What can I do to study before a big exam? Would things like sleeping more and eating a good breakfast help?

Question

any tips?

Answer 1

studying would probally be a good idea.

Answer 2

When I was a psychology undergraduate we were told that you can learn more between 6am and 12noon than you can in the rest of the day. I'm so not a morning person but thought I'd give it a try when studying for my finals at university. Sleeping more won't help, it's when you sleep that matters, the hours before midnight are more beneficial than those after. If you're going to try the 6am start then go to bed at nine. Breakfast is important (eat before you start studying) but so are lunch and evening meal. Eat healthy, avoid stodgy or big meals as these make you tired.

Here's a list of what I did, you can decide for yourself if it'd help/work for you:

prepared a timetable of when I'd study each topic/subject I needed to and stuck to it, otherwise you're well prepared for some questions and not prepared for others.

Timetabled a day off where possible.

studied from 6am to 12noon, if I hadn't completed as much as I'd hoped to I'd take a break and study again from 4pm to 6pm. This meant I had time to assimilate what I'd been studying, to relax, chill out and do whatever i wanted to do.

Made loads of notes as I went along then kept reducing them untill all the important info was on a 5" x 4" index card, the repitition involved in doing this committed it to memory.

For maths and statistics I'd find a question that I knew the answer to and keep doing it until I could do it from memory and get it right, by doing this I'd committed the formula to memory and understood what it was about.

I always arrived early and found somewhere quiet to read through my index cards before going in to the exam. I never spoke to anyone so I wouldn't lose my focus or pick up any of their panic or negativity.

By doing all this I was the calmest student on campus and it worked for me, i got a 1st Class Honours degree and you can't do better than that.

Finally, if you try a method suggested by someone else (like mine) remember that what suits one might not suit someone else so start off with the suggeation you like best and adapt it to suit you. For example, if getting up for a 6am start is too hard (it will be the first few days anyway) try a bit later, say, 7am. You need to find your own way of studying and this will come automatically once you've got a strong starting point.

I wish you well and loads of luck with your important exam.