Tips on Studying for Exams

Studying efficiently requires you to organise your time and resources. The following are general guidelines to help you prepare for exams.

Preparation

Begin studying early! That’s the main takeaway from this document.

• You can start thinking about the exam from the beginning of the year by keeping your ears open for hints and tips.
• Revise your notes after each class so you have a clear and complete set to study from.
• Start doing more revising about four weeks before your exams.
• Don’t cram the night before—it’s ineffective, because you’re taking in so much information at once that it’s impossible to memorise it all. You’ll hardly retain anything and will be tired and stressed when the time comes to actually sit the exam.
• Avoid procrastination such as excessive partying, alcohol and Facebook! Whilst it may seem like fun (and it is at times!), be careful of these distractive traps.

Organise your time

• Fill out a weekly study planner – you can find a LearnMate one here.
• Make use of short study times. Fifteen minutes can be ideal for revising notes or looking through note cards. Use time spent on the bus or train to review your subject materials.
• Don’t study for longer than 60 minutes without a break. It’s better to study for short intense periods with sustained concentration than long blocks of time when you are tired and not working effectively.
• Work out when you can study most effectively. Are you more alert in the morning or evening? When in your day can you find quiet time and space? Schedule study times that suit your personal rhythms.
• Don’t study when you’re really tired. It’s better to get a solid night’s sleep after a short study period, then to push on until 2am. You won’t remember much and will be less effective the next day.

Organise your subject material

• Gather the materials for each subject. Make sure you have a complete set of course notes and copies of any handouts, slides or visuals. Make sure they correspond to the topics in the subject’s study design.
• Make sure you review the study design’s key objectives so you know exactly what could be assessed in your exams! The exam assessor can only assess you based on what is in this holy document!

Rewrite your notes

• Rewriting your notes helps you to remember them. Don’t just copy out your original notes—you’ll end up simply memorising the exact wording instead of the actual concepts. The key is to read and think about the contents of your notes, what you noted down and why (in what way it is important), how to express it most efficiently and memorably, and then re-write them in your own words.
• When you finish studying a section of notes, ask yourself questions relating to the material to see if you remembered what you just read. It can help to answer your questions out loud as if you were trying to explain them to someone else.

Sort out what you don"t understand

• Clarify the meaning of any words or concepts you don’t understand before trying to study them. If you aren’t clear about what information means, memorising it won’t help.
• Prioritise the hardest subjects first in each study session. Allocate more time to studying the subjects you find most difficult.
• Talk to your teachers about terms and concepts you don’t understand immediately. Also bring this up with your LearnMate tutor to ensure you can understand it.

Study hard BUT set limits

• Set study periods. Don’t study for longer than 60 minutes without taking a break. It is better to study for a short intense period of time with sustained concentration than long periods of time when you are tired and not engaging well with the material
• ‘Chunk" information. Don"t try to study the entire course in one sitting. Divide the subject up into topics and aim to study a ‘chunk" at each study session.

Set study goals

Set yourself a goal for each study session to help you keep track of what you are revising. Write them down as soon as you begin your study session, or set them at the end of the study session for next time. For example, you could write this down as wanting to achieve these goals in a given study sitting:

• I will read through and summarise chapters 3 and 4.
• I will work through five equations.

Study to suit your learning style

• If you’re a visual learner, diagrams and pictures can help you remember.
• Auditory learners should listen to lecture recordings or make their own recordings of notes that they can listen to later.
• If you are a kinesthetic person explain key ideas aloud to yourself while moving around. Explore different ways to help you remember key facts and to increase your understanding of the main concepts.

Form a study group

• Form a study group with other students. Swap practice exams and give feedback. Drill each other on study topics. Like at uni, study groups are very effective if your friends are mature enough to want to study and not be distracted.

Review past exam papers

• Review any previous exam papers for your subject on the VCAA site.
• Look at the wording of the questions and familiarise yourself with the keywords.
• Practice doing the papers under exam conditions and carefully review your answers. There’s no use just typing all exams when you’ll be handwriting it.

LearnMate is Australia’s leading tutoring agency offering private lessons in all HSC, WACE, VCE & SACE subjects including English, maths, science, humanities, foreign languages, and so much more. Our mission is simple: to provide professional, engaging and enthusiastic HSC, WACE, VCE & SACE tutors to students, while also ensuring the student feels empowered and confident during their assessments! Ultimately, our goal is to empower students all over Australia to achieve amazing results and make their dreams come true!

University – What Is It Like?

Many of you may be considering going into university after you finish high school, however a lot of you may be wondering what is university like, how will you know it is something for you because university is not for everyone.

