8 Study Tips to Help You Ace Your Finals

Finals season has officially begun for students in the area!  Are you or someone you know prepping for those big exams?  Take a look at our tips for studying to make sure you’re getting the most out of your study sessions!

Don’t forget to join us at any of our branches in Crest Hill, Lockport, and Romeoville for Exam Cram on May 21st through 23rd!  We’re making extra space available to Teens from 4:00 to 8:00pm, as well as offering snacks and stress reducing activities.

  • At the start of studying a topic, challenge yourself to write down everything you know on the subject. Then look at your notes to see where the gaps are.  This will help you focus on studying the material you don’t know or have a more difficult time remembering.
  • Re-take old exams and quizzes. Either cover the answers with a sheet of paper or have someone read you the questions out loud.
  • Take a break every hour. Studies show that most people cease to maintain their level of productivity after 50-90 minutes of continuous work.
  • Change study locations every few hours. Research suggests that studying the same material in different places makes us less likely to forget that information.
  • Re-write the most important information from your notes. People store information better when they write it out by hand.
  • Before you start studying, take a few minutes to close your eyes and just breathe. Some studies show that studying while relaxed can help boost your attention span.
  • Don’t pull an all-nighter! Make sure you get plenty of sleep leading up to and during finals.  Studies have proven that lack of sleep leads to impaired cognitive performance – AKA performing worse on your tests, not better.
  • Embrace the color blue for your pen, paper, or flash cards. While still hotly debated by scientists, there is some research that shows that blue is the best color for studying.  Even though it’s not confirmed, it can’t hurt to give it a try.  Also, if you’re having a difficult time concentrating, try switching to the color green.

Comment below to share some of your own study tips!

This post was originally written by Colleen Melone, former Adult & Teen Services Supervisor at the Crest Hill Branch.

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