Study for a Test - Personal Views Essay

Back when I was in high school I always hated having to study for a test! I would study all night, trying to cram everything in, and stress over memorizing information to prep for my test. As soon as I would sit at my desk and the test was handed to me, my mind would just go blank! As if my brain was overwhelmed with all the information that It just wanted to shut down. Little did I know that the reason that this would happen to me was that I didn’t know how to properly study for a test.

I found myself trying to remember details and information that was non-important or relevant to what the test was on. I had to learn to prioritize and keep my thoughts organized with a clear head. I needed to have less distractions around me and study when I was completely focused on studying. My mindset needed to change from reading the material because I had to, to because I wanted to. Trying to connect with what I was learning and keeping my interest in it. I had to figure out the best study strategies that works for me.

Over the years I have utilized a handful of different kinds of study strategies. Some have worked well in becoming very helpful and others have not. The handful that have help me the most would be; using flash cards, highlighting important key words or phrases, and reading out loud.

I often find myself reading out loud when studying my textbooks and research. When reading out loud I’m able to listen to myself and retain what I’m reading so much better than when reading in silence. It also helps for me to have a clear focus on my studies and tone out any distractions or noise that is around me.

 Another strategy would be highlighting and taking notes. This helps me to remember and cross reference important key words and phrases. My notes help in summarizing information that I may need to remember later, instead of having to go back and re-read a whole bunch of words.

Lastly, flashcards have been my best friend for so many years. I utilized flashcards the most when it comes to learning vocabulary and definitions. When I use flash cards it not only forces me to write it all out, which helps with memorization, I’m also able to quiz myself.

Although there are numerus study strategies, not all of them will necessarily work for you. You can always learn to adapt and pick up new strategies along the way and try to implement them into your study session. One thing I thought about trying to incorporate is talking to a tutor or even a teacher about the bigger picture so that you can look ahead to the coming steps or lessons. Also, I would like to try and start building an outline with my notes and highlighted text from the textbook. If I can incorporate this strategy into the system I already have, I would be able to create a strong skeleton of information.

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