Preparing For Finals: A Step-by-Step Guide

The arrival of the crispy mornings of December, nipping at the tip of your nose, always signal a sort of alarm in the mind of a student. Despite the joyous wonder of the winter holidays, the weeks leading up to the long-awaited break are always preceded by a dreaded occurrence: finals.

ACP’s exam days are on the 16th and 17th of December (periods 1, 3, 5 on the 16th; periods 2, 4, 6 on the 17th), in about two weeks. Teachers should be handing out final exam study guides today, which means (unfortunately), that it’s time to start reviewing.

The key to getting a good grade on your final exam is to start preparing early. With two weeks left until the testing days, take the opportunity to begin composing your study guides. Here’s a short, step-by-step guide to locking in that A on your finals:

Create Your Own Study Guide

One of the easiest ways to study for exams is by composing your own study guide or review sheet from past notes and materials. Using your teacher’s study guide, collect all the information you need, rewriting or redrawing it as you go. Writing the information over once more will make it more likely for you to remember the information once it’s time for actual studying AND you can put the information in your own words.

Flash Cards & Quizlet

Despite the elementary appearance of flash cards, they are quite helpful for memorizing dates, definitions, functions and etc. You can have a family member or buddy quiz you anytime you want and not to mention, you can quiz yourself. If you don’t have any materials on hand to make your physical flash cards, download the Quizlet App. Quizlet allows you to make your flash cards online and to quiz yourself. They also offer other forms of the studying, from matching games to actual tests.

Projects

If your teacher has been lovely enough to give you a final project instead of an exam, don’t procrastinate on it. Not all of your teachers will provide you with this opportunity, and you’ll most likely have several actual exams to take on the last two days of the semester. Get a head start on any project and finish it before the stress week of exams arrives; take the time to practice if it is a presentation too.

Youtube Videos

Youtube has many educational videos to offer, from Jocz Productions for your history and government classes to John Green for practically everything. Most of these videos stress the important details you’ll need to remember for final exams. Just a simple click on the search bar will take you wherever you need to go.

Relax

The most important factor to preparing for exams is to be level-headed and calm. You won’t accomplish as much when you’re stressed, so take the time to slow down and breathe as you work. Play classical music for studying (or even the Super Mario soundtrack – it’s proven to help you work faster) and hydrate.

Hopefully, some of these tips will be helpful in guiding you to an A on your exams. Best of luck on your finals, Knights!