Smoke Signals, Wednesday, January 26, 1977 — PAGE 3
Study Skills Advice
Don’t Get
Q
Hung Up On Exams
“Depend on it, sir, when a man knows
be is to be hanged in a fortnight, it
concentrates his mind wonderfully.”
Samuel Johnson might well have
been talking to students about pre-
examination time and that gnawing
feeling of foreboding! Examinations
can concentrate one’s mind won
derfully, but in a positive, practical
manner that will not only increase your
learning potential but help your per
formance.
The key to both success in exams and
enjoyment of college work lies in the
ability to use time wisely. A pattern of
good study habits begins as the term
begins, but nowhere do you need them
more than at examination time. You
will be able to handle exams with a
minimum of stress if you observe these
six suggested steps:
1. Make a term study plan
2. Use good review techniques
3. Develop a confident attitude
4. Organize pre-exam hours
5. Pace the exam carefully
6. Reassess your work
Make A Term Study Plan
At the beginning of each term develop
a daily sdiedule. Allocate time for class
preparation, study, review, recreation,
eating and sleeping.
A study area is important. Have on
hand the texts, study guides, outlines,
dictionaries and reference books,
paper, pads, notebooks, that will allow
you to concentrate without in
terruption.
Study and review differ from each
other. Study refers to learning
something for the first time. Review is
critical because it strengthens your
retention of this new knowledge by
viewing it as pwt of a whole.
Forgetting takes place most rapidly
right after learning. Review and recall,
therefore, are more effective soon after
study. After each class go over the
main points for ten to fifteen minutes to
reinforce them in your mind.
Don’t overtax your memory or
stamina. Research shows that most
people can absorb and retain just so
much knowledge at one time. It’s im
portant to study day by day, week by
week. Each period of study should be no
longer than one or one and a half hours,
followed by recreation.
Take legible class and study notes.
■Hiroughout the term underline your
textbooks and make pertinent notes in
the margins.
Use Good Review Techniques
Preparing for exams is largely a
question of review. The time needed is
not as extensive as some students think,
provided you have been consistent in
your work. You should be able to review
ftn* weekly quizzes in no more than
fifteen minutes, for a mid-term hour
exam in two to three hours, and for a
final exam in five to eight hours.
Your preparation for a final exam
should be carefully scheduled into the
two weeks prior to exam day. Organize
a plan that does not interfere with your
regular study for on-going classes.
Plan your review systematically. Use
textbook chapter headings or your
instructor’s outline as guides. Go from
diapter notes to class notes, recalling
important headings and ideas. If some
points are unclear, THEN reread the
textbook. Don’t plan to learn something
for the first time.
Making summary notes is helpful.
In four to eight pages, outline the main
points of your detailed class and text
notes. This helps reinforce the major
ideas and important details.
Summary notes can also serve as a
self-test toward the end of your
preparation for exams. Put a sheet over
each page and slowly uncover the first
heading. See if you can remember the
main points listed there.
Try to predict the exam questions. Be
alert throughout the term to the em-
I^asis instructors put on certain topics,
ideas or aspects.
Ask your professor what he
recommends for pre-examination
work. Use these conunents as a guide
but don’t try to outguess him or her.
Group reviewing can be helpful,
limit discussions of significant points
and possible test questions to thirty or
forty-five minutes, with no more than
four or five people.
Avoid cramming. If you have
followed a r^ular schedule of study
and review, you should not have to
cram.
Develop Attitude
Tests do serve a purpose. They give
you an opportuni^ to check your
progress. Students who have formed
good study habits throughout the term
should be confident. Exams will help
your understanding of important ideas
and your ability to express them.
Organize Hours
1. The day before an exam, review a
maximum of three hours. Question
yourself as you review. Reread text
passages only when you have difficulty
remembering them.
2. Eat and sleep well so that you are
refreshed for the exam.
3. Get up early to avoid rushing on the
morning of the test.
4. Shower, have a good breakfast,
exercise, go for a walk
5. Take a last look at your summary
notes, unless it makes you nervous.
6. Be sure you have all the supplies
you need.
7. Arrive in the examination room a
few minutes early.
Pace lifxani Carefully
Listen to the instructions and read
through the entire test. Organize your
thoughts.
