You’re up until midnight every night studying for your exam. You’re making flashcards. You’re highlighting. You’re memorizing. And yet, you’re still not getting the grades you want to see. Why is this happening? It could be that you are not using good study skills practices. So, what should you be doing instead? 

Review Past Tests

Reviewing past tests or quizzes is a great way to refresh yourself on previously learned material. If any answers were incorrect, correct them! This will allow you to identify any patterns or opportunities for improvement. Did you lose marks because your essays lacked specific examples? Do you forget to show your work on certain types of math problems? Note this pattern, and practice correcting it. 

Summarize & Outline

Summaries and outlines of material are wonderful resources to have on hand before a test. When writing a summary, try to do so without consulting the material. After summarizing the material,  work on drafting an outline from memory. These iterations will help solidify the content in your mind. They’ve also allowed you to practice a key test-taking skill: retrieval. 

Highlight

Use a highlighter to emphasize key words and phrases in textbooks or in notes. This is a simple way to pinpoint the most important ideas of the subject. Using different colors works as a simple visual cue or key, without taking any additional notes at all. For example, using a yellow highlighter for main ideas and pink for supporting facts introduces a quick way to examine material. 

Make a Concept/Mind Map

Concept or mind maps can help you make connections and identify relationships between different concepts. This visual exercise allows you to look beyond the basic paragraph formula and start to make new connections between ideas. 

Create a Flowchart/Diagram

Flowcharts are another great way to visually demonstrate information. A flowchart is best used to  demonstrate cause and effect. It is important to keep in mind that each event may have multiple effects or may be the outcome of (related or unrelated) causes. For auditory learners, narrate the diagram or flow chart. For kinesthetic learners, act out the process that is being illustrated.

Write Test Questions

Another great way to remember content is to write your own test questions and then answer them without consulting your book or notes. Then, consult your notes to see what you missed. This is another great way to gain retrieval practice. For auditory learners, doing this practice with a friend or audio/recorder playback works great!

Draw it Out 

Get out some crayons or colored pencils and think outside the box a bit. Creatively illustrate pictures of the major ideas. This is a fantastic method if the ideas have multiple steps or are particularly complex.

Hierarchically Annotate

This skill is similar to highlighting but is particularly useful when studying informational, nonfiction texts. To hierarchically annotate, box the main topic and underline any important points that follow. This illustrates what information is most important or connected to the central point.

Draft Practice Responses to Possible Questions

To practice essay writing, you should draft a prompt, look over your notes, and brainstorm ideas. While doing so, consult past essays and see what parts you did well on. After you’ve brainstormed and consulted past work, work on a sample response. Revisit your response and revise until it’s as strong as possible. It’s important to make sure your essay has clear main points supported with specific examples. 

Make a Chart

Lastly, organize important data and notes into a chart. Create columns with headers on at the top of each. Compare and contrast across texts or events in one organized place. Plugging ideas or stories into a chart is a concise way to differentiate their information and their purposes. 

The most important thing is to be thoughtful and deliberate in your study skills practices, providing yourself with multiple opportunities to learn, relearn, and retrieve information. With good practices, the rest will follow.