To “cram”, is basically you are studying at the very last minute. I wouldn’t recommend cramming for a test or exam, but sometimes we do have busy lives and don’t have time to study often. But believe me, Cramming and Procrastination are the best/worst points in high school. To some, cramming the night before an exam is the best practice while others find it very difficult to do. Some students do have a good memory and ways to remember things, I’m one of them. So my method of cramming maybe different from someone else’s. Check out these tips;
Eat – Make sure you have a good snack and/or drink before you study. I can’t study while I’m hungry because I can’t concentrate on the notes. This applicable to most students.
Location – Make sure you are in a quiet location, free from distractions. Good locations are like in the library, your room with ALL electronics off, or wherever it’s quiet. Bad locations are like in front of your television, in the school’s cafeteria, or any place that is loud and distracting.
Cellular Devices – Put your phone away. It WILL distract you. Notifications from apps and text messages from your friends ruin your concentration. Better still switch your phones to SILENT mode.
Make Notes – How are you going to cram if you don’t know what you are cramming about??? Get some notes. Just make sure you have notes and have highlighters to make the most important parts.
Main Points – Don’t spend the little of time you have on the details. Get the details after you finish the main points. If you don’t know anything about the topic you are studying about, then read the bullet point or bullet marks you made in your notes. Focus on the things that your teacher said a hundred times. Highlight or circle/underline the parts that you know or think that are going to be on test.
Quiz Yourself – Stay focus on what you are studying. Don’t let others distract you. Quiz yourself after you cover a part. Eg.
Q: What are the main 3 parts of the brain? A: Cerebrum, Cerebellum, and Brain Stem.
If you don’t get all the answers correct, reread over the material you have or better still sing with it.
Don’t Quit – If you are stressed out, just don’t panic. FOCUS. At least get some of the material in your head. Some is better than none. If you are tired and sleepy, just walk around for a while or jump around. Wake yourself up. Hungry?? Get a snack. If you tired and need a break, take a break. If it’s really late, go to sleep and try to squeeze studying in the morning when you wake up.
These are points that will help you cram effectively, while preparing for a test. If you feel there’s need to stop cramming, so you can study and understand well, then you would want to learn how to stop procrastination, because that’s what results to most students trying to grind away and gather more information in a short space of time.