Exam Study Tips
02/26/18 18:47
I asked students who earned perfect scores on the first exam to share study tips. Here’s what they suggest:
From an anonymous student -
To study for the exam, I made a study guide by typing up the notes I took in class, summarizing all the readings, and summarizing the movies. For the readings, I wrote the main argument and other points that were made. This forced me to skim through all the readings again. Then, I just read the study guide over and over again!
From Kelvin -
To study the exam, I reviewed every class slide and my lecture notes together at the same time, reexamined the reading quizzes, and made sure that I finish reading every single assigned reading and reread parts I was confused about or was emphasized during the discussion. For the short answers section of the exam, I would answer each question with one idea of the lecture and one idea from reading, so it was extremely critical for me to review the lecture slides and make sure I knew the readings. What did NOT work for me was rereading or reskimming the readings. I also find taking notes while reading too time-consuming. What I prefer to do regarding reading is spend a large amount of time during the first reading. I would sometimes take 2 hours just to read one assigned reading so I can make sure I have a very deep understanding of the material. I also find reviewing the lecture slide alongside my own notes very helpful because it allows me to recall what was important during the lecture.
From an anonymous student -
I typed up all of my notes from lecture and discussion, rewatched the lecture recordings when I had missing notes/wasn't completely confident with the concepts addressed, and skimmed through the readings (I print out my readings and write margin notes, so the notes were particularly helpful). I know it's not a possibility for everyone, but I found that having hard copies of the readings was really helpful. I think that going through the lecture recordings is also extremely helpful because you see moments/explanations you might have otherwise not remembered.
From Alanna -
I studied for this exam mostly by rereading the readings I felt shaky on/didn't feel like I read thoroughly enough the first time and took notes on the main points. Then I skimmed over the ones I felt like I understood more and looked over my notes from the films.
I started looking through lecture slides but then thought it would be easier and faster to just look over my notes. Taking good notes on readings and doing them when they are due and not trying to cram them in in the days before the exam I think are both crucial if possible.
From an anonymous student -
I re-read all of the readings and looked over my notes for the films. I made flashcards on the lectures. It was really beneficial for me to make flashcards and quiz myself on major concepts as well as definitions and specific points in the readings. Memorizing specifics was not as important as understanding and applying the big ideas for me. The readings were very important, so definitely do the readings. Otherwise, just scanning over things is not always effective for me. I always think I know something until I actually quiz myself on it. Try to teach other people about concepts or talk about the readings or the films with people. Teaching others helps you learn yourself.
From an anonymous student -
To study for this exam, my friends and I created a detailed study guide of all the readings and films from class using the questions we go over in discussion, along with detailed plot summaries. We also made a quizlet of important terms from lecture and from the readings/films to familiarize us with all the terms. While I found that skimming the readings and looking at my annotations from the past were helpful, I don’t think that re-reading anything fully helped me. I think quizlets are a really easy way to study a lot of terms at once, since the terms appear multiple times in different ways on the quizlet Learn function.
From Ryan -
My main tactic, that was suggested to us by our GSI, Lisa, was to compare notes/ ideas from the readings directly to what we talked about in lecture. This allowed me to see bigger themes, and think of specific examples for those themes from the readings. I typically take Cornell style notes for both readings and lecture. I tried to stay away from completely rereading articles so as to avoid getting caught up in small details. I went through each week, listed what our main objectives/ ideas were, and then looked at the readings through the lens of that week. I know that this should be the way we look at the readings every week, but in a way I found it easier to review major ideas when everything is said and done. Reviewing in this way really helped make connections that I hadn’t fully made before.
From Anne Else -
I used the four questions you suggested to go through for each reading and film (main argument, method, evidence, conclusions). I took notes for each assigned piece and these questions really helped! I also read all of my notes from lecture and discussion a few times to solidify the information.
From an anonymous student -
My preferred study method is to rewrite key topics from both readings and lecture in a more organized way than when I'm scribbling notes in lecture. I then use this as a study guide because it is more digestible. Plus, writing things down again helps me remember them. When I study, I need to be in an environment where I am free from distraction. Sitting in a Starbucks where there is a lot of background noise isn't conducive to studying for me. Finding an environment that works for you is the best thing you can do for your study habits. I found that reviewing the readings and even rewatching the films was the best method for this specific exam, as each question required examples from this material.
