Sturgeon Composite High School - Preparing For Exams

Preparing For Exams

Improving Your Grades

Improving Your Grades
Although doing better is a common goal for many students, how we accomplish this goal varies greatly from student to student. The Learning and Assessment processes can be broken down into the key areas listed below:

Defining Your Goals
What do you want to achieve by registering for a course? Some goals are common while others vary greatly from person to person and class to class. All goals typically fall into one of three categories: Short Term Goals, Long Term Goals and Dream Goals.

Short Term Goals
Short Term Goals are the little 'day to day' things that we're not doing but would have a positive impact if done regularly. Examples of Short Term Goals could be "I will get to class on time" or "I will review my notes for 10 minutes every night." Short Term Goals should be things that are easy to do and be things that you know you should be doing but you aren't currently doing often enough.

Long Term Goals
Long Term Goals focus on things that take a couple of weeks or even a month to accomplish. "I will raise my mark by 5% on the next unit," is a very common goal but it must also include something that you will do in order to achieve it. "I will raise my mark by 5% on the next unit by coming in for help if I'm having trouble" is a much better example of a Long Term Goal. Regardless of the goal, all Long Term Goals must be realistic. Long Term Goals should still be easy to accomplish but require prolonged effort in order to achieve.

Dream Goals
Dream Goals are the things that we tend to think about as goals but we usually don't know how to achieve. Common examples are "I will pass the class with at least an 80% average." Dream goals are the things that are not easy to accomplish and require a lot of work in order to achieve. Dream goals need to push and motivate us but must still be realistic or we will fail our goal even before getting started.

Setting Your Goals
The process of setting your goals is relatively simple to do. Start with your Dream Goal and write it down. Once you've decided what you would like to work towards, start breaking that goal into the things that you could do to achieve this goal. These smaller things that you will do become your Long Term Goals (remember these are the things that you will do to achieve the Dream Goal). Don't forget to write these Long Term Goals down. Lastly, after you've identified your Long Term Goals, you will need break each of these into more smaller and much easier to accomplish steps which become you Short Term Goals. By using this method, you will have converted a large Dream Goal in a plan containing very manny little steps (i.e. your Short Term Goals) that are easy to accomplish.

Setting Your Priorities
Now that you've set your goals, it's time to start working on them. The problem that we often face is having far too many things that we need to work on. How do you decide what needs your immediate attention and what can be left until later. The answer however is not as obvious at it first looks. There are two things to consider first: "when is something due?" and "how long will it actually take me to do?" You will also need to weigh the urgency of a task by how much it's worth and your aptitude or ability in the subject. As a general rule, focus first on the major assignments that are worth a lot, due soon in occur in the subject areas that you have to work harder.

Your Learning Style
Just because you happen to be in the same class as someone else doesn't necessarily mean that you will do better if you work harder. Some people learn better by listening and not writing notes while others need to write the notes in class and then rewrite them again and again as they study. Recognizing your Learning Style and utilizing that knowledge to help you work to your strengths will ensure that you are working smarter rather than simply working harder. Below are the more common learning styles:

Auditory Learners
Auditory Learners tend to speak slowly and be natural listeners. They prefer to have things explained verbally and tend to learn by listening and verbalizing. Learning often occurs best when lessons are delivered in the form of an organized conversation.

Visual Learners
Visual Learners tend to be fast talkers and interrupt lessons and enjoy language that evokes imagery. Visual learners tend to learn best when they see something happen or can imagine something happen. Using demonstrations, models, pictures, graphs, animations and video clips help are effective tools to help visual learners understand a concept.

Read Write Learners
Read Write Learners enjoy reading information and writing about something. Highlighting key words, rewriting their notes repeatedly and writing ideas in their own words are common ways that Read Write Learners learn something.

Kinesthetic Learners
Kinesthetic Learners tend to be slowest talkers and decision makers as they tend to use all of their senses in learning. A "hands on approach" of "learning by doing" tends to be the best learning method for Kinesthetic Learners.

