A person studying

The Best Scientifically-backed Ways To Prepare For Final Exams

As finals loom closer, students scramble to organize their thoughts and prepare for a few short weeks of pure hell. But if you’re looking for ways to improve your studying efficiency and retain more information, there are scientifically-backed ways of doing so.

A person studyingEat Brain Food

When you’re a student, your brain is the most valuable asset you have. When it comes to the final stretch of studying, preparation, and exams, your brain needs a little bit of fuel to keep it running smoothly.

To help you do just that, you need to snack on delicious brain foods such as walnuts, dark chocolate, blueberries, almonds, and vegetables like broccoli that’ll give you the energy and nutrients you need to power through.

Use Background Sounds

Background sounds can improve your concentration and help you retain information. No matter what subject you are studying, listening to background sounds can help you get into the right mindset. Whether you are listening to music or white noise, both can help improve your concentration and focus. As a result, it will be easier for you to answer questions from memory alone, thanks to higher memory absorption.

Create Your Flashcards

Creating flashcards is not just an effective way to study. It also can help you learn and remember the material more than if you simply read it from a textbook or took notes. Flashcards are a helpful tool for learning anything from vocabulary to foreign language vocabulary to general knowledge topics.

A person studying for the civil services exam in New YorkImprove Recall with Association

The benefits of association in memory recall are well known. When you can connect new information to something you already know, you’re in a better position to recall it later on. You can do this by association with people and places, familiar events or times of the year, and by using sensory triggers that you associate with the topic. The use of it is possibly illustrated the best by the famous fictional detective Sherlock Holmes and his use of mind palace.

Absorb Information in Smaller Chunks

To do well on your exams, you need to go in with a plan of attack. This plan will take some research, but you’ll be better organized when you get it right. This will also help you to pace the curriculum you need to absorb. The key to successful studying is to work hard but in intervals. A study found that students who studied in smaller blocks of time had better grades than those in big chunks.

Avoid cramming

Cramming is a bad idea because it can cause the brain to become overwhelmed and disorganized. Students have a better chance of retaining information if they study in shorter, more frequent sessions that focus on one subject at a time.

Exercise

A person doing yoga

Exercise has many benefits: it can help you lose weight, improve sleep quality, and boost your mood. It is also one of the best ways to keep stress and anxiety at bay. Stress can be a huge problem for students because it causes us to make poor decisions about food choices and study habits. Exercise is shown to reduce stress levels which leads to an overall happier student. Taking 30 minutes out of your busy schedule will reap a lot of benefits for your exam results.

Reduce the Level of Distractions

Today’s students are in a constant state of distraction. From our cell phones to the television, there are many competing interests for students’ attention. With this as the norm, it’s no wonder that many students experience difficulty when preparing for final exams. Because of this, a lot of students are also now suffering from ADHD.

The mention of final exams can cause just about anybody to become a little edgy. If you’ve been putting off studying for your upcoming exam, it’s time to get started on the task at hand. By organizing your study area and lowering the level of distractions, you can provide yourself with a productive environment to study and pass the test with flying colors. Try deactivating your social media accounts in the final few weeks of your exam prep.

Sleep Well After a Study Session

A study has revealed that research participants who had slept after studying achieved a higher retention level when taking a test on their material. This means that sleep can be used to increase the effectiveness of studying, which is especially useful for students who are short on time.

 

Preparing for Civil Service Exams?

Studying for the Civil Service exam can be stressful, especially for first-time takers. To help you in your goal of becoming a civil servant and serving this great city, we at Civil Services Success can help. Our track record speaks for itself, with several of our alumni’s now in key civil positions in New York.

Our instructors have taught thousands of students mentored them on strategies that can help boost their test scores.

Civil Services Success helps students prepare for different civil services exams such as county sanitation officer, test police exam, FDNY exams, and court officer exam in Long Island, Westchester, New York City, Nassau County, and Suffolk County.

Get in touch with us now. Register today.

 

 

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