At UCF, most students typically enroll in a maximum of 4 classes every semester. This semester, I chose to take a total of 5 classes. One of which happened to be my very first pre-law course (PLA 3014: Law and the Legal System). The textbook that was affiliated with the course was the first textbook that I genuinely struggled to read simply because I didn't know how to distinguish important concepts from unimportant ones. Now, exactly 9 days away from finishing the course, I am currently trying to devote as much of my time and energy to preparing for the final exam.

Being so crunched for time has left me no choice but to consider utilizing some quick and effective study strategies, and what better week to share those strategies with my fellow visual/auditory learners than the one right before finals? To find out more about 5 of my go-to methods for studying as a visual/auditory learner, please don't hesitate to keep on reading!

1. Use an app that best adheres to YOUR study preferences.

As a visual/auditory learner, I personally LOVE using Chegg's Flashcards app! Not only is it free and mobile, but you can also create an unlimited number of decks and customize the face of each card to your liking with different colors.

2. Say the material aloud to yourself as you're reading it.

This basically involves you being your very own storyteller. If you're like me, then you'll find that this method will really help the material to stick with you. Switch up the tone of your voice to make the process of learning the material more entertaining. If you're confused on a concept, make sure to record it on a flash card. The quicker you can get yourself to stray away from the idea that the material is just content on a page in your textbook, the quicker you'll find that grasping and learning that material isn't as difficult or torturous after all.

3. Create two separate Google Documents to act as larger versions of flashcards.

I used to do this all the time before I knew about Chegg's Flashcards app. I would open up two separate Google Documents on my laptop (one for "QUESTIONS" and one for "ANSWERS") and then test myself in the same way that I would when using flash cards. You can also print out the final versions of the Google Documents so that you can continue to study them on your way to the final exam. I suggest stapling the sheets for your questions separate from the sheets for your answers, just so it will be easier for you to check your answers for each question.

4. Keep repeating content aloud to yourself until you know it by heart.

As soon as you notice yourself struggling to remember something, read and repeat that same material aloud to yourself over and over again until you are certain you know it by heart. Another way you can go about achieving this same effect is to retype or rewrite the material again and again whenever you have to remember it.

5. Color-code, bold, and capitalize material to increase your chances of remembering it during final exams.

This is another set of methods that will help the material to stick with you by triggering your emotions. If you decide to make flash cards, color-code each one a different color from the last. Think about how the content of each flash card makes you feel, and then assign that content a different color based on what emotions the content triggers within you. For instance, perhaps learning about the number of people who were killed during a major war would ultimately cause you to feel angry, and so maybe red would be a suitable color choice to go with in regards to the content of your card.

Capitalizing and writing content in bold will also help to trigger any main ideas that could be covered in your final exam questions.

Perhaps one of the biggest reasons why students completely dread the idea of studying for finals is because they aren't exactly sure how to make the process a more enjoyable and convenient one. Fortunately, that's what's so great about each one of us being a different kind of learner! There are so many different methods that you can use to make studying more effective, and hopefully this article inspired you with a few of them!