Test Taking - Part I

<-- Here's a pic I took at the Switchfoot concert on Monday.


Now that hopefully all of our midterms are over, what better time to talk about EXAMS !!
I know, I know, not exactly what you wanted to hear. But wait! Before you close my page and start researching other vitally important issues, like why Britney Spears shaved her head - listen to what I have to say. (By the way, what's up with that?)


Now that exams are over, it's a perfect time to look at what we did and how we can improve for finals while things are still fresh in our minds.

Ever since I started writing this blog I have been thinking more about my studying skills, some of them good and some bad. I have never been great at taking tests but I have learned a few tricks that might help you out -

First, if I can, I like to try to start studying about a week before the exam. Even if I just study the first couple of lectures I find that it 'breaks the ice' so to speak, or 'gets the ball rolling', if you will. (I promise not to use another tacky cliche for at least the next 3 paragraphs - no promises after that). I find that when I have an exam in a couple days and I have already reviewed a small part of the material (maybe even the just the first chapter) it helps to take some of the pressure off. On the other hand, when I have to start from square one a couple days before, I often end up procrastination even further.

For bigger exams (midterms and finals) there is often a tremendous amount of material, sometimes entire textbooks. Since I can't think of anyone who has time to review everything, I'll give you my personal take on the issue:
-When preparing for an exam, I need to realistically look at a few factors - a) How much time I have to study for this particular test and b) how much time I will actually spend studying (snack breaks and naps in the library not included). I also need to look at how well I have been doing in the class - have I been paying attention? Does this stuff come easily to me? If the answers are 'no' then I know I will have to spend more time and effort before the exam.


This semester I have been taking a Business Statistics course in which we have been using Normal Distribution graphs (or for non- geeks, 'Bell Curves'.)

I've realized that my time spent studying and my success rate are closely related to this graph. I know you guys probably left math back in high school for a reason, but try to stay with me on this one.
On the graph above, the area under the curve = the percentage of the test that I get correct (if the whole area under the curve is filled, I get 100%). The numbers underneath represent equal blocks of time spent studying (We will use 1, 2 and 3 hours just for example).

So, if I spend 0 hours studying - I get a very low score and cover no area. If I spend 1 hour studying, I will go over the key concepts and therefore cover a large chunk of area (the lightest purple area). Now if I study a second hour, I will go over more of the secondary concepts and cover the darker purple area which, as you can see, is not as much area as the first hour. If I spend a third hour studying, I will go into the smaller less important details and still cover area, but a much smaller amount than the first and second hours.
(Note : The 1,2 and 3 hours is just for example because usually it takes me several hours just to cover the main concepts)

So what is the point of this chart? Many people think that if they spend 10 hours studying for a test they will do twice as well as if they spend 5 hours studying. This may sometimes be the case but usually it is not. The first few hours of studying should be on the key concepts because this is most likely what the bulk of the exam will be on. As you spend more time studying you will review concepts of lesser importance which will make up fewer questions on the exam.

Study Smarter- I'll tell you about two of my friends that I used to go to school with- My friend Jacky used to spend hours and hours studying, consistently staying up until 1am with her homework. However she always seemed to get 'average' grades. My friend Aaron spent much less time in the books and somehow managed to score much higher.
Both of my friends were about the same intelligence, however, one studied smarter. The problem was that Jacky spent most of her time stressing out about and reviewing minor details that she thought might be on the exam. Aaron, on the other hand focused his time on the foundation principles and practiced them until he became good at them. This in turn made the secondary information easier to understand.

This chart is useful because it gives a rough outline of how much time you spend and how much reward you get out of it. When time is tight it is better to spread out the studying among your tests rather than to focus more on one in particular. Your hour studying minor concepts in one subject will not get you the same amount of grades as that hour spent on the major or 'first block' concepts in another subject.

These are simply my ideas and opinions, they have not been scientifically tested - If you want some more information on tests, study habits - send me an email or stop by the Learning Centre -