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It’s the most wonderful time of the year, but for students it is one of the most stressful. With impending December/ January exams and hand-ins, students are faced with a mountain of course work to learn and complete. To keep yourself on track and maintain your sanity we have composed a list of tips to encourage students to prepare in the best way possible.
Stay Organised
Every student learns differently and has their own system. No matter whether its is study cards, a wall planner or writing out notes repeatedly, it is important to establish what works best for you. Once you find a strategy to prepare its half the battle. Make sure to stay up-to-date and login into your student portal. Regularly check for hand-in information, or last-minute exam prep lectures.
Allocate study time
Whether you prefer to study early in the morning or later in the evening, that’s a personal choice. When do you feel most motivated and productive? Set-aside a time to revise every day and make sure to take a break now and again so you don’t go completely insane. Stock up on brain food and reward yourself with a treat when you learn a new topic for example. Study with flatmates, you may find that studying with others helps you learn more. You could use flash cards on each other and test how much you know.
De-stress
Remember to take time away from the books. If you study too much you will lack concentration and be unable to absorb the information. Go to the gym or take a nice walk. Do not consume yourself with endless hours of revision. Have a movie night with your flatmates and take advantage of two for Tuesdays at Dominos, the perfect combination.
Don’t get Distracted
Social media makes it too easy to get lost in the digital society. You end up spending hours scrolling through your news feed and before you know it you’ve lost two hours of study time. To prevent this, turn your phone off, and try not to have your device next to you while studying. But don’t forget to inform your family and friends to let them know the best way to contact you. Time management is key. So set yourself some goals each week or each day for what you want to have achieved. This will help you stay on track and manage workload effectively.
Self-motivate
Do practice test papers and time yourself while doing so. If you only have 1 hour and 30 minutes to write an essay, you must make sure that the essay you are writing demonstrates the main topic of conversation. If your exam is question based it is good to do a test paper to get an idea of the structure of questions you might get asked and the way in which marks are allocated. And remember, you may not answer the question 100% accurately, but if you are on the right lines’ marks can be given, so it is important not to leave any blanks. Once you complete the test paper get someone else to read it over. When we mark for ourselves, we tend to be overly generous. Or, take it into university and go over it with your lecture after class. They can offer advice and tell you how to improve.
Make studying bearable
Create yourself a playlist on Spotify to help you study, pick your favourite up-beat tunes to keep motivation high. Light some scented candles to create a relaxing atmosphere and eliminate stress. Once you read a chapter of your recommended reading go for a quick chat with your flatmates. Personally, when I was a student this time last year, I found this to be one of the best ways to de-stress. Catch up on how they’re getting on and ask for tips.
Family affair
Overall, it is important to remember that Christmas is a family time. You’ll have a diary of fun-filled events to attend during the festive season, meet-ups with friends, family dinners and party nights. In order to make the most of the festivities, plan-ahead. If you have January exams study as much as you can before you leave university. Make all your flash cards and write your revision notes. Then it’s just a matter of re-reading until you absorb the information. Get family to help, let them quiz your knowledge on certain topics to see how much you have learned and how much more you still need to know. As its Christmas reward yourself with a sherry or two for every topic you learn.
We wish all students sitting Christmas exams and submitting hand-ins the best of luck. Merry Christmas when it comes from all the team at City Room Rentals.
