Midterms can count heavily towards your final grade. The exams occur in the middle of an academic term when a student deals with assignments, classes, and studying. So are you ready to ace your midterm exams? Don’t let stress, panic, and lack of academic preparedness get to you. Give yourself the best chance of passing these types of exams with these effective study tips and strategies.
Review Early and Often
According to the Ebbinghaus forgetting curve, there is a decrease in the brain’s ability to retain memory over time unless the material/knowledge is reviewed often and early. Based on the forgetting curve, only 50% of information is remembered within an hour. After a day, a person will forget 70% and 90% within a week.
Regular reviewing cements the information in long-term memory and increases recall. So even if you believe you have understood material taught in class, if you don’t review it again, you can fail to remember it long term, leading to poor academic performance. So after revising your notes days later, try to retrieve the knowledge, reread the main points and set a weekly and monthly review. It’s crucial to summarize only the key points so you won’t be forced to reread the whole book or chapter.
Have a Good Study Spot
Whether you prefer the library’s silence or the homely feeling of a dorm room, a good study spot is crucial for achieving academic excellence. The space should be comfortable, with an ideal temperature, and free of distractions. The study materials should also be easy to access. Ensure your ideal spot helps you maximize the available time and boost productivity.
Test Your Knowledge
The best way to know whether you have truly understood the core concepts is to test your knowledge. So after reading and reviewing your notes, take a step further and use the practice exam to engage with the material on a deeper level.
Practice tests will also point out which questions are likely to be covered in the midterm exams. By answering old tests and quizzing yourself, you’ll be able to know which sections you need to reread further. Besides, midterm exams can come in various formats, from essay types to multiple questions or fill-in-the-blanks. They function to evaluate your knowledge in that subject or course.
If the midterm is in the form of an essay, students, whether in high school or college, can put their knowledge to the test by answering online questions related to that subjects. You can also crosscheck your writing skills with that of a subject expert from an essay writing service.
Make Use of Your Learning Style
Did you know that students that use their learning style are more productive? If you are more productive, you have a higher chance of excelling in your midterms. Knowing the techniques that help you learn best is crucial as they point to how you process information.
For example, visual learners digest information better if it’s in the form of graphs, pictures, or illustrations. Conversely, these learners can struggle if the concepts are not written out in a visually appealing manner.
On the other hand, auditory learners understand knowledge best in audio format and thrive in academics by participating in class or group discussions. Some students have one specific learning style, while others combine two or more. Ultimately, the most suitable learning method will make studying easier.
Start the Preparations Early
Students make the mistake of procrastinating or waiting until a few weeks or days before midterms to start studying. This leads to academic overload, cramming, and poor information retention. To avoid a last-minute rush, start revising early. When preparing for midterms, start studying after attending the first class of the term or semester.
Use all the available resources, including the syllabus, notes from class lectures, and past papers, to study smarter. Break the study sessions into short-timed processes and divide large material into small chunks to enhance performance and reduce boredom. Finally, have a game plan of how you will ace the midterms, including creating a schedule to manage your time efficiently and remain organized.
Study Smarter and Not Longer
Studying content that you are less passionate about is challenging. Luckily, if you study smarter, you will achieve academic success. So set a realistic study schedule and start studying weeks before an exam to avoid cramming.
Every student has a preferred learning style and study habit, so there is no specific foolproof strategy that will work for all students. Instead, you have to test all of them and stick with those that meet your academic needs. So pick a few of the methods mentioned above and use them to ace your midterm exams.