FAQ: Remembering at Exam Time
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Subject: Remembering at Exam Time
When it's time for the exam, I studied, but when I'm answering, it's hard for me to recall the information I've learned. Can you give me some study tips that will help me?
Learning is forever! Thank you.
Fithri
My Answer:
Hi Fithri,
If you can memorize the information at home but have trouble recalling it at exam time, maybe you are feeling too much pressure during the exam.
Here are some suggestions:
- Avoid eating a heavy meal before going to the exam. Make sure to drink some water (not too much!) earlier in the day so you are not dehydrated.
- Before going to the classroom for the exam, find a quiet place where no one can see you. With your eyes open and your head still, shift your eyes quickly from left to right over and over again for about 30 seconds.
What this does is speed up the communication between the left and right sides of your brain. You might also try this before each study session.
- As soon as you sit down for an exam, take several slow deep breaths. This will help calm your mind and help you think more clearly.
- When studing, try to reproduce the exam environment as closely as possible. Make sure your study desk at home is located in a quiet spot with bright lighting.
Clear everything off your desk except study materials. Take everything off of the wall in front of your desk. Don't eat, play on the computer, or do anything else at your study desk.
- Teach the material to someone else. Become a tutor if possible. Teaching is the absolute best way to learn anything. That's because you have to know it well enough to be able to explain it to someone else so that they understand it.
- Make flash cards. These are a great way to review lots of information quickly. As you study, write key facts on index cards.
On the front, write the name of the concept, then on the back, write the details. During and after each study session, flip through your stacks of cards and test your knowledge.
- Learn the basic memory systems. The memory systems give you mental hooks to remember things by.
That way if you forget something during the exam, you can think of the mental hook to remind you of the answer. I especially recommend the book "Super Memory, Super Student" by Harry Lorayne which gives lots of tricks for memorizing and later recalling school material (all subjects).
- Quiz yourself. As you read your study material, constantly ask yourself "Who", "What", "When", "Why", "Where", "How". If you can't quickly answer it means you need to study that section more.
- Use test-taking strategies. For example, if you can't remember an answer, skip that question and come back to it later.
Answer all the easy questions on the exam first then go back to the harder questions. Sometimes a question later on the exam will give you a clue to the answer for a question earlier in the exam.
- When answering multiple-choice questions, try eliminating the obviously wrong answers first. Also, look for two answer that are exact opposites.
Often one of the two is the right answer to the question. Look for "red flag" words in the answers. Words like "always, never, must" that describe absolutes are often a giveaway that that answer is false.
- For fill-in-the-blank and essay questions, think "around" the answer if you can't think of the answer right away. In other words, try to make mental connections based on the question that eventually lead to the answer in your memory.
- If you are allowed to have scratch paper during the test, sometimes drawing or outlining the problem can help. Sometimes drawing your thoughts on paper will remind you of information you temporarily forgot.
- For math problems, if you can't remember a formula, you can often derive it on the spot. Also for math, learn how to do dimensional analysis. That means you look at the labels on the quantities to figure out the formula.
As a very simple example, if you are given distance and time and are asked for velocity, remember that velocity is usually described as kilometers per hour. In dimensional analysis, that translates to kilometers / hour (kilometers divided by hours). So you can see that the velocity = kilometers / hours.
This technique works on even very complicated "word problems".
- Think positive. The next time you catch yourself thinking negatively about your memory, just stop. Instead, actively shift your thoughts in a more positive direction.
Tell yourself, "I can remember this material!"
Best regards, Douglas
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