Tips for better grades
- From day one
o Modified outlines
§ Structure
· Indent supporting details
· Separate points on separate lines
· Create your own shorthand
o Abbreviate words
o Use symbols
§ Leave room in left margin for
· Your notes
· Explanations
· Page references
§ Don’t write everything the professor says
· They talk 180-200 words per minute
· We write 25 words per minute
o Review notes before you go to bed each night
§ 75% retention after nine weeks v. 25% for those who do not review
· add to your notes
· paraphrase text so you will understand it
· highlight information you are not clear on and ask for clarification
o Hidden treasures in textbooks
§ Headings
§ Bold/italicized words
§ Summaries
§ Glossary of terms
§ Exhibits
o Time Management
§ Time inventory: Cook Counseling Center @ Virginia Tech http://www.ucc.vt.edu/lynch/SSTimeInventory.htm
§ Dartmouth College Academic Skills Center http://www.dartmouth.edu/~acskills/success/time.html
§ 2 hours of study per hour of class
o Plan time each night to look over your material
§ Don’t start with the same page each night
· In 1995, the Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology (http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/g2699/0003/2699000312/p1/article.jhtml) defined:
o Primacy effect: best remember material studied first
o Recency effect: best remember material studied last
- The week before a test
o Cramming
§ If you don’t know it, the last 48 hours will not help you understand it
§ Last minute preparation should be limited to repetition of what you already know
o Study more than you think will be on the test
o Self-testing
§ Requires a lot of discipline
§ Practice tests
· Where?
o Study guides
o Professor’s old tests (highly unlikely)
o Make your own
· Why?
o Identify areas of struggle
o Anticipate trick questions
§ Peer testing
· Take turns quizzing each other over topics you think are important
o Classmate may come up with something you neglected to include
o Practice answering off-the-cuff
§ The power of repetition
· Flashcards for terminology
· Typed notes
· Burn a CD
o Record notes as mp3 files
o Burn onto a CD
o Play them
§ as you fall asleep
§ as you do mundane chores
§ as you drive in your car
§ as you head to class
- The test itself
o Arrive on time
§ Arriving early leads to questions from others and confuse you
o Memory dump
§ If you are afraid of forgetting how to spell Mnemonics, repeat it over and over in your head and write it down on your test immediately upon receiving it
o Read directions thoroughly
§ Avoid the all/none trap
§ Discover more response was necessary
o Budget test time
§ Identify sections that will take longer and do them first, if allowed
§ Because people seem to do worse on later portions of tests, Pause every 20 minutes or so
· Take a deep breath
· Count to ten
o Look for clues
§ Answer provided in a different question?
§ Question leads you away from an obvious answer that would have been wrong?
o Answer everything
§ Include examples when defining a term
§ Most professors will give partial credit for answers that are incomplete
§ Time may not allow for in-depth disclosure of everything you remember
· Put important facts first
· Go back and add details after all else has been answered
o Use as much of the time given as you can rationalize
§ Add details
§ Reread questions and directions
§ Make sure you are okay with every answer before you give up
§ Remember that hunches are more often right than wrong
o Essays
§ Topic sentence
§ Brief outline in margin
- After the test
o Understand where you went wrong
§ Why did I answer as I did
§ How can I avoid the same pitfall in the future
§ Stress?
· Counseling center
· Relaxation techniques
· Confidence comes from success
o Learn what the professor finds important
§ Did this come mostly from lectures or text?
§ Study more from t hat source next time
o Teacher will always be the best source for improving your performance on tests
§ Discuss the answers you gave and how they differ with what the professor was requiring
§ Identify key concepts the professor needs included when answering questions
o Reward yourself
§ Incentives work
§ Reward should reflect
· Difficulty of test
· Grade received
· Your perception of how well you did