How do i start studying for exams?

[spectroscopy]

hey guys ! im calling on the wisdom of the experienced AN'ers here and need some advice
where do i start studying for exams? (psych 3/4 this year)

do i start practice exams straight away? do i make notes and revise from the first topic onwards? should i do practice questions or nope?
im feeling pretty lost and sorta overwhelmed cos theres so much stuff to do haha and im lacking organisation
tell me what you guys did and how you would improve it/what worked well
cheers !

[rhinwarr]

It really depends on what you are already confident with. Its probably best to start with the topics you're not sure about yet. Then quickly go over the topics you already know. While you're still gaining confidence in the material you could write notes and do the questions in your textbook if you haven't already done them. Then once you're familiar with most of the content, you should do practice exams. And by do, I mean, always write down stuff you didn't get right so when you revise, you know which parts of the course you're not as good at. You should also read the exam reports so you can see common mistakes and the main points that the examiners want. If you come across difficult questions, dont just skip through them. If you're aiming for high marks, take the effort to learn how to do those questions in case they come up in the actual exam.

And also, to-do list or timetable would help if you're not organised. Just make sure you actually follow it and you should be fine.

Good luck with your studying!

[Joseph41]

Hi Genji,

Keep in mind that study techniques change for everybody. In saying that, this is what I did for my 3/4 subject in Year 11 (Business Management):

1. Go through the study design and make sure I had sufficient notes for each dot point
2. Start some practice exams using these notes (open-book) and not time-bound
3. Build myself up to do some practice exams without notes and time-bound (not necessarily all in one sitting)
4. Practice exams in exam conditions
5. Work out the things that I still wasn't sure on. Make posters, new revision notes, mnemonics, and anything else that works for you to try to remember that troublesome content.
6. Do the VCAA exams
7. Do the VCAA exams again, if you have to
8. Do the VCAA exams AGAIN, if you have to
9. Take the day or two before the exam off

Best of luck!