When you’re taking a business course, whether it’s part of a bachelor’s or master’s degree or just to get more knowledge of a business concept, exams can often be the hardest part. Although exams are meant to see if you have gained and retained enough of the course material to use it effectively in your business life, it can at times seem like the exam is merely there to torture you. To help business professionals and students get the most out of their studying for these sometimes impossible exams, here are three tips to make the process a little easier come test time.
Teach The Material To Someone Else
While you may feel that you’re getting all the necessary information into your brain by just cramming it all in there, Richard Rusczyk of ArtofProblemSolving.com states that the best way to tell if you truly understand a concept yourself is to try to teach it to someone else. This is the most effective way to test your own knowledge because it removes your ability to deceive yourself that you know what you’re talking about. If you’re not able to adequately explain the material to someone else so they understand as well, you best hit the books again until you have a better grasp yourself.
Feed Your Body As Well As Your Mind
Not only does your mind need to have proper nourishment of the desired material in order to make your studying effective, but your body need its fair share of nourishment as well. If you’re not taking care of your body, it can make it extremely difficult for your mind to be in the shape you need it to be for your studying to be effective.
According to the Open Education Database, you should eat a healthy breakfast and a light lunch void of refined foods in order to put your body in the best state possible for your mind to succeed. You could also try taking memory enhancing supplements, like Ginkgo biloba, to help you retain and recall the material you’ve put into memory.
Learn What You Can About The Test Itself
When studying for a big exam, Karen Schweitzer tells About Education that it’s good to know as much as you can about the exam itself in order to plan how to best study for it. This will help you to not only know the material, but to know how you need to show your knowledge of the material.
If possible, ask if you can take a practice test to see how the test is going to be laid out. If you’re taking a big exam that’s required for certification, you can often find these types of practice tests. If practice tests aren’t available, ask your examiner or professor what types of questions to expect on the test, such as true or false, short answer, or multiple choice.
By keeping these study tips in mind for the next time you have a business exam coming up, you should feel more confident in your ability to study and understand the desired material and then have success taking your test. Best of luck!
Originally posted on November 3, 2015 @ 3:30 pm