How is high school similar to university?

• Assessments – in most units you will complete an in-semester assignment and at the end of the semester you will sit an exam.
• Lecturer and tutor – there are lecturers and tutors present who take you through the course content and can be a point of contact for you.
• Structure—you still have a timetable to follow, specific subjects and classes to attend.
• Social aspect—uni is great for meeting new people, making friends in and out of class, and hanging out! There are always heaps of clubs and societies you can join, including sports, visual and performing arts, and more.
• Support services—just like high schools, universities tend to look after their students pretty well, providing academic, financial, career, mental health and other types of services. You’ll be treated as an adult, but that doesn’t mean adults don’t need help too!

How is high school different to university?

• Class size – depending on the course you are taking lectures can have more than 100 students in them. You average high school class size is around 25 students, whereas there are uni tutorials that have around 15-20 students in them.
• Independence – you are in control in university. Nobody is going to tell you to complete your work. Academics will give you the dates of what assessments you need to do and when they are due at the beginning of the semester and it is up to you to do the work and hand it in on time.
• HECS – going to university will cost you money and if you are an Australian citizen you can take out a HECS/HELP loan from the government to cover the cost of your degree. This loan will be paid when you do your taxes and reach a certain income threshold.
• Timetable – you are in control of your timetable. You can schedule your classes early in the morning or in late in the afternoon.
• Less contact hours – depending on the course that you do you will most likely have less contact hours at university than you do at high school.
• Attendance – attendance is generally not monitored like it is in high school. You are expected to turn up to lectures and tutorials however you don’t have to. In some courses, attendance at tutorials is compulsory.
• Recorded lectures – in most courses lectures are recorded and placed online for students to listen if they missed the class or to re-listen again for private revision.

The best way to out more about university life or to learn more about a certain course that you want to do at university is to attend university open days.

LearnMate is Australia’s leading tutoring agency offering private lessons in all HSC, WACE, VCE & SACE subjects including English, maths, science, humanities, foreign languages, and so much more. Our mission is simple: to provide professional, engaging and enthusiastic HSC, WACE, VCE & SACE tutors to students, while also ensuring the student feels empowered and confident during their assessments! Ultimately, our goal is to empower students all over Australia to achieve amazing results and make their dreams come true!

Stress Management and Motivational Techniques

Identifying signs of unhealthy stress:

• Feeling tired all the time
• Feeling like you’re running on adrenaline all the time
• Being forgetful
• Experiencing headaches and tension especially in the head, neck and shoulders
• Poor appetite
• No longer interested in certain activities and don’t look forward to anything
• Increased anxiety and irritability
• Increased heart rate
• Dizziness
• Blurred vision

Combatting stress with a healthy lifestyle:

Physical

• Eat healthily
• Exercise regularly
• Avoid caffeine later in the day
• Avoid drugs and excessive alcohol
• Get 8+ hours of sleep every night to keep your body rejuvenated

Mental

• Seek help and support when you need it
• Don’t let VCE overwhelm you—step back and give yourself time if you need to
• Put yourself first
• Spend time with your friends and family
• Keep doing the activities you love
• Get 8+ hours of sleep every night to keep your brain alert and memory sharp

Study/Social life balance:

Don’t just pencil in your homework in your timetable, but all the times you plan to relax, have some downtime and do other activities too.

If you feel guilty every time you try to take a break then you’ll never be able to relax! Unwinding and socialising =/= Procrastination

Balance is the key! Allocating your time will give you the best of both worlds—working hard towards an academic goal, and enjoying your year.

The activities I’m still going to enjoy and make time for in 2018 are:

Meditation:

Meditation is useful for

• Calming down before a SAC/exam
• Getting to sleep when your thoughts are keeping you up
• General relaxation
• Unwinding after a stressful school day/study session
• Having some alone time

Useful apps to download

• Smiling Mind
• Headspace
• The Mindfulness App

These are free from the App Store/Google Play and provide both breathing exercises and guided meditations. All you have to do is plug in your earphones and go! It’s a great way to end the day and banish any negative thoughts. Best of all, it’ll only take you five minutes.

Some breathing exercises to tide you over

• Simple breathing to help you calm down wherever and whenever: breathe in for 4 counts then out for 4 counts.
• To release physical tension: tighten then release each muscle group in your body at a time, breathing if for 5 counts as you tighten, then out for 5 counts as you release.
• Calming down before a SAC or exam: place one hand on your chest and the other on your stomach and take a deep breath. Your breath should fill your stomach, not chest. Repeat 6 to 10 times.

