Study Preparations
It is close to the end of the year now and the final exams for matriculants have started already. Wise learners have started to prepare long ago whereas lazy students wait for exams to begin and start to seek medical therapy and counselling due to exam stress. Some even consult doctors to seek medical certificates to postpone their exams or deadlines for assignments. That is such a bad behaviour and it can be inevitable. So its better to deal with it now before you go to professional environment, hence there are some simple things that you can do to make your exam preparations so much easier.
Detailed studying and time management skills are the keys. Time is the most important resource a student has conversely it is one of the most wasted resources. If you have a limited time to study and you will have to make careful choices about how you spend that time. Avoiding studying is the easiest thing to do but the guilty feelings will haunt you and spoil your fun. Rather just prepare a schedule for everything you want and need to do and stick to it. A schedule is a plan for how you intend to use your time. Remember this is your life, your time and your future, so plan carefully.
It is wise to free your schedule as much as you can. Work fewer hours, and postpone most social events and entertainment. Save most of your available time for studying, but do allocate some time for relaxation too. Your body and mind will benefit from being given a break from time to time.
You must also bear in mind that there are no miracles for success. Your success depends on your capability and your dedication to hard work. At the moment, this refers to studying hard. Later in life, you will use the same methods to succeed in your career. Learn the correct lessons now, and they will stand you in good stead for the rest of your life.
Finally, we believe that the top secret for success is optimism. You must believe in yourself and acknowledge that people are different. For example, your friend's study techniques might be different from yours, but you have to stick to what suits you.
Thousands of high school and college students have followed the SQ3R steps to achieve higher grades with less stress. Here are the fundamentals of this method.
Survey - get the best overall picture of what you're going to study BEFORE you study any detail.
Question - ask questions for learning. The important things to learn are usually answers to questions.
Read - Read to answer questions you have asked yourself or questions the instructor or author has asked.
Recite - When you recite, you stop reading periodically to recall what you have read.
Review - A review is a survey of what you have covered. It is a review of what you are supposed to accomplish, not what you are going to do. Rereading is an important part of the review process.
For more study tips, click on the following links.
Updated: 19 October 2011
by Zanele Matshotyana
