What makes a midterm so different from a test or quiz? It is the amount of information of course. A high school midterm covers about five months of content whereas; a college midterm may only cover two months. In both cases, a midterm is heavily weighted and can have a big impact on your term grade – positively or negatively. But don’t panic, here are seven tips to help you work your way through the review and you can find more help on our Facebook page.
1. Get your confidence up by reviewing the most recent information first. If you have any tests, quizzes or other assignments that you can use, it is important to review them too.
2. Chunk down the information into manageable pieces and create an outline or a mind map (web) with key concepts. The brain remembers color, shapes, placement, words and numbers in that order so anytime you can use those things to add to your mind map or notes you are helping your brain remember. Review by covering up a section and repeating. For you auditory learners, you can use a digital recorder or create an mp3 of your notes and play it back.
3. Study in one hour blocks and take a 10-15 minute break to allow your brain to process the new information.
4. Studying is not about rereading…interact somehow with the information. Ask yourself questions, group facts together, draw a timeline, etc.
5. Don’t cram, it doesn’t work. Space out your studying over the week and do a short review of the topics covered the day before and then continue on.
6. Keep good health habits of eating, sleeping and drinking plenty of water (the brain loves it) and also get some exercise – it stirs up the dopamine in your brain which helps it to think.
7. Lastly, relax and breathe. If you get stressed your body sends out cortisol, the stress hormone, and that can interfere with your ability to think clearly. Stay calm….and you WILL get through it. Good luck.
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