Five Test Prep Tips

The following tips will help prepare you for upcoming quizzes or tests.

• Make flash cards. This may sound elementary, but it works.

If you know that certain vocabulary words will be on the next English test, write the term on one side of an index card and the definition on the other. Likewise, if you're taking a test in history and need to know the significance of a particular date, put the date on one side and relevant information on the other.

After filling out your index cards, either ask someone else to call them out to you (front and back) or look them over on your own.

• Rewrite your notes. Take a look at your notes and rewrite them by hand. This is time consuming, but it is an excellent way to commit the information to memory.

If you don't want to write every single note word-for-word, then pick out key pieces of information that you know will appear on the test and rewrite those.

• Write a summary. Take out your book and notes and write a summary of the chapter/section. This will help you review the information, as well as serve as a study tool to look over later.

• Use a highlighter. If you are allowed to highlight your textbook, use a highlighter to highlight any information you think will appear on the test, including key facts, terms, and important people.

If you aren't allowed to mark your book, then use the highlighter on your notes. Highlighting will help keep your attention focused, as well as make studying easier, as you can disregard any unimportant information you have written down.

• Make time to study. This may sound cliché, but it's true.

Make time to study each day and do not wait until the last minute to study. Taking time to review the material will help you commit what you have learned to your long term memory. When you cram, you only commit the information to your short term memory, where it is often easily lost.