We all hate examinations, right? I mean, it's not just me that finds them stressful and unnecessarily nerve-wracking, can't we all swear an affidavit that shows we understand all we have been taught? But despite all the stress that comes with it, examinations are very important if we aim to go to a higher level and graduate from school
Because of this fact, I have developed several strategies over the years. From my primary and secondary school days, I barely read before exams because I'm very attentive in class and I actively participate which makes things naturally stick to my memory and makes exams easier. But when I got to the university, it was a different ball game.
In my 100 level, I barely had any friends and I read alone. Sometimes, I can read for 8 hours+ without breaks and that was usually a few weeks before exams. That to some extent helped a lot to pass most of my exams but I actually failed one of them which was my weak point (and still is). But later on, I experimented with different strategies until I found some that work well together, although not perfect.
What are they?
First of all, I try as much as possible not to miss lectures and I pay close attention to the ones I attend. I barely attended lectures in my 100 level and that was actually the reason why I didn't understand a lot of the courses back then. Paying attention in class is a very crucial step for me to pass exams because it makes reading easier and there are some things that a lecturer will say that won't be included in materials and handouts.
Also, I do group reading with my friends. This is in contrast to my 100-level days when I was a solo reader and had problems understanding certain courses. Now, when I don't understand something, I can just ask one of my friends to explain it better for me, and believe me when I say one of them will certainly know a lot about the part that's giving me issues. That's the good thing with group reading; there's always someone that knows something you don't.
In addition to that, I also go to night class. This is very important because I find it difficult to read at home whether there's a power supply or not. If there's power supply, my ceiling fan makes me sleepy and the knowledge that my bed is close by makes it even worse. Then when there's no power supply, everywhere will be too hot to even read, and again; my bed 😆 But in night class, it's a different story. The sleeping condition is so uncomfortable that you will find it hard to sleep.
Even if you're sleepy, seeing many people around you reading will motivate you to keep going. Night class helps out a LOT and one trick I use to make sure I don't sleep early is to take lots of caffeine (no, not coffee) and that means Coca-Cola and one popular energy drink in my country called fearless. Fearless is the best and after taking it, I can stay awake up to 5 am, and sometimes I don't even sleep at all.
One other strategy I have been trying to work on is to start reading my books from the beginning of a semester, long before exams start. Everyone has different ways of reading; some stay on a page for several hours but as for me, I do speed reading. I just read the whole book like a novel but I do that several times (maybe up to 8 times), it's a type of memorization technique called rote learning.
So, I'm trying to make it easier by starting to read very early and doing it frequently so that when exams finally arrive, I won't spend much time reading my books. I have already started reading but it's seldomly but at least it's better than nothing. All these strategies are what I have found that work very well for me and except for the course I failed in my 100 level, I haven't failed any other one.
Thanks for reading
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