Study Skills Preparing for and Taking Tests Research Paper

Study Skills Preparing for and Taking Tests - Research Paper Example This paper will describe strategies for preparing for and sitting tests. In this paper, it will be assumed that the exam and test mean the same thing and the two words will be used interchangeably. Hall (2010) advises that test preparation begins on the very first day a student enters the school. This is because all that may be tested during the exams include even the lessons that were taught on the very first day. In Hall’s view, test preparation starts by paying a lot of attention in class and taking an active part in a class by taking lecture notes. No student should ignore note taking because lecture notes are good for future reference considering that the human brain cannot grasp everything at ago. Students should also engage the lecturer by asking questions in areas that have not been well explained or those which the student feels that he/she needs additional clarification on. This is important because such areas are likely to be tested. This implies that failing to ask questions may mark the beginning of failure in tests. It is common that lecturers leave assignments immediately after a lecture. Students who intend to pass tests highly must always take advantage of these assignments by completing all of them in time. They should also take the assignments to the lecturers for marking, and seek assistance on questions that were wrongly answered. Completing assignments and taking them for marking may be the key to passing exams because some tests are directly taken from the assignments given in class by the lecturers. It is also important for students to engage in reviewing what they have learned regularly so as to avoid forgetting concepts previously learned. To effectively do this, a student must utilize his/her time well. It is, therefore, imperative for the learner to make a personal timetable which acts as a guide on how the time is to be spent on reviewing the notes.