How to study—or actually, practice—for your exam.
For most students, the week or two leading up to exams is stressful because they waited too long to start. But you're not going to be stressed at all. You'll be ready for your exams well in advance. Why? Because you're not going to study. You're going to practice, and you've arranged everything perfectly for this. You did all of your readings, highlighted the key points, and framed test questions based on your highlights. The same goes for lectures—you didn't miss a single one, and you were always upfront, taking detailed notes via the Cornell method. After each lecture, you crafted questions for self-assessment. Everything is in place and ready to roll.
How to self-test. Your exams can take many shapes and forms. It's nice to know what they will be, but honestly, it's not essential. Why? Because you'll be ready for anything. The goal of self-testing is to give you the ability to explain any of the class concepts by heart. When you can do that, you can ace any exam, regardless of the form it takes. Studies show that if you can explain it, you're more likely to retain it and be able to apply it on your exam. What I'll show you here applies mainly to social sciences, where you're dealing with concepts rather than memorizing vocabulary.
So, this is how you do it: when testing from your notes, first cover the notes side of your notebook with a piece of paper. Ask yourself the test question you've written down. Now, say the answer as a complete sentence—actually say it as a paragraph. Say the answer as if you're explaining it to someone who doesn't have any idea about the subject. You're the professