There’s only a week until exams and you don’t know what to do. Don’t worry, I got you. For reference, let’s use the acronym, STARE: spaced repetition, take breaks, active recall, repetition and exam taking. First is spaced repetition, or the reviewing of the same information with gradually longer breaks in between. Let’s say a student has a Spanish vocab quiz in a week. At first, he might use a free to study the terms for 20 minutes, then take a 10 minute break, and then study again for 20 minutes. Then a couple hours later, he’d study the terms again when he gets home and yet again the following morning. Later that day, he takes the quiz, but exams are coming up and he doesn’t want to forget the vocab. So 3 days after the vocab quiz, he studies the terms again, then a week later, then once before his exams and he’s prepared. But have you already forgotten the earlier units of the 2nd semester? Then begin lightly reviewing what you’ve forgotten every week or so, that way when it’s exam time, you only need to study once and you’re good.
Second is taking breaks. Everyone has developed their ability to focus to a different extent, so how often one might take breaks varies from person to person. However, neurological researcher Caeleigh MacNeil discovered evidence supporting that periods of deep work lasting up to but no longer than 1 hour and 30 minutes is optimal for studying. Therefore I recommend you scrap the Pomodoro Technique and attempt at 2 periods of deep work each day coming up to the exams with at least a 2 hour period in between each study session. But you must be careful how you spend your time during these breaks, especially right before you study. You must not do something more entertaining than studying before you study because it makes it far more difficult to study. Let me give you an example, what if I told you to go on your phone and scroll through Tiktok for 30 minutes and then read a research paper. The research paper would feel immeasurably boring in comparison to Tiktok, making reading the paper or even focusing at all incredibly difficult. Now let’s say I had you stare at a blank wall for 30 minutes, then I gave you the research paper. After doing nothing but staring at a wall for 30 minutes the research paper would seem almost fun to read in comparison.
Third is active recall. You MUST NOT READ YOUR NOTES! Reading notes is scientifically proven by Mark Bohay, Daniel P. Blakely, Andrea K. Tamplin and Gabriel A. Radvansky’s joint study to have the weakest effect in correlation to memorization according to . You must question yourself when studying. For example, if you have flashcards, don’t just read one side then flip the card and read the other side. After reading one side of the flashcard, quiz yourself on what the other side will say. The act of pulling information out of your mind repetitively tells your brain that that piece of information is important and this moves it from your short term to long term memory.
That’s why our fourth letter, R for repetition is so important. There is simply no way to get around it. To be prepared for an at bat in a baseball game, one repeats their swing in the cages thousands of times. To prepare for a morning announcement, one might repeat it in their head over and over. To prepare for a band concert, one would play the same song over and over. Thus to prepare for exams, you must relentlessly study information.
Lastly is the act of taking the exam. When going through questions at the start don’t allow yourself to get stuck on any. If they take longer than a minute, mark them with a question mark and move on. Additionally, it’s important to have your own watch(can’t be a smart watch) to keep track of your time. I wish you all good luck, and remember, if you don’t have faith in yourself, you can always have faith in the work you put in.