kind of learner you are. There are three different types of learner; a visual learner, an auditory learner and a kinaesthetic learner. You should adapt your learning methods to suit what type of learner you are. If you don’t know what category you fall under do the learner quiz at http://homeworktips.about.com/library/quizzes/bl_lstylequiz1.htm.

2. Take regular breaks and review your material because this is how you remember the information best. You could get your roommate or a friend to test you on the material you have revised. You should also do activities that help you forget about the exams. For example, exercise or watching films are effective ways to relieve exam stress.

3. Sleep. Don’t skip on sleep. It may work for one exam, but remember, all-nighters will catch up with you. Sleeping is also a way for your brain to consolidate the material it has learnt; therefore it is in your best interest to get a good night’s sleep. Besides, you actually need to be awake to take the exam!

4. Don’t skip meals. You need to eat for energy. It is not a good idea to skip lunch and dinner for an extra hour of revision time.

5. Make a revision timetable for each course so you can plan your time effectively and cover all the material you need to. That way you won’t have to do last minute cramming.

6. Eat a banana because they are slow releasing energy foods. Therefore your energy levels will remain consistently high throughout the exam. That is why you see a lot of tennis players eat bananas during tennis matches. If you don’t like bananas that is OK, flapjacks work in the same way. Just don’t eat chocolate. Chocolate is a high releasing energy food. So it will give you a boost of energy just before your exam and then your energy level will suddenly drop during the exam.

7. Plan your answers. If you have to write essays then take 5 or 10 minutes to plan your answers. Students who plan get the highest marks.

8. Manage your time. Keep a regular eye on the clock and make sure you leave yourself enough time to answer all questions.

9. Stay motivated. You must remain motivated until your last exam is over. Try not to be influenced by the exams you have already taken, particularly if you feel you have performed badly on them. Just focus on the exams you still have left.

10. Finally don’t panic, it is only an exam! You may not think it at the time, but there are more important things in life.