Source: https://greatist.com/happiness/breathing-exercises-relax (Jordan Shakeshaft)

LearnMate is Australia’s leading tutoring agency offering private lessons in all HSC, WACE, VCE & SACE subjects including English, maths, science, humanities, foreign languages, and so much more. Our mission is simple: to provide professional, engaging and enthusiastic HSC, WACE, VCE & SACE tutors to students, while also ensuring the student feels empowered and confident during their assessments! Ultimately, our goal is to empower students all over Australia to achieve amazing results and make their dreams come true!

Ineffective Study Techniques

People tend to focus on effective study techniques and not so much on ineffective study techniques. In this section, we are going to look at some ineffective study techniques and some of the ways we can correct this.

1. Studying with friends – studying with friends is not always a bad idea, however it is a bad idea when all you end up doing is talking about Netflix and other things and are not staying focused on the task in front of you. There are a few ways to overcome this dilemma:

• Set ground rules before you begin studying
• Have regular breaks during your study session where you can talk about whatever you want

2. Studying for hours – sitting down for hours at your desk studying is not a good way to approach your work. Not only is it a health risk (sitting down too long), but it is also counterproductive, because your mind is so overwhelmed with work. Take regular breaks where you go do something other than study e.g. check Facebook (don’t do it for too long!) or go for a brief walk.

3. Music – depending on the type of person you are, you may or may not work well listening to music or don’t. This is a personal preference. Some people find classical music soothing to help them learn.

4. Studying in front of a TV or with your phone nearby – these are distractions and will stop you from working productively. Study in a place where you are away from the TV, and keep your phone in another room. You can go check it when you are on your study break.

5. Multitasking – we think we can do more than one thing at the same time but in reality, this is counterproductive. The reason is that not only will you be learning things only on a superficial level, but you will overwhelm yourself because of all the work you have to do and this will make you not want to study. Do things one at a time and start with the stuff you hate doing first, that way you can get it over and done with and won’t have to worry about it again.

6. Sacrificing sleep to study – many students do this because they think it is good. Yes, your bodies may tell you that you can stay up until 3am, but in fact your body needs to recharge to be fully functional the next day. It is better to get up early the next morning to finish off any work, rather than do an ‘pull an all-nighter’

• A common reason why people pull an ‘all-nighter’ is because they have left their studying to the last minute. Don’t leave things to the last minute, make sure you are doing a little bit each day!

7. Energy drinks and junk food – VCE is a stressful time and there is a lot of work to do. Because of this people tend to turn to energy drinks to allow them to stay awake or eat junk food. These products are bad for your health and it’s not worth eating them. Choosing healthier alternatives such as fruit, muesli, nuts etc. are much better for you, and will help with your learning as these foods provide your body with the nutrients that it wants. See the websites below for foods that are considered good for the brain:

• https://www.topuniversities.com/blog/brain-foodwhat-eat-when-revising
• https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/10-foods-boost-yourbrainpower
• https://www.livestrong.com/article/411418-what-foods-to-eat-whilestudying

8. Memorising essays – this applies mainly to the English subjects. Memorising an A+ essay and regurgitating that essay in a SAC or exam is not going to get you high marks, because the topic of the essay in the SAC or exam will be different. By writing down someone else’s essay you won’t be answering the question asked of you and hence won’t get the high mark. If you have trouble writing essays seek help from your teacher.

9. Leaving things to the last minute – this will just cause you unnecessary panic and stress. You should know in advance when your SACs are going to be so make sure that you plan out your time correctly, to ensure that you have enough time to prepare properly for them. Get in the habit of keeping a diary and USING it to write things down.

10. Not utilising your teacher – your teacher is there to help you. If you need help then you should ask them. They will be more than willing to help you all you need to do is ask!

11. Cramming – cramming the night before the SAC or exam will not do you any good. Not only will you stress yourself out, but you won’t get anything out of it. Start studying early on.

Learning Styles:

Different people learn differently, however in general it is possible to classify people into 3 categories on how they learn. These are:

1. Kinaesthetic Learners
2. Auditory Learners
3. Visual Learners

You may not necessarily fall into one of these categories – you may belong to a number of them. But the main point is depending on the type of learner you are there are certain techniques you can adopt to suit your preferred learning style.

LearnMate is Australia’s leading tutoring agency offering private lessons in all HSC, WACE, VCE & SACE subjects including English, maths, science, humanities, foreign languages, and so much more. Our mission is simple: to provide professional, engaging and enthusiastic HSC, WACE, VCE & SACE tutors to students, while also ensuring the student feels empowered and confident during their assessments! Ultimately, our goal is to empower students all over Australia to achieve amazing results and make their dreams come true!