How To Never Fail An Exam: My Personal Study Method

Welcome to what is the official first chapter of this guide to never fail exams. In this post I’ll be explaining what’s my personal approach to studying, and how that’s helped me specifically to never fail an exam. A quick note to keep in mind, we’re all different, and since we all differ that means our learning form also shifts. So make sure to adapt this guide to how you see fit for yourself. Maybe you feel more comfortable changing things around a bit, it’s completely up to you. Anyways, hope this is able to help anyone who needs it!

First thing I should note, I have a much easier time learning by listening than by just reading. So classes for me are important. I get to listen to the professors talk about the subject at hand, and when I go sit down to study, most of the information is already stored somewhere in my brain. So, pay attention during class, you’ll be surprised how much information your brain can store, even on standby. Another helpful tip is to take notes. Most of the time I don’t even read my notes afterwards, I just write them down while listening because that helps the information that I’m receiving settle down easier. Maybe the same thing will apply for yourself. 

My second recommendation would be to adapt the content to your liking. Personally, I find the material provided by professors quite boring. Too many words on a page that just goes on and on without arriving to a specific conclusion until you're many, many pages deep. A real time consumer. Don’t worry, I’m not lazy so that’s definitely not the problem here, it’s just not my personal style, not my cup of tea. What I do instead is search up the topic at hand from other sources. Of course this is a bit difficult at times, you must be wary that the new sources are actually useful and fact checked. Plus, it’s always nice to pay attention to what your professors point of view on the subject is, or what specific elements they emphasize. This way, when you search for new sources, you can make sure to be on the look out for these aspects.

Third thing would be to take advantage of your adrenaline. I normally study hardcore one or two days prior to an exam. The adrenaline one feels before a special event is really useful, it’s kind of like a buff in video games, a sort of power up. It enhances your capabilities such as memory retention and comprehension. Bear in mind, this is a tricky one, it might not work for everyone. I have friends who simply can’t do this because they feel too anxious about it, which is actually totally understandable. As stated before, we’re all different, so situations like these won’t always have the same effect on us. Another important note for this tip, studying hardcore doesn’t mean your completely blind on the subject and expect to learn everything within 24-48 hours, that’s just stupid in most cases. For this to work out you need to plan ahead. First of all, it would be expected that you’ve retained quite a bit of information from classes, but this knowledge is dormant, it’ll “activate” once you start studying. Second of all, you need to have everything prepared. By the time I actually start to study, I’d already have my abstracts and study sheets ready to go. These last aspects are normally time consuming, so it’s a good idea to have them prepared in advance.

I also study in drills, that’s important to mention. I divide the content in as many topics as possible, and write short sentences for each of them. This way, when I’m studying I can take a short break every 20-30 minutes. After the break I’ll try to remember what I just studied, depending on how good I do, I move on or not. Once moved on, every now and then I randomly stop and try to remember everything I’ve studied up until that point. If there’s something that I feel is similar to a “weak link” I’ll go back and check on it, but not for too long. This seems time consuming, but it’s actually really quick. I can manage to study whole subjects within a day.

Last but not least, sleep, and sleep well. Sleeping should not be taken lightly, especially not while trying to learn something. Sleep anywhere from 7-9 or even 10 hours if you can give yourself that luxury. It’ll do marvels for your brain. You’ll wake up fresh, and the knowledge you’ve been accumulating will still all be there. There’s no point in being tired while taking an exam, because at that point everything we’ve built up until now will be hindered. Does it mean that if you don’t sleep you always fail? No, not at all. But it does put you at a disadvantage, and that’s what we’re looking to get rid of. Similar to how adrenaline was a buff, being sleep deprived is a debuff. 

As a closure I’d like to make mention of a few things. Don’t worry if you feel like you don’t remember anything before an exam, I consider that to be normal. Once you’re presented with the questions, all your knowledge will come flooding in. And another thing, don’t let anyone discourage you from using Wikipedia as a source. Should it be your only source? Probably not. But most of the time it’ll provide easy to digest information that might just help you out when in need, so give it a chance. And with that, this post is done. Stay tuned for more chapters in this guide of ”How to never fail an exam”. Wish you all much luck!