Managing Your Time
Students have very busy lives. Finding time for studies and homework can be difficult for students who work after school, participate on a team, are involved in clubs or any of the many other extracurricular opportunities at the school. With a little planning, you can still have enough time for your school work while maintaining a busy schedule outside of school.

A Useful Hint
A useful hint is to list your exams and major assignments on a calendar as you learn about them. A better strategy is to write that exam or assignment on every day staring from the day when you first learn about it all the way to the day its due. If you include the other important things as well (i.e. Susan's birthday is on the 12st, hockey practice every Tuesday and Thursday evening, work from 4:00 to 10:00 p.m. on Friday,...) then you will be able to see the days when you will be pressured for time and be able to work around them as a result. Do not limit your options by leaving a major assignment or the preparation for an exam until a point where they will compete for the very limited time during these busy days.

Plan ahead
if you know an essay is due one week from today, ensure that you have your outline done by tomorrow and your first draft done by mid week. This approach ensures that you will have sufficient time to do a good job on your work even if you need to rewrite a portion of a paper to get it ready for grading.

Getting Organized
Imagine sitting down to start your homework and not being able to find the assignment or the portion of the work that you've already started. Have you ever wanted to start studying but could't find all your notes? Getting organized solves these common problems.

Choose A Colour
Pick a colour to represent each course. You may want to use blue for english, green for math and red for social studies..., it's completely up to you. Once you've decided on the color for each class, that class will be represented by that colour for the entire semester (some students will use the same colour scheme for each year in high school). You may want to buy binders or scribblers whose colours match each subject but the most important step is to organized your notes and work as you work on them. Get a small pack of pencil crayons and place a coloured dot in the top corner of each page to represent its subject. If you chose blue for english for example, then put a blue dot on the top corner of each page of notes, each page of your essays, each handout given in class, each assignment or quiz that you've done. In short, put a dot in the corner of everything.

Record The Date
Write the date on every page that you write, receive or work on in class. Now each and every page will have two key identifying things: a colour identifying subject and a date indicating when it occurred. Every loose paper in your binder, backpack or locker can be quickly placed in order. Another benefit is you will now know exactly what occurred on each and every day. Suppose your mom or dad asked what you did today in class, you will be able to show them exactly what you did. Imagine that you miss a day and want to know what you've missed, now you can quickly determine what you have and use that information to copy the notes and catch up on on the things your missing.

Everything In A Binder
Put everything in a binder, all your notes, handouts, quizzes, homework, ..., everything. If you receive a handout without holes, you will need to have it 3-hole punched. If your classroom doesn't have a 3-hole punch, then use the 3-hole punch in the library, student services or in the office. As everything is colour coded, you will be able to easily sort everything by subject into one location for that subject. As everything has been dated, you can now easily arrange everything in order. Each binder should also be organized into at least three sections. The first section is for all your notes and the handouts given in class. The second section is for your homework. Some people use two sections here, one for the homework problems done from your textbook (usually in science and math) while another is for all the homework that is handed in for marks (essays, lab reports,...). The final section is reserved for all quizzes and exams that you are allowed to keep. This section should also include all the work correcting the mistakes you made on those quizzes and exams.

A Few Additional Tips
Here are a couple of additional things that you should be doing with your binders. First your course outline and formula sheet should be placed right at very front of your binder. Use separators to divide each section (notes, homework, quizzes and tests) to make navigating through your work very quick and easy. Place a 3-hole style pencil case in each binder. If you are required to use a pen in english, ensure that you have a couple of pens in your pencil case. It's also a good idea to get a small USB thumb drive that can contain a free copy of an electronic dictionary and thesaurus and can also be used to store all of your essays and writing assignments as you work on them. If you need a ruler, protractor, pencils and erasers for math, using a pencil case in the math binder helps ensure that you always have what you need for that class with you. Don't forget the coloured pencil crayon or pen that you use to mark each of your pages identifying them by subject.

