Hey, Bloggers:

It’s almost that time of year again for final exams and term papers, and both can cause a lot of unwanted stress. Are you feeling the pressure yet? I know I’m starting to worry about my exam dates, about due dates for term papers, and especially about prioritizing my time and energy to get everything done. But how do we go about focusing on finals when classes are in still in full swing and regular assignments are still due?

First, as I’ve mentioned before, this is a good time to organize using a planner, a large calendar, or even some scrap paper (as long as you don’t lose it). When you begin going through your syllabi and jotting down exam dates and due dates for term papers, start with what you believe to be your most difficult classes leading all the way up to your easiest classes. If you are not sure how to put your classes in order of difficulty because you feel they are all equally demanding of your time and energy, then focus on which dates come first. Of course, the dates of your exams and papers will matter most, but it is important to recognize that you will need more time, energy, and patience to do well in your harder classes than you will for your easier classes.

Once you’ve figured out which classes need more focus than others, then you should figure out how you learn best  Most of us are predominantly visual learners, but visual learning isn’t the only way we learn nor is it always the most effective. For example, I used to study for exams by going through my notes and readings, and creating a study guide with all of facts that I didn’t know off the top of my head. Then, I would read my study guide over and over again until I thought I knew all of the material. But, when I got my exam grades, I never did as well as I thought I did. Yes, making a study guide was helpful, but that was only the first step to what I really needed to do in order to prepare for my exams properly.

After taking the intelligence quiz I’ve provided, though, I realized that I am more kinesthetic, musical, and social than I am visual. In other words, I need to learn hands on through practice, through listening to music or some type of recording, and through group study sessions. Of course, I learn well in many other ways but the three I have mentioned are the most effective in my case. Now, instead of just making a study guide that I read over until my eyes are ready to fall out of my head, I quiz myself. I take out important terms/definitions and key phrase/concepts, and I do my best to fill in the blanks with the answers. Once I get an answer right, I delete it from my study guide and retake my so-called “quiz” until I know all of the answers. By doing this, I am getting the hands on learning that I need to retain all of the information I am learning, and I am preparing myself for exams in an effective manner. So take the quiz and figure out how YOU learn best, too. You might be surprised how well you do on your finals this time around.

Term papers  are a little bit different, especially if they are research-based. I’ve found that doing the research takes up a lot more time than actually writing the paper. So, make sure you start your research ahead of time to prevent last minute panicking. Figure out the topic you are writing about, think about your beliefs and what you are trying to prove to create a thesis, come up with at least three points to help back up your thesis, and then start your research. For me, it helps a lot to open two different word documents, one with my paper and one with an outline of my paper, that I can apply my notes and quotations from my research to as a quick reference. This way, I already have all of my research done and I don’t end up writing a few paragraphs before I need to stop and find more evidence to prove my points. I do much better on my papers and I stress out a lot less if I organize my thoughts before diving head first into a paper.

Remember: final exams and term papers are a lot less stressful and a lot easier when we set aside a little bit of time each day for studying and doing research. Figure out which classes need the most attention and then work your way onto the others. Challenge your old ways of studying if they are not as effective as you’d like them to be by figuring out how you learn best. And organize your papers and your research before you start writing. Those are just a few tips to help you all do well this time around, but I’d be interested to hear other suggestions that have worked for you.

Until next time,
Kendra