Study Tips
Review that Day: Always review your notes after you get home. Spend between five to fifteen minutes looking over them. Doing this will refresh your memory and is one of the most important things you can do. Flashcards: After reviewing, write down facts, definitions, and other important information onto index cards or pieces of paper. Write the term or idea on one side and a question on the other side (examples: “Who is the Father of the Constitution?” → “James Madison” or “Who is the Father of Sociology?” → “Auguste Comte”). Try looking at the questions and then answering them. When you have that mastered, flip it over and look at the answers first and then try to guess the question, like they do on Jeopardy. Once you know a term front and back, you can remove it from the stack. Study with a Buddy: Meet up with a friend or call them on the phone to study together for at least fifteen minutes. Ask each other questions to see if they can answer it. You might want to switch off roles every other day: one person asks the questions and then other answers and then you reverse it the next day. Teach Your Parents: Talk with your parents every day about what you learned in class. Talking about it with someone else helps will keep it fresh in your memory. Three Things: Ask yourself after class or at the end of the day: “What three things did I learn in class today?”. What is the main idea of the lesson? Why is this stuff important? Which of these would be on the test? Stay Organized: Keep your notes and papers from one class together and in order. Organizing the material in your folder will help you keep it organized Keep it Real: Think about how this relates to your own life. If you can think about how you personally fit into the material you are studying, you will remember the information.  |
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Test Tips |
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Relax!: Being stressed out will affect your performance! Don’t do last minute “cramming”. Look over the test! Take the time to see how long the test is and what is on it. This will allow you to figure out how much time you have. It will also allow you to see if there is something further on in the test that might help you with the earlier questions, like a map. Read the Directions! Read the question carefully! Watch for words you might overlook, like “not” and questions which ask for multiple answers. Predict the Answer: Check to see if you already know the answer before reading the choices. Read all the choices! One of the later answers may be a better answer or there may be a “d: All of the above” response. Simplify: Eliminate choices you know are wrong. Guessing: If you don’t know the answer, make a mark, skip it and come back later. If you guessed, mark it and come back later to double check. One of the other later questions or answers might help. Go With Your Intuition: If you guessed, be careful changing it. Usually your first guess is right, unless you remember or see information later in the test that says otherwise. Warning Words: Watch for “always” and “never”: these words in an answer usually indicate the wrong answers. Double Check: Go back over the test before turning it in. Did you answer all the questions? Double check questions you weren’t sure on. Even if you don’t know, guess! Never leave an answer blank.
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