Cram

How To Effectively Cram (School Girl)

So you haven't studied. Things got away from you and all of a sudden you realize that that huge exam is tomorrow. You could not study, but that's dumb. So now you're going to cram. But not all cramming is created equal. There are some ways for you to cram more efficiently and hopefully do a little better on that exam. Before you read this article and think "oh how wonderful! I'll never have to study again!", please remember this: Cramming is a last-minute resource. You should not rely on cramming as your only method. I understand that it happens, but you will do exponentially better and retain more information over time if you do actual studying. The following article was found at a website called DegreeDirectory, I suggest you poke around there, there are some great articles. Also, I didn't include the entire article, so if you'd like more information, the article can be found here.

Four Starting Steps

1. KNOW WHAT YOU NEED TO STUDY
Knowing how much information you have to cover to be prepared for an exam is essential. Be realistic and make a list. Put the things you already know at the bottom and the things you are clueless about at the top.
2. KNOW HOW MANY HOURS YOU HAVE TO CRAM
Since it's the night before the exam, your cram session is sure to be limited. Determine how much time you have. Again, be realistic. If you are confident in your ability to successfully pull an all-nighter, by all means do so. But if you know you can't function without sleep, you're better off setting aside time to get some zzz's.
3. DECIDE WHERE YOU WILL STUDY
You'll need to find a quiet, well-lit place that's completely devoid of distractions. This may mean leaving your room, your house and possibly even your town.
4. DECIDE YOUR PLAN OF ATTACK
Coming up with some sort of game plan before you get started will save valuable time. To start, decide what study techniques you'll be employing and what you'll need to accomplish your goal. Then, make a schedule or a to-do list to help you execute your plan in a timely manner.

Cramming Techniques

MEMORIZATION TECHNIQUES

• Repeat information over and over again. (Do this until you can easily repeat something ten minutes later.)
• Rewrite information that you want to retain. (Rewrite at least three times for maximum retention.)
• Act it out. (Make up a dance or hand signals to remember whole sentences.)
• Make rhymes and songs out of important dates and facts. (Who can forget that in 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue?)
• Use acronyms to remember facts. (SIM translates to Sedimentary, Igneous and Metamorphic--the three basic rock types.)
• Use acrostics to remember words in a specific order. (My Dear Aunt Sally = Multiply and Divide before you Add and Subtract)

USE A TEXTBOOK

Reading an entire textbook is not an effective way to cram for an exam. Instead, try concentrating on the summaries that appear at the beginning and end of each chapter. Chapter end questions, illustrative examples and other sections that are located throughout the book may also prove helpful.

• Look for bolded words. Words in a bold or italicized font are probably important. Take note of these words by writing them down, highlighting them or flagging them in some other way.
• Know how to answer chapter end questions. Lazy professors pull their exam questions straight from the back of the book.
• Use the table of contents, the glossary and other overlooked parts of the textbook to get an overview of key information.
• Read introductions and conclusions. These parts always include important points.

USE YOUR NOTES

Hopefully you have class notes. If not, it's time to think about making photocopies of someone else's--preferably someone who takes good notes. If the professor made a specific point of emphasizing specific subject matter in class, it's likely that at least some of this subject matter will appear on the exam.

• Look through the notes and try to find things that have been underlined or highlighted in some other way. This information is probably important.
• Scan the notes and look for key information that you can highlight or flag with Post-it notes for easy reference later on.
• Rewrite key information from your notes. This will help you memorize and comprehend important points.
• Read some of your notes aloud into a voice recorder and replay them later.

Tags: how to, studying, school girl, last minute, cramming, cram

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