From an anonymous student -
To study for the exam, I made a study guide by typing up the notes I took in class, summarizing all the readings, and summarizing the movies. For the readings, I wrote the main argument and other points that were made. This forced me to skim through all the readings again. Then, I just read the study guide over and over again!
From Kelvin -
To study the exam, I reviewed every class slide and my lecture notes together at the same time, reexamined the reading quizzes, and made sure that I finish reading every single assigned reading and reread parts I was confused about or was emphasized during the discussion. For the short answers section of the exam, I would answer each question with one idea of the lecture and one idea from reading, so it was extremely critical for me to review the lecture slides and make sure I knew the readings. What did NOT work for me was rereading or reskimming the readings. I also find taking notes while reading too time-consuming. What I prefer to do regarding reading is spend a large amount of time during the first reading. I would sometimes take 2 hours just to read one assigned reading so I can make sure I have a very deep understanding of the material. I also find reviewing the lecture slide alongside my own notes very helpful because it allows me to recall what was important during the lecture.
From an anonymous student -
I typed up all of my notes from lecture and discussion, rewatched the lecture recordings when I had missing notes/wasn't completely confident with the concepts addressed, and skimmed through the readings (I print out my readings and write margin notes, so the notes were particularly helpful). I know it's not a possibility for everyone, but I found that having hard copies of the readings was really helpful. I think that going through the lecture recordings is also extremely helpful because you see moments/explanations you might have otherwise not remembered.
From Alanna -
I studied for this exam mostly by rereading the readings I felt shaky on/didn't feel like I read thoroughly enough the first time and took notes on the main points. Then I skimmed over the ones I felt like I understood more and looked over my notes from the films.
I started looking through lecture slides but then thought it would be easier and faster to just look over my notes. Taking good notes on readings and doing them when they are due and not trying to cram them in in the days before the exam I think are both crucial if possible.
From an anonymous student -
I re-read all of the readings and looked over my notes for the films. I made flashcards on the lectures. It was really beneficial for me to make flashcards and quiz myself on major concepts as well as definitions and specific points in the readings. Memorizing specifics was not as important as understanding and applying the big ideas for me. The readings were very important, so definitely do the readings. Otherwise, just scanning over things is not always effective for me. I always think I know something until I actually quiz myself on it. Try to teach other people about concepts or talk about the readings or the films with people. Teaching others helps you learn yourself.
From an anonymous student -
To study for this exam, my friends and I created a detailed study guide of all the readings and films from class using the questions we go over in discussion, along with detailed plot summaries. We also made a quizlet of important terms from lecture and from the readings/films to familiarize us with all the terms. While I found that skimming the readings and looking at my annotations from the past were helpful, I don’t think that re-reading anything fully helped me. I think quizlets are a really easy way to study a lot of terms at once, since the terms appear multiple times in different ways on the quizlet Learn function.
From Ryan -
My main tactic, that was suggested to us by our GSI, Lisa, was to compare notes/ ideas from the readings directly to what we talked about in lecture. This allowed me to see bigger themes, and think of specific examples for those themes from the readings. I typically take Cornell style notes for both readings and lecture. I tried to stay away from completely rereading articles so as to avoid getting caught up in small details. I went through each week, listed what our main objectives/ ideas were, and then looked at the readings through the lens of that week. I know that this should be the way we look at the readings every week, but in a way I found it easier to review major ideas when everything is said and done. Reviewing in this way really helped make connections that I hadn’t fully made before.
From Anne Else -
I used the four questions you suggested to go through for each reading and film (main argument, method, evidence, conclusions). I took notes for each assigned piece and these questions really helped! I also read all of my notes from lecture and discussion a few times to solidify the information.
From an anonymous student -
My preferred study method is to rewrite key topics from both readings and lecture in a more organized way than when I'm scribbling notes in lecture. I then use this as a study guide because it is more digestible. Plus, writing things down again helps me remember them. When I study, I need to be in an environment where I am free from distraction. Sitting in a Starbucks where there is a lot of background noise isn't conducive to studying for me. Finding an environment that works for you is the best thing you can do for your study habits. I found that reviewing the readings and even rewatching the films was the best method for this specific exam, as each question required examples from this material.