Countdown to Finals: High School Academics & Study Skills

All over the globe, there is always that point at the end of the semester when high school students gear up for dreaded finals. While students’ academic habits are hugely diverse, there are certain things that every student can do to work towards success on end-of-semester exams.

Take a look at the tips that some top-notch Cambridge and NY-based academic tutors have shared:

Plan ahead. Start thinking about your exams on Day 1.

• Stay tuned in class. Every ounce of information delivered by your professor, whether in a lecture, reading or assignment, will inform the exam’s content. If you keep up with the material throughout the semester, prepping for the exam won’t be so arduous.

Observe your Professor(s). What topics does he/she emphasize the most in class?

• Professors will drop subtle hints throughout your course as to what they consider to be the most important, without even realizing it. Pay close attention the themes they continually reinforce whether you are in a world history, chemistry, French or calculus course.

Treasure your Syllabus. This is your roadmap to the exam.

• The test’s content shouldn’t be a mystery. Your syllabus was made for a reason – to guide you through the topics in the course and structure your learning.

Keep everything: corrected homework, quizzes, assignments, and essays.

• All of the work you’ve done in the class builds up to the exam. Your homework, quizzes and lecture notes should build up to the exam. As you review these materials, think about how they relate to the exam. This will help you zoom in on important topics.

Internalize the information. Don’t cram the night before.

• Cramming is popular way to prepare for a test. It works for some people in the short-term, but as an academic tutor, I can guarantee you won’t store this information in the long-term. Come the final exam, you’ll have to go through this same process, two-fold! Instead, keep you with your class (Remember the maxim, slow and steady wins the race?) and you’ll find that a lot of the concepts on the test are fresh in your memory.