• Movies
  • Contests
  • Calendar
  • Newsletter Signup
  • Staff
  • Jobs
  • Contact Us
globeslcc.com
  • Campus
  • Community
  • Arts and Entertainment
  • Opinion
    • Letters to the Editor
  • Sports
  • PDF
  • Archives

Ask Mom: Stuck in the muck

By Kathryn Jones • Published April 28, 2010 • Filed under Opinion • 0 Comments

Please note: This archived article is provided for personal use only, and the information contained in this article may be out of date.

Mom,

The semester is almost over and I’m loaded with four finals in the same week. How do I study for each one without going crazy, and how do I make sure I get good grades on each?

Sincerely,

Stuck in the muck

Dear Stuck,

It’s easy to be overwhelmed, especially at the end of the semester when class work is coming to a head. Now is the time that you must prove that you know your stuff.

Hopefully, you’ve spent the last few months going over the material each week so that you’re not too overloaded. It’s easier to study things you’ve gone over on a weekly basis.

With that said, gather your notes together and make up questions from your notes. I like to use index cards. Teachers often give you a list of topics from the chapters to study. Make up note cards in the form of questions for that, too. I have spent an entire day putting together my note cards. Yes, it’s a lot of work, but the payoff is substantial. With the questions written down, and the answers written on the back of each card, you’re not only learning when you later study the cards, but frankly, when you are writing the questions and answers down in the first place.

Choose a room to complete your cards. Let’s say you have chosen your bedroom. For the first question, connect it with the picture hanging above your bed. Every time you think about this question, and its answer, no matter where you are studying, you are remembering the picture above your bed. Sound strange?

Strange, yes, but definitely helpful. Now, every time you look at that question, you will remember the picture above your bed and something about it. Whether it’s the color or the pattern, or the picture itself, the picture will remind you of the question as well as the answer.

Go around the room and make sure all questions are mentally labeled with an item. As a key, write the name of the item (in this case, the picture) on the corner of the question side of the card to remind you. And make sure you use a different room to label your cards for the other three classes.

As much as possible, write down the answers to your questions as you study them, as if you are already taking the test rather than merely going through them in your mind. That extra step pays dividends in your memory bank.

On the day of the test, leave your cards at home. Get to class early and use the time you have to emotionally prepare. Think positively, and prepare yourself for a terrific grade.

You can do it.

Mom

Related
  • Ask Mom: Lost in the seaweed
  • Ask Mom: Smothered
  • Ask Mom: Tired already
  • advice
  • Ask Mom
  • column
  • tips

SEARCH THE SITE

ADVERTISEMENT

RECENT TWEETS

Tweets by @GlobeSLCC

ADVERTISEMENT

RECENT COMMENTS
  • Becky on Haunted Utah history: Capitol Theatre
  • David Knecht on SLCC supports students’ freedom of speech
  • Jenny Burke on ‘A Wall Apart’ immortalizes fall of Berlin Wall
  • Carl on Understanding free speech on SLCC campuses
SLCC LINKS
  • Salt Lake Community College
  • Communication Department
  • Student Media Center
  • Radio SLCC
  • SLCC Student Blog
SITE INFORMATION
  • About the Globe
  • Terms of Use
  • Advertising
  • Subscribe via RSS
  • Subscribe via Email

Copyright © 2019 | Theme by MH Themes