How to Prepare for a Test: Your Guide to Acing the Exam 

Your heart is racing, your palms are sweating, and your mind has gone blank. You should have studied a lot more for this exam. Everything your teacher went over in class has slipped your mind.

You can’t even remember how to do basic equations. It’s no surprise that you ended up failing. You really need to learn how to prepare for a test better so this doesn’t happen to you again.

You should at least be giving yourself more time to study than the night before. It would help if you got yourself organized as well. 

We can help you out with that. Keep reading to learn more about how to get ready for a test and ace it.

Give Yourself the Time to Study

It is true that some students do thrive when they procrastinate studying and projects until the last minute. Still, it’s not recommended.  

If you want to ace an exam, you’ve got to give yourself enough time to prepare. Invest in a calendar or whiteboard to keep up with your test dates. Being able to see the dates will help you prioritize studying for the exams that need the most attention. 

Keep Your Space Organized

It’s hard to hit the books when you don’t have any desk space to put them on. Give yourself enough space to comfortably stretch out all your textbooks and other study materials. 

It helps to be able to see what you’re studying so invest in a desk lamp. It’s hard to study if you’re in pain or uncomfortable. Buying the right chair can help with that. 

Ditch any distractions when you’re studying by turning off the TV and eliminating noise. If you need a little background sound, play classical music. It stimulates the brain cells and it doesn’t have lyrics so you won’t be tempted to have a self-jam session. 

Diagrams and Charts are Your Friends 

If you’re a visual learner, charts and diagrams are a godsend. Diagrams are condensed so they’re easier to memorize than reading paragraph after paragraph of study notes. 

Since you have to brainstorm to create the graphs, it’s more engaging. They also take complex concepts and break them up into easier to understand chunks. 

Use Your Old Exams as Practice 

Teachers have the habit of giving you little pop quizzes before you take the end of the chapter exam. It’s a good idea to gather up these quizzes and study them. 

They may change up the wording a little bit but many teachers put the same exact questions on the exam that were on the quizzes. If this is your first exam for a teacher, studying the pop quiz will allow you to familiarize yourself with the way they format the big tests as well.  

If you’re taking college entrance exams like the TSI you won’t have any past quizzes to go off of. You can visit this page to get a study package to use. 

Talk Your Answers Out with Someone 

Essay questions can be tough to tackle. It’s hard to organize your thoughts in a way in which they make sense in the blank box provided. This is where you can use roommates, parents, and siblings to your advantage.

Talk out your answers with them. They can listen and provide you with a list of things that you need to work on to make your responses clearer.  

Study with Friends 

If you can stay focused when working with other people, it can be helpful to get together with a study group. Your peers will have different takes on questions. 

They may have thought of something that you haven’t. You may be able to offer them a little insight into certain questions as well. If anything else, studying with someone else gives you a person to bounce ideas off of.  

Don’t Be Afraid to Take a Break 

No matter how much you’re pressed for time, trying to study for hours on end can do more harm than good. If you try and cram too much in at one time you’re bound to forget something. 

You’ll absorb the information much better if you give your brain a moment to breathe. Move away from the study notes and do something fun for an hour or so. Just, make sure you start a timer so you don’t forget to go back to studying. 

Take the Time to Eat a Nutritious Meal  

When you’re trying to studying for a big test, you might be tempted to order takeout so you don’t have to take the time out of your day to cook. Fatty takeout food is the worst thing you can eat though.

You need nutritious brain fuel. Fish, fresh fruit, veggies, and seeds can help you concentrate better and allow you to retain more information. 

Plan Your Exam Day

If you’re taking a big college entrance exam, you need to visit the place it’s going to be held at way before the actual test day. Otherwise, you may end up getting lost and miss the test. 

If you try and get all your exam materials together the day of, you will most likely forget something. Make sure you put everything in your bag the night before.  

How to Prepare for a Test and Pass with Flying Colors

The last thing you want to do is walk into a test that you didn’t study enough for. While cramming at the last minute can help some people, it’s not a good method for everyone. 

Use these tips on how to prepare for a test and enter the exam room ready to pass with flying colors. 

Motivating yourself to actually sit down and hit the books can be a struggle. Check out the education section of our blog daily for tips on how to keep yourself motivated.