Top Ten Testing Tips for Students

1.    When requesting exam accommodations, communicate your needs clearly and   completely to your instructor.  If questions arise, refer faculty to the Disability Resource Center.

2.    Consistent, regular studying is the key to doing well on exams.

3.     A brisk walk or other simple exercise can help to reduce anxiety and get those brain cells working prior to an exam.

4.    Take part in classroom exams whenever possible.  Arrange exam accommodations ahead of time with the DRC and your teacher.

5.    Establish and stick to a regular study schedule.  You may want to try studying in an environment that replicates your testing environment (e.g. an empty classroom).  A specific study area with few distractions will enhance your concentration.

6.    Try to get enough sleep (at least 6-8 hours per night) during exam time.  Limit your caffeine intake - your body is producing enough adrenaline right now.

7.    Wear comfortable shoes and clothing when taking exams.  Ear plugs may help reduce distractions.  If you feel anxious, try taking slow, deep breaths to relax.

8.    Do not wait until the last minute to request exam accommodations.  Meet with a DRC Specialist early in the quarter.

9.    If problems arise regarding your exams, discuss the situation calmly and quietly with your professor and a DRC Specialist.

10.    Do something nice for yourself both before and after a big exam.  Treating yourself well can help reduce your stress level.  Reward yourself for a job well done.

Memory Strategies

Here are some techniques that are useful in memorizing.  Use these techniques when you study for tests.

1.    Study actively.  You are more likely to remember material if you write it down or say it out loud than if you merely read it or hear it.

2.    Make sure you understand.  If you understand what you're trying to learn, you'll find that you can remember it better and for a longer period of time.

3.    Associate new information with old.  When learning something new, try to compare it with something similar that you are already familiar with.

4.    Make up examples.  When learning general principles, try to make up examples of your own.  In addition to helping you to remember the principle better, this will also help you to check your understanding.  If you're not sure that your example is correct, check it with the teacher.

5.    Visualize what you're trying to learn.  This can involve creating a mental image or drawing a graph (a time line to help with time sequences, a hierarchical chart for organizations or family trees, etc.).  An example of visualization might be memorizing your shopping list: visualize yourself walking down the grocery aisles and picking up the vegetables, dairy products, etc.  Make the mental imagery as detailed as possible.

6.    Group items into categories.  If you have to learn a long list of things, try to group similar items together.  For example, to memorize a shopping list you would want to group vegetables together, dairy products together, and so on.

7.    Be selective.  Most of the time you will not be able to memorize every detail, and if you try you may end up learning almost nothing.  Concentrate on general concepts and a few examples to go with each.  Pay particular attention to information the teacher indicates is important (information written on the chalk board, or repeated several times orally, or prefaced by statements such as "You should know this").

8.    Space your study sessions.  You are more likely to remember material if you study over several days rather than in one crash session.

9.    Use key words.  For example, to learn this list of suggestions for improving your memory, pick out a key word for each suggestion and then memorize just the key word.  To learn items 1 through 9, you might choose the following key words: active, understand, associate, examples, visualize, group, selective, space, key words.

10.    Learn how many items are on the list.  When learning lists, make sure you learn the number of items on the list.  This will aid you in recalling all the items.

11.    Rhymes and sayings can be helpful.  For example, how many of us can remember the number of days in the months without this saying:              

"Thirty days has September, April, June, and November. All the rest have thirty-one, except February alone. To it we twenty-eight assign, 'til leap year makes it twenty-nine."

12.    Use alliteration.  Repeating initial sounds can be helpful in remembering information. For example, to remind sailors entering a harbor to keep the red harbor light on their right, they learn:  "Red to right returning".

13.     Try acrostics.  Sometimes you can use the first letter of a list of words to form another word or sentence.  These are referred to as acrostics and are similar to acronyms.  For example, "ROY G. BIV" can help us remember the colors of the spectrum: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet.

14.    Exaggerate.  This is especially helpful when you are using visualizations.  Try to make your images big, colorful, and with lots of details.  This will make them interesting and easier to remember.

15.    Have confidence.  Don't go around saying "I'll never remember this".  You can if you try, and if you use memory strategies.

Reading Skills: SQ3R

A strategy that can help you read and study effectively is called the SQ3R method.  There are five steps to the SQ3R method:

1.    Survey - Preview the material you will be reading.  This will help you to figure out your purpose for reading and to get a basic overview of the material. To preview, read the title first.  Then read the headings and sub-headings.  Look at the illustrations, glancing at the captions.  Determine what you expect to gain from reading.

2.    Question - What do you already know about the topic?  What do you expect to gain from the reading?  Ask yourself, "What is the author trying to convey?  What are the facts?  What is the author's opinion?".  

3.    Read - Now begin reading while seeking the answers to your questions.  Read the material under one heading or section at a time.  Keep a notebook open as you read, and write down notes about main points you want to remember.   

4.    Recite - At the end of each section, look away from the book and summarize aloud what you have learned and how it answers your questions.  Speaking aloud can help you organize your thoughts.  

5.    Review - When you have completed the reading, look over your notes.  Also look over the textbook again - this time it is not necessary to read every word, just review the headings and main points.  Get a clear picture of what you've learned.  Then close your eyes and recall and recite (aloud) what you've learned.

Adapted from Study Strategies for College by Theodore O. Knight, Irwin Publishing

Study Skills Checklist

Mastering these study skills will enable you to succeed in any subject, at any level.  Apply these skills to studying, reading textbooks, taking notes, preparing written assignments, and preparing for exams.  Remember, skills develop through practice.

Preparing to Study

 Reading with a Purpose

Using Your Textbook and Other Resources

Learning New Vocabulary

Gathering and Organizing Information

Learning from Texts and Other Resources

Preparing Written Assignments

Preparing for and Taking Tests