Source: Susan Lantz, Associate Dean of Academic Support
Here are some effective ways to prepare for tests:
Always find out what kind of test you will be having. You do study differently for an essay test than you do for a multiple choice test. If the syllabus does not say what kind of test the professor will be giving, ask!
Ask your professors for any old tests (or tests on file) to give yourself as much practice as possible in a real testing situation. If a professor cannot provide you with sample tests, as him or her to provide you with a few example questions so you will have a better feel for the kinds of questions you will actually encounter on the tests.
Start studying for tests from the first day of class. Employ an effective note taking system. Transfer information to be learned onto note cards and review a few of them every day (all it takes is a few minutes). Practice writing out information you need to know -- without looking at your notes – to see how much you remember and how much you have to review. Talk over material with classmates and the professor every chance you get so that the information has a chance to sink in.
Give yourself practice tests. If you are preparing for a multiple choice test, write out some of your notes as multiple choice questions, or ask a classmate to do it for you. Look for key terms and concepts, see relationships between them that might be seen in the test, understand how some terms could be confused with one another and be prepared to know the difference. Sometime textbooks and workbooks also have practice multiple choice questions. Answer these questions as if you were really in the test. Doing well on such practice tests will decrease your anxiety and tell you what you have yet to do. If you are preparing for an essay test, go through your notes and pull out main ideas, concepts and themes. Anticipate possible test questions based on your text organization and lecture discussions. Write out your anticipated questions, outline an answer, then practice writing out the answer you would provide on an essay test. If you are unsure of your anticipated questions, show them to your professor to see if you are on the right track. Remember that this strategy requires studying ahead of time!
Take care of yourself. Prepare far enough in advance that you are able to actually relax the night before a test. Finish studying early. Get in a good workout. Eat a healthy meal. Do something fun. Get to be early and rise in enough time to have a good breakfast. Practice relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, meditation or visualizing yourself doing well on the test. Enter the room right before the start of the test to avoid becoming stressed by people still cramming for the test. Take care of your body and you will also take care of your mind. You will be focused, relaxed and ready to do your best.
Remember, you do not just read when you take a test, so you should not just read when you prepare for a test. Such a strategy compares to a football player watching a film of a football game to prepare for a football game. Get out a piece of paper and a pen and make a practice test for yourself. By practicing like this, you will be doing what you will be doing on the test: writing, choosing the best answer, filling in the blanks. You will be more confident and more prepared for the actual test.
Clearing the Clutter: Using Annotation to Read and Remember Texts
Why throw away the highlighters? People often complain that they have too much to read in too little time. Yet when they read, they basically just read or move a yellow highlighter along with them, thinking this very passive way of reading will help them remember the most important information from a textbook. While this may work some of the time, the problem with this strategy is that before a test, people must go back and read the text again - or read everything that is yellow (which could be a lot!). It is really like reading all over again because very little is remembered from the first time. What is much more useful is a strategy that will allow you to read a text well the first time, reduce the clutter, find the main idea, put information in your own words and begin the process of committing the information to memory. The strategy that can help you do all this is annotation.
What is annotation? Annotation is simply the process of creating marginal summaries right in the text, in your own words, as you read and underline the most important information.
Here’s how it works:
Throw away the highlighters and pick up a pen or pencil instead. Quickly survey what you are about to read to get an idea of the main purpose of the reading. You do this by reading the title, headings and subheadings of the chapter or section, as well as by scanning the pictures, illustrations, charts and graphs. This process should take no more than a few minutes.
Begin reading in "chunks" -- that is, take the information in small sections or paragraphs. When you are done reading a small section or paragraph, go back and underline the most important points.
Then, in your own words, summarize the information in brief words and phrases -- not sentences (it will take too long and that defeats the purpose!). This will help you check your understanding of that section and reduce the text to what is most important. Do not tell yourself you will do it all when you are done with the chapter; chances are you won’t, and you won’t remember each paragraph anyway. Take the time to write the summaries after each section. Have an ongoing conversation with yourself. Talk out loud if it helps, asking yourself, "What did I learn here?" or "What is the gist of this section?" Then, use abbreviations or numbers to help make the process go more quickly.
