Studying for the Test: Does Cramming Work?

Taking any test can stress certain people to the point of tears and all night benders of coffee and books. There are many methods to load up your brain with the facts and figures and to each his own. However, there are some universal test taking habits by which all should abide. No matter if you are a note card junkie, highlighter freak, or a king of cramming there are some techniques that will help anyone in their test taking endeavors.

To get the elephant out of the room, yes, cramming can work. If you’ve got a regular test during the semester cramming is going to work for most. However, when you are up against a cumulative exam, like a midterm or final, cramming can come back to bite you. If you’re always cramming for tests you’re storing information in your short-term memory for a while but it’s going to be of little use come mid-term or final time. So, again, you end up cramming even more information to pass the cumulative test.

What to do then? It boils down to common sense. First, plan and make time for your studying. Set up times when you will study and keep to it, but don’t block off a large chunk of time like five or six hours to study because study breaks are essential. Something as simple as a walk can help clear a cloudy mind. It is of great help to clear your schedule that week, which means no going out with friends, working fewer hours, and maybe missing a television show or two.

A good study group is helpful as long as it’s made of people who want to do well on the test and not just in the group for social reasons. Also, decide how much study time you want to devote to each subject. Are you positive you are going to pull an A on a particular test? Then devote more time to weaker subjects. Also, if you need help find a tutor or ask for clarity about certain lessons from your professor.

In the end realize that grades are not the end of the world. If you want all A’s that is fantastic, but when you seek perfection on all your tests then you are creating stress which will always hinder your performance. So, make a point to learn the material in the beginning, take time to review, and simply show up for the test ready to show what you know. You can’t do more then that.