Budget time for each question. They
might be equal in scoring, so answer
the easy ones first. Remember to
number the answers to match the
questions.
Think carefully about one question at
a time. Your first sentence should be
dear and contain some, if not all, of the
main points in your answer.
Jot down key words as guides. Indent
paragraphs, number points under each
heading, or make a rough diagram or
outline.
Write legibly. If the instructor cannot
read your work easily, your mark
might suffer.
Short-form or objective questions
demonstrate your ability to recognize
details and your ability to choose
amQg alternatives. Pay attention to
key words like: all, none, never, ^ght,
should. Avoid leaving lilanks, an an
swer might be correct even though you
are not sure. An omission will probably
count against you. In multiple choice,
cross out what you know is wrong and
think about what is left. Be sure to
completely erase if you change an
answer.
Essay questions test you ability to
express yourself, to interpret and
organize material. Important cue
words will indicate what or how much
your instructor is asking for. The ones
most frequently used are: anal;^e,
compare, contrast, criticize, define,
describe, discuss, elaborate,
enumerate, evaluate, explain,
illustrate, interpret, justify, list,
outline, prove, relate, review, state,
summarize, trace. Each one of these
terms calls for a specific type of
material, so think about their meanings
in advance.
Finish each question as best you ca n
and go on to the next. Leave room at the
bottom of each answer for possible
additions later.
Make answers as concise and clear as
possible. Try not to repeat yourself.
Reread everything carefully. You
might have left out a key word or want
to add other points.
Reassess Your Work
When you receive your grades and
get back exam books, read your an
swers. Compare them with your text
book and class notes. If you don’t un
derstand your instructor’s marks, ask
him where you went wrong. Leam by
your mistakes and go on to the nert
phase of college work.
This article on examinations is one in
a series on study skills developed for
college students by the College Text
book Publishers. Free copies are
available in booklet form to individual
students. The series includes: HOW TO
PREPARE SUCCESSFULLY FOR
EXAMINATIONS, HOW TO GET THE
MOST OUT OF YOUR TEXTBOOKS,
HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR READING
SKILLS, HOW TO BUILD YOUR
WRITING SKILLS. For copies write to:
AAP Student Service, One Park
Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10016.
Cindy Downs of Silver Spring, Md., has been named to the all-tournament
team for her play in leading the women’s volleyball team to a third-place
finish in the North Carolina Junior College State Tournament at Duke
University.
Historic Table
Found?
What do Buck, Kathy Franklin of Buffalo.
N.Y., and Kaz have in common? They are all
enshrined, at least their names are, on a long
table that used to be in the old Chowan
College dining hall.
Chowan College photography instructor.
Will McIntyre and his wife Deni bought the
table from Beulah's Antiques in Woodland,
N. C. Beulah’s husband, Simon Johnson
who claims to have nothing to do with the
business, says he has it from good authority
that this table and three others were in the
Chowan College dining hall when it was in
Columns Building.
Simon says “The college decided to get
rid of them (the tctbles) a long time ago and
somehow they found their way out here.
Sometxxly said these tables used to be in
Walter’s Grill but I don’t know about that.”
Simon smiled and added" They sure are
nice," Simon has no idea how old they are.
I’d guess anywhere from twenty to
seventy-five years old."
Those wonderful carvers of yesteryear
had no idea they would be discovered and
talked about long after they left Chowan.
Now their names are buried beneath a flood
of chemicals.
Chemicals? That's right. The McIntyres
are using the table in their darkroom. Those
are the breaks, Buck and Kathy.
It’s back to anonymity for you.
By the way, the McIntyres did not save
your chewing gum on the underside of the
table. And if you think you would find your
name on the other tables, Simon and Beulah
still haxOthree left.
MERCHANDISING CLASS-Mr. Roy Duke, proprietor
and owner of Hastings Quality Shop and “Ryan’s
World" in Franklin, Va., spoke to the Retail
Merchandising 151 class on November 2. Store
location, design, operation, and management were the
main points of Mr. Duke's program. He also provided
the students with information on buying and selling, and
price structures and mark-up.
CAREFREE — While students and faculty worked hard at registration, 9 year old Darrell Garrison and his friend
Khaki frolicked in front of Marks Hall.