How do you study?

I am very happy with how I fared in year 12 and I was one of the best achievers. I also loved school.

Exam study was not a highlight though.
For most of my subjects my teachers gave us all study guides, written by teachers from the state I live in suited to the textbooks and curriculum we used. It was great and a lot better than having to work out what to study ourselves. So if your teachers don't do this for you hassle them for some help or guidance.
30 minutes per subject a day for 8 weeks before an exam is much much better than 4 hours a day for five days before, but there is no point in being religious with it. Also studying when really tired is useless so go to bed earlier and wake up earlier. Don't deny yourself all of your normal leisures but when taking a study brake do something active instead of continuing to sit playing games.
Do past exams and set yourself high goals for them. For maths I did a few past exams and aimed to get my mark to at least 95%. I think I almost got that high but in the actual exam I didn't even get 90% but it was close, so try for a benchmark higher than you need.
Work at a proper desk and leave your phone in the other room / incinerate it.
You should always check the answers when revising because if your practising doing everything wrong that would be terribubble.
If you feel like your going nowhere gtfo for a while and eat an orange or go for a bike ride. No pmoing!!

and just bloody white knuckle it. It's your future.

 

@Hollipop

I think the first thing you should do is plan your studying. For example, count the pages you need to learn and divide them by the number of days you have available. Make sure to deduct a few days for unexpected events, like a headache, lowered efficiency on a given day etc. You will know how much you need to learn each day to be safe. It will also motivate you to study efficiently, because if you finish your allotted amount of pages before the time is up you'll have more free time.

Try a technique like Pomorodo - studying in relatively short bursts interspersed with even shorter brakes. I never used the Pomodoro intentionally, but when I was in college I would intuitively study for 40-45 minutes and then take a 5-10 minute break, which is essentially the same thing. The key is to stay disciplined and find an activity that can help you relax during the break but at the same time is easy to put down when the break time is over.

I also liked changing subjects frequently. For example, I would be studying one subject first for about half of my planned study time for the day, and then spend the rest of the day on another subject. It prevents tedium that comes from reading about the same thing for a prolonged period of time.

Maybe it's not the best advice to give on a website that promotes healthy lifestyle, but another big help was sugar. Your brain needs energy to memorize all the stuff you're learning and sugar is an easy way to provide this energy. I would eat lots of chocolate and drink Coke when studying.

If you're planning on studying intensively (like 8-10 hours a day), make sure to set a time when you stop no matter how far you've gone that day (for me that was 8-9 PM). I know that runs counter to my first advice about setting a number of pages to learn each day, but believe me that having a burned out brain from studying into the night which leads to lower efficiency the next day.

 

Man good tips, which I had them before my exams, I'm a little worried about them now hehe

 

You can do this man, I also really had no motivation to do stuff like this. But I noticed by just doing it, like I am doing now it really pays off .

 

If you have different areas of math to study for this exam, you could for example do geometry in the morning and functions in the evening to mix things up a bit .

That's exactly why I used this technique. Plus you'll have a feeling of achievement every time you hit your goal. Just remember to keep the goals realistic and update them accordingly if they seem too high/low in practice.

 

Yo, good luck on your exam.

I was always that kid who finished 2nd or 3rd.. from behind.
Turns out I'm too easily distracted. Maybe ADD although never diagnosed.
And definitely instant gratification.

So, my technique now to study is first to make it a habit.
- I force myself every morning to study or read materials for 30 minutes, after a while it becomes a habit that I don't have to force
- Activate my pomodoro. It's a clock app that turns off notifications, blocks off websites, etc. and I put my cellphone away so there is 0 distraction
- Remember the pain that I would get if I don't study (my business will go down) and the pleasure (I can live better) and really feeling those feelings.

Hope it helps! Good luck once again.

 

Two key take away words: CONSISTENCY and PERSISTENCE. To be most effective, I'd suggest creating a study plan and sticking to it consistently - even if you don't feel like doing so. For instance, I would say 3-5 hours a day of studying is already sufficient - you just have to keep this consistency until you develop a habit. What about persistence? Simple. FORCE yourself even if you don't feel like doing it. It's always difficult in the start, but then you'll eventually look back and be thankful for your past actions. As you continue doing this, you begin to be more comfortable until studying will no longer be a chore - you're no longer "studying", instead you're "learning". We should not be equating the two words, for they are entirely different. One is bothersome, while the other one is fun.

 

The most important thing that you have missed out is to set a goal and also a small reward so that you are actually motivating yourself to work harder.

 

Man, just wanted to say I've passed my finals Could've done better since I had zero motivation back then. But as advice even if You think you know enough just learn, spares you a LOT of stress at the judgement day (Mine was today) Man I was so fking nervous because I had only spent like maybe 3 hours in total, everytime just 1 day ahead before the test. Because as I said before I had no motivation. Well I was lucky enough to pass but if you wanna build up some confidence just learn, even if you think you know everything or you don't know what to learn, learn!.

 

Thnx man, just I just felt I had to say this

 

Materials that I keep with me when I studying:
01. Notebook 02. Some extra papers 03. My Laptop 04. Books 05. Some color pens.

I first try to understand the fundamental of topics from books or Internet. Then try to jot them down > Revise them for few times > Then I explain the whole things to myself. If there are any little things I don't understand, I simply google them. Jot some important details down. And also I use lots of figure to understand the topic better. In the end, I try to explain again and write the whole things in scrap papers. This approach takes much time but I am happy with it because I know my friends are going to need help from me to explain it to them.

 

Practice tests. Then, when grading them, make flash cards for the stuff you really didn't know. Study smarter, not harder. This helps you identify the stuff you need to spend your time on.

 

Pretty successful, but I have poor writing skills. I believe that reading helps to improve critical thinking and writing skills. To master your writing skills, you should be active readers by studying how other writers build their arguments. You should choose the topic by yourself (you can use this generator - https://edubirdie.com/essay-topic-generator/ ). Your essay will be brilliant only if you know the subject you're writing about. Hope this helps.

 

I actually need some help too on how to study for the SAT. I’m going to take it in 1 year so I have to be very diligent of the time I have.