Repeat step 4 until you are done with the reading assignment. For added benefit, go back and transfer your marginal notes to index cards, again rewording and reducing to get one point on each card. These cards can be set up as question/answer cards as well.
Finally, live with the cards. Cards don’t help the night before the test. Make them after each reading assignment and review a few of them daily, in your spare moments. You will be amazed by how much you remember at test time and how little rereading you have to do. Your memory works best when given time, and you always remember best what you say in your own words. A little review over a longer period of time goes a long way! You will never waste time rereading or cramming for a test again.
Remember… It may seem to take more time to get your reading done when you first use this strategy, but stick with it. Always abbreviate and summarize concisely in your own words. Realize that you will be making up the time on the other end -- when it matters the most -- during finals. You will come to like this strategy, and the more you use it, the easier it becomes. You’ll never pick up a highlighter again!
Here is an example of what an annotated page looks like: annotation = marginal summaries
Benefits
saves time
helps memory
no cramming
Annotation is a textbook reading strategy which allows you to clear away the clutter and remember main points. It involves making summaries in the margins of your text through brief words, phrases and abbreviations. This system saves time and frustration, because you no longer passively read; instead, you commit to your own words the most important points which you can then study for the tests. Long term memory is activity and cramming is no longer necessary.
Want a Better Note Taking System? Try a Recall Column Why change how you take notes? Many people find that their lecture notes are very messy or disorganized, resulting in a failure to remember what is written down and a lack of motivation to review come test time. There is hope. One of the best ways to take lecture notes is to use a system which allows for quick review and summarization of lecture material after every lecture. Much of what we lean at any given time is lost if we do not review it within a short period of time -- it never has a chance to get from short-term to long-term memory. But you can be a more active participant in your learning with very little extra time or effort. You can keep your notes neat, quickly review, remember what you learned and, best of all, not cram at test time--all by using a recall column.
What is a recall column? A recall column is a new margin you make in your notebook, next to the margin already in place. You just draw a line about 2 1/2" out from the red line.
How do you use the recall column? Just follow these easy steps:
Create your new margin before every class or before writing on every page in your notebook.
Take your notes on the right hand side of your page, leaving the recall column blank.
Pay careful attention to what the professor says, taking note of key terms, material heavily emphasized, and any major questions or topics.
Leave space between major ideas and topics.
Use abbreviations.
Before the next class (during the evening of or the day after the lecture), open up your notebook again and reread you notes. In your recall column, summarize what is in your notes by writing key words or phrases. Remember to use your own words as much as possible. Talk through your notes, thinking about what is most important and seeking out major themes and ideas. These major themes and ideas are then written in the recall column. When you do this, you help yourself retain the information better by becoming actively involved with it, writing it again and saying it out loud if you choose. You will save yourself the very time consuming task of relearning lecture material you failed to review. Remember, what you don’t review is lost, so if you don’t review lecture material on a regular basis, you will have to relearn it and cram it in your head right before a test -- not an appealing thought!
With this system, it is important not to let yourself get behind. If you do, you might have to review many lectures at one time, and this is too time consuming. If done after every lecture, this process of creating a recall column can take only minutes. Think of all the time you will save during exams. The value of your notes in any class is directly related to how soon and how often you review them.
To get the most out of this system, periodically go back and review your notes by covering them up, leaving only the recall column exposed. This recall column can act as a quick review. You can see how much you remember based on the recall column and create test questions. Quiz yourself regularly and you will be surprised how much you have retained come test time. Any free time you have can be devoted to this purpose. You will find yourself with a set of well-organized notes and a less stressful study experience. You do not need to have time set aside. Five minutes in the cafeteria or before the start of a class can add up to increased retention and decreased cramming. Try to find a few extra minutes every day.
Remember: Like anything new, this process may seem difficult or time consuming at first. Give it a chance. Before long, it will become second nature.
Posted by Ng Jia Jun at 5:03 PM
Saturday, October 4, 2008
南拳妈妈 (梁心颐)-下雨天 KTV
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