Creating A Work or Study Area
Creating a good work or study area is an easy thing to accomplish and includes two key features. A good work area should simply be an area where you can focus your attentions at the job at hand. A good work area should have very few distractions that prevent you from doing your work.

Good Posture
First and foremost is maintaining good body posture while you work. Slouching or sitting in an uncomfortable position will become more and more painful over time and will reduce your ability to concentrate on your work. The best posture for doing homework is sitting on a firm chair, back straight and legs bent at 90° with your feet flat on the floor. Good posture means little discomfort while you sit and therefore little distraction while you work. Sitting in too soft of a chair or couch or laying on your bed may feel good for the first few minutes but will not provide the support you need to maintain proper poster over longer periods of time. Set up to work at a table or desk with a comfortable height when you are sitting in your chair.

Proper Lighting
Often overlooked, proper lighting also plays a very important role in establishing a good work or study area. The glare from too bright of a light is just as fatiguing as the eye strain from dim and insufficient light. Light sources should always be located in front of you. The best lighting occurs from above and on the opposite side of what you are trying to focus on. A light source located behind you will produce a shadow (from your head) on whatever it is that you are working on. Examples of good light sources include small desk or table lights located along the back edge of your desk and a ceiling light located directly over the the center of your kitchen or dining room table.

Location, Location, Location...
Do not set up a work area in a place where you will be interrupted repeatedly or distracted by video from a computer or television. Being distracted means that your work will take longer to accomplish. If you have limited time to work then being distracted will reduce the effectiveness of your efforts. The key is to work smarter, not harder. Some people find quiet music helps them to block out the distractions of what's going on in the next room or outside. Loud music however tends to be a distraction from working productively and should be left until your work or studying is done.

Reducing Distractions
To maximize your work and study habits, you will need to reduce the things that distract you when you try to focus on your studies. Examples of common distractions that people face while trying to work include:
- watching television or on-line videos
- gaming
- listening to music
- talking on your cell phone
- texting
- socializing with friends or family
- surfing the web
No matter what you may think, you can not "multi-task" while you study. Turn off your cell phone's ringer and put your computer to sleep while you work. Plan to study when your friends are not going to be around. Plan to work or study for an hour each night and build this time into your daily routine.

Avoid Fatigue
Work for a specific amount of time, then take a break. Common work routines include working for fifteen minutes followed by a five minute break or working for twenty minutes followed by a ten minute break. Repeat this cycle for an entire hour or the total time that you plan to study or work. You may want to use a timer or an alarm clock to keep you honest. Some people can work effectively for longer periods of time but most of us can not. Generally people find that they can accomplish a lot more by focusing for 15 or 20 minutes and then taking a short break to grab a quick bite to eat, go outside or simply take a washroom break before getting back to work again. If you have to text someone, leave it until your break then get back to work and put your phone away until the next break.

Other Distractions
Some of the other things that are equally distracting and we don't often think about can be reduced by some very basic things we can do to look after ourselves. Ensuring that you get enough sleep each night, eating a proper diet and drinking 6 to 8 glasses of water each day plus getting some regular exercise are all things we should be doing each day. Working too late at night by "pulling an all nighter" or drinking too many energy drinks have the same negative impact on effective study and work habits as watching television while you work. One final note, don't start working when you are tired..., being well rested and fresh when you start is a key.

Having and following a plan to maximize the effectiveness of your study and work time is the first step to actually increasing the effectiveness of your work and study time.

Taking Proper Notes
One of the most important steps in taking good notes is knowing what your notes are going to be about. Listen to your teacher. They will tell you what you will learn during each lesson with phrases like "today we are going to learn about..." or "by the end of today's class you will be able to...."

Writing A Better Essay

Preparing For Exams

Tips for Writing Exams

Reducing Exam Anxiety

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