Preparing for Finals

Below are some tips for your students as we are approaching the finals week:
1. Organize your materials: Gather together your notes, handouts, and reading materials for the class.
2. Make up a study guide (some instructors do provide study guides for you): An outline of the material that may be covered on the test. In addition to topics, your study guide may include the readings and the pages and dates of the notes for each topic.
3. A few weeks before the exam, ask the instructor to tell you about the test. Here is the info you might want to know:

• What material will the exam cover?
• What material should be considered most important?
• What type of test will it be?
• What type of questions will be on the test: true-false, multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, matching, identification, short-answer, essay, problem-solving, other?
• How long will the test be, and where will it be given?
• How would the instructor recommend that you study for the test?
• Could the instructor provide a study guide of what to study?
• Will the test follow the forma of earlier tests?
• Are any old tests available for practice?

4. Make a study plan: Make a list of what you need to prepare to learn all what you need to learn. It is a simply TTD list for a specific exam. As a general guideline, figure at least an hour of study time per week of instruction. If the exam covers an entire fifteen-week semester course, you should plan on studying fifteen hours for the final.

When you are facing finals, make a calendar with allotted time for all courses you are studying for, for each day the week before finals. If you work, see if you can take time off work during exam week.

Before the exam:

• Get enough sleep.
• Eat beforehand.
• Be sure you know when and where the exam will be given and allow yourself enough time to get there.
• Have all your equipment with you (paper, pencils, pens, erasers, other special equipment)
• Bring gum or hard candy if it helps you concentrate

Handling test anxiety:

• Make a phone call.
• Take an exercise break.
• Take a meditation break.
• Learn one thing well.

During the exam:
Follow exam directions carefully. If you can write on the exam, underline key directions, and make notes on each section to remind you of the instructions.
Plan your time: the basic principle is to allow the time in proportion to the amount of credit given for each section.
After the exam:
Take time to reward yourself for your hard work!