ORGANIZATION

Tip #1: Go to Class. The first effective way to study and prepare for exams is to attend class. If you are absent, you may miss out on important information. You can't always count on someone to take thorough notes for you.

Tip # 2: Take Notes. Take notes during class over important main ideas, people and formulas. Bring a highlighter to class and mark important passages or sections pointed out by the teacher.

Tip # 3: Be Prepared. Stay on top of all reading assignments and homework so that you can keep up with what the teacher is saying. Plus, if you let assignments pile up, you will have more to study or finish before the test.

Tip # 4: Quiet Place. Find a quiet place to study where distractions will be limited. The radio or TV might seem to help you study, but vocal distractions can make it harder to focus, meaning you have to spend more time reading and committing to memory.

TIME

Tip #5: Stick to the Schedule. Make a daily and weekly schedule so that you can pencil in time to study. If you plan ahead, you can finish what needs to be done before the next big social event on your calendar.

Tip # 6: Start Early. When you see a test looming on your calendar, putting off studying the overwhelming amounts of information is easy. However, if you start early and schedule an hour a day to do the reading, re-write notes and make study cards, you will be way ahead and won't have to stress out the night before.

Tip # 7: Take Breaks. To maintain focus, study hard for small increments of time and then take short breaks in between. Just don't make your break time longer than your study time!

Tip # 8: Timing. Don't plan to study right before bed or right after a meal when you will be tempted to nod off. Pick an opportune time and sit up at a desk or find a table in the library. Studying on the bed or couch will make it easier to catch a few Z's.

STRATEGIES

Tip #9: SQ3R. When it's time to do some heavy reading, follow the SQ3R method: survey, question, read, recite, review. If you read actively and make connections, ask questions, and highlight important sections you will be more likely to remember what you read Ñ which will cut down on time spent re-reading. Plus, knowing the main idea by surveying, reciting main headlines and ideas and then reviewing will help commit the information from short-term to long-term memory.

Tip #10: Rewrite Notes. The best way to review material covered in class is to rewrite the notes you took down. Most of the time, these notes are hard to read and unorganized anyway. Commit them to memory and review by rewriting them legibly and organizing them by main ideas.

Tip #11: Study Cards. Make study cards with vocabulary, people, places, main ideas and formulas while you are reading. The cards will be an easy way to review specific details about the material.

Tip #12: Make Connections. When you study, make connections. Come up with a song to memorize a formula or connect names and places that will be easy to recall when you get into the test. The more links you can make between details and ideas, as well as ideas themselves, the better off you'll be when it's test-taking time.