How to smash exams

Here are my tips for doing well in exams:

1. Give yourself enough time to study. You have to figure out the time you need for exam preparation whether it’s two weeks, a month etc. Make a study schedule getting things organised and do not leave anything for the last minute. Personally, I study at most 8 hours a day during my exam prep and divide the 8 hours into eight 50 min session with 10 mins rest for each. Usually that means I start at 8am and finish at 6pm, afterwards I go to the gym for an hour and relax at night (as I prefer not to work and study at night). Plus, I do at most three subjects a day, but two subjects would be ideal, usually a combination of reading and calculation, like politics and statistics.
2. Make sure your study space is organised. Many people like to study in their own rooms, personally I don’t work well from my room, I would actually strongly recommend people studying at library. By studying at the library it gives you a sense of urgency and gives you a more motivation to focus and not get distracted which leads into my third tip.
3. Do not have your phone with you. Trust me you don’t really need your phone during exam prep. While I wouldn’t suggest that people should isolate themselves from their circle during prep (like stopping to occasionally use social media), it is all about the time you use them. I never had my phone with me during the daytime and I only used my phone at night when I was not studying.
4. Study individually or as a group? Personally, I believe that most subjects don’t need much group work unless you’re working on a group project. I rarely group with people for exam prep as it allows me to easily focus on my own work. It doesn’t mean I am a socially isolated person instead through some little experiments I found it more efficient when I study alone than when I groupwork with people. I often see people in the library studying together while oftentimes chatting rather doing productive work. Nonetheless, this is my own opinion and I know that for some people, working in groups motivates each other and will produce good results.

This is all down to personal preference, give yourself some time to find your perfect way of studying for exams, once you’ve figured out what works for you then you will surely be on your way to success!

Songyang

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