Homework and Studying Tips

Find out the types of questions on an exam and weight of each type of question.

In preparation for multiple choice/true-false you need to study the smaller details of the concepts.
In preparing for essay exams, focus on the global view.

Does the exam cover only material since the last exam?

If the exam is comprehensive from the beginning of the semester, then you will need to review old material as well as study the new material.

Ask the teacher for copies of old exams, if possible.

Reviewing old exams helps you find the professor’s focus of the course—the most relevant topics.
Use old exams to help make yourself a study guide of important issues in the material studied.

Be sure your notes are as complete as possible.

It is more common for exams to emphasize lesson material than text readings.

Do not cram for tests.

Cramming will often cause panic.
You will not remember much of the information in the long term.
If you pull an “all-nighter” you may be too tired to think during the exam.
Study in a quiet place.
- Find a quiet space in the library or other spot.
- Set aside a space for studying only.
Study in “chunks”.
- If you learn material over a number of weeks instead of over a few hours, you will retain the information for a longer period of time.
Read all assigned material well in advance of the exam.
- Read the assigned chapters, articles, and books.
- As you read the text, make outline notes of the material.
- At the end of each chapter, write a chapter summary of your notes.
Use the services of teaching assistants or peer tutoring.
- Tutors are familiar with course material and sometimes with teachers’s style of teaching and can often help answer questions about the material.
- Whenever possible, attend all exam review sessions.
Over learn material for the first exam.
- Be sure you continue to study the material past the point at which you think you know the material well.
“Open Book” exams are not easy.
- This kind of exam requires in-depth knowledge and application of concepts.
- Use index-tabs to mark pages in text so that locating information is easier.
- Highlight key words, phrases, formulae, and/or concepts.
- Study for open book just as you would for closed book because the time constraint does not allow for reading test and answering questions.
Prepare for “Take Home” Exams.
- This also requires more in-depth knowledge of the subject.
- Since you have more time to formulate your answers, the marker will have a higher standard for grading.