To study methods

Throughout my personal studies and test taking I found two study methods which really helped me prepare for tests. The first one is to teach other peers the material. If you can teach others the material then surely you understand the material and so then you will surely be able to answer questions correctly about it. This worked really well for me because I studied math and physics. So if you are having trouble in the math section of a test or basically a section which is testing some kind of process I think this is a very effective way to study. Find a classmate who doesn't understand the material as well as you and explain it to them, killing two birds with one stone. However, this might not be a method that transfers very well to language.

This brings me to my second method. If you can study at a level higher than the actual test, the test material itself will become very doable. Now if it's all you can do to keep up with the material at the level of the test, then this might not be a practical method for you just yet. But if the level of the test and of your class is manageable then you might want to consider this method.

So how can you study at a level higher than the test itself? It depends on the material, but you should try to purposefully challenge yourself. If you have a writing question that you can reasonable respond to within the time limit, modify the question a bit so that it requires a deeper level of explanation or more specific examples. If you're studying vocabulary, don't just memorize the definition, but break the word apart. Look at its roots and any prefixes or suffixes it may have, but mostly its roots. Think about the root and other words which have the root. Make the root an intimately understood part of your English. If you're studying math, well it's pretty easy to study at a higher level. But you don't just have to study more difficult material. Instead of just memorizing formulas try to understand why the formulas work. If you can understand why something works, rather than just memorizing it, this is a higher level of study and makes the material itself seem pretty simple and easy to use.

Both of the methods really come down to taking an active role in your education and purposefully challenging yourself. Don't be satisfied with just sitting in class and getting spoon fed by the teacher. There will be no spoon feeding on test day, and all the crap you previously swallowed wont help you all that much anyway. These two methods were two ways in which I could purposefully challenge myself.

In addition to the self challenging that takes place, these methods are also a part of over aiming. If you aim for your goal but don't reach it, there might be some sad consequences, like not getting into the school you were hoping and dreaming for. But if you make your goal higher than what is really necessary, if you don't meet that higher goal, you may still meet the requirements. It's kind of like setting yourself up for failure, but not so negative.

These two methods proved very effective for me throughout my studies, and I hope that they can for you as well.

▼▽▼▼Amberlyの過去の記事を読む━━━━━━━━━━━
・【Something Interesting】2008.10.22 (Wed)
・【an interesting book】2008.11.28 (Fri)

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