Congratulations, fellow college students! We're almost halfway through the semester, but we all know what that means...
The big, bad monsters that are midterm exams are knocking on our doors. However, you shouldn’t worry because I am about to give you some study tips to help you ace your midterms.
1. Take notes while you read.
When you read your texts for your classes, take notes. They don’t have to be anything fancy. I like to read a paragraph of text, and then I ask myself what the main points were, what important vocabulary was defined, and what might sound like a test question. Doing this makes a good study guide, and it also helps you really comprehend what you read.
2. Take handwritten notes in class.
When I worked on my associate's degree, everyone I knew took handwritten notes in class. No one ever brought a laptop. Since I transferred to a four-year university, hardly anyone takes handwritten notes. Students plop out their laptops and type their notes, but they are missing out.
Studies show students who physically write their notes remember materials better and have deeper understandings of them. Why? Handwriting notes makes you slow down and think about the materials your instructor teaches. If you are a note-typist and don't have much success, try closing your laptop, getting out the good old pen and paper, and writing your notes by hand.
3. Come up with your own shorthand.
This is a necessity when handwriting notes. You can’t capture word-for-word the things your instructor says without getting behind and losing some valuable information. Remember these notes are your's. You can optimize your note taking techniques by creating your own shorthand. (I don’t mean coming up with your own writing system to transcribe later; I mean coming up with shortened versions of words.)
For example, in my Introduction to Public Relations class, we used long words associated with business like “organization” or “corporation”, and then when describing the different types of publics, we use the words “internal” and “external”. When I wrote notes, I shortened these words to org, corp, ext, and int. Your shorthand doesn’t have to make sense to anyone but you. Yet, be sure you don’t create shortened forms that are confusing when you review your notes later.
4. Use brightly-colored pens to take notes.
I learned this from my friend Taylor. A couple of weeks ago, I was dissatisfied with how I couldn’t remember some of my handwritten notes. Taylor said, “Why not take notes with brightly-colored pens?” I couldn’t believe I didn’t think of that. Color enhances memory.
Some people recommend color-coding your notes. To me, fumbling around switching colors takes almost as much time as trying to take notes word-for-word. My solution is taking notes in different colors for each lecture. For me, I noticed enhanced recollection of lectures and materials. As for color, use whatever color(s) you like best. I use pink, purple, and orange because they really stand out to me.
5. Make flashcards.
During my freshmen year, I took a Zoology class to fulfill my Life Sciences credits, but I didn’t realize it would be such a vigorous course. Every two weeks, we had comprehensive tests, and I struggled to find the best solution for studying, until I finally made handwritten flashcards.
The biggest and most comprehensive test, other than the final, covered arthropods. (My Zoology instructor was an entomologist.) I spent a whole weekend writing and reviewing around 300 flashcards with the most important information from lectures, readings, and labs on them. To make a long story short, I aced the test. Flashcards may not be for everyone, but they did help me.
6. Use online study resources.
The Internet offers many different resources to aid your study efforts. I personally like Quizlet because you can build tests and play games to enhance memory.
I wish everyone good luck on exams! Let’s get through the middle and finish strong!
