What do you have to pay attention to when studying? What do you need to do to facilitate learning? How can we prepare effectively for the examination? Here are some of our tips for learning.
1. The overview is essential.
You always have to start studying on time because it often takes much longer than expected. An important first step is to have an overview of the whole. Not only do you need to consult the materials mentioned by the teachers, but you also need to check with other students or student forums for all the information about the exams as well as the relevant documentation for the preparation.
2. Plan your learning.
Once the learning material has been registered, you must divide it into individual parts. It is best to orient yourself on the content blocks of the respective topic. You then distribute the different tasks on the study days and save them in a calendar. When planning, it is important to include a sufficiently long time for unexpected events.
3. Summarize, sum up.
Summaries from other students and student forums are easy to use. However, summarising the content yourself greatly increases the learning effect. To do this, you must first write only the main statements, and then write the individual details in a structured way during a second reading.
4. Emotions help.
It’s much easier for you to remember the subject if it’s associated with emotions. You can do it, for example, by placing it in a personal context. Have you ever had to deal with this in everyday life? What image comes to your mind when you think about it? The more vivid your thoughts or memory on the subject are, the better your knowledge of the subject.
5. Repeat what you’ve learned.
Many students only absorb the subject during learning and do not train to reproduce it. You should always try to repeat what you have learned, because that is exactly what you will have to do during the test. Therefore, practice using flashcards, for example, to reproduce the material as well and as quickly as possible. An effective way to record what you have learned in your head is to recite it briefly in your head in the evening before going to bed, so that you can spot what necks know and what your shortcomings are.
6. Proceed in a structured way.
Studying alone in the library all day is often not as effective as you think. Ideally, you study intensively in the morning, you take a little rest after lunch and take advantage of the afternoon to test what you have learned with your friends. In the evening, you may be able to continue studying on your own if you have noticed that you still need to catch up.
7. Take a break.
In principle, some students could study all day. But this is by no means advisable, let alone effective. As a general rule, you should take a break of about 20 minutes after one, a maximum of two hours of intensive study. You really should take a break. However, watching television, surfing the Internet or playing video games is not advisable as an activity during the break. A flash nap, for example, can do wonders.
8. Give yourself something delicious.
The ideal diet for learning has not yet been discovered. However, there are a few foods that promote the learning process. Coffee can be used as a good riser in the event of a drop in concentration and is a real feast for many. Chocolate, on the other hand, helps to calm down and can also serve as an extrinsic motivation if you only want it after successful rehearsals. However, both should be consumed in moderation, as too much of either is not healthy.
9. “Summary” is the keyword.
On the last day before the examination, you must not learn anything again, but only repeat the previously assimilated matter. To do this, you can, for example, ask yourself using fact sheets and check this way if you can reproduce all the important information.
10. Don’t forget to sleep.
During the study phase and before the test itself, you should allow yourself approximately seven hours of sleep. But don’t worry: if you sleep a little less, the adrenaline during the test will prevent you from sleeping. However, it is not advisable to study all night before the examination, as a lack of severe sleep has negative effects similar to those of alcohol on the body.
