How To Succeed During Midterms

Midterms present the opportunity for Monsignor Farrell students to show their knowledge; however, it also presents a lot of stress.

One Student's Advice On How To Make the Most Out of Stressful Midterm Study

Studying for midterms is a notoriously grueling task, but spending some time now to organize your studying can help ease the burden and ensure high marks. Below, some of the most effective tips for studying have been provided.

Pomodoro Technique

The Pomodoro Technique is a time-management method that divides studying into 25-minute sessions with five-minute breaks. For each Pomodoro – that is, each 25-minute study session – complete concentration on the material is required, tuning out all distractions.

After each Pomodoro, a five-minute break prevents mental burnout by giving the brain time to relax without breaking momentum. After four Pomodoros, a 25-minute break takes the place of the 5-minute break. This technique is particularly effective for midterms because it breaks down the large amount of material into manageable chunks, reducing fatigue and maximizing focus.

Flash Cards

Digital flash cards are widely recognized as one of the best study tools available today. Digital flash card sites host over a dozen unique features for studying, making it a jack-of-all-trades.

Creating digital or physical flash cards is studying in itself, since creating the cards forces you to review and organize the material. Once a set of digital flash cards is completed, these sites can offer different study modes to help to learn and reinforce the material, with various modes tailored to unique learning styles.

The Pomodoro Technique is a studying method with chunked study sessions that's used to battle distraction and prevent burnout with "break" rewards. (Illustration created by tomatotimers.com)

Identify Weak Spots

In the business world, it is often said that time is money. In the academic world, a similar principle applies: time is retention. The more time devoted to studying, the more information you will retain. Yet, time is too valuable to waste.

Marking specific topics that resist retention ensures that limited study time is directed where it is most needed. After studying all the material once, flag topics (through highlighting, creating a separate flashcard deck, or writing them down on a separate sheet) that you would like to return to.

After taking a break to regain focus, review each flagged topic until they are mastered. This prevents time from being wasted on known material and helps to reiterate the material least understood.

Explain it Verbally

Memorization is influenced by how you interact with study material. This includes writing, listening, and speaking.

Speaking is particularly effective because it lets you slow down and work through the ideas in real time and is scientifically proven to help memory retention. Verbal explanations offer a more active form of studying, forcing better focus and engagement.

The most effective way to study verbally is to act as if you were a teacher explaining the material to a student. Talking to a friend, a pet, or even a wall gives you a chance to hear your own reasoning and organize ideas. If you can explain it coherently, this is a sign that you have an adequate understanding of the material.

Explaining the material you are study to a friend can help you hear your reasoning and ideas. If you explain the material coherently and accurately, you understand the material.

Know What's Best for You

Everybody's brain works differently. Some people are crammers who can study the night before and ace any test the day after, and some people only retain information after repeated study sessions over time.

If you know you study best doing small chunks over the week, don’t suddenly switch to cramming and expect the same results. Be aware of what conditions have given you the best results in the past, and don’t deviate from them.

The staff of The Lion wishes students the best of luck on their exams in the coming days!

The Lion is Monsignor Farrell's student digital newspaper. To read more articles from The Lion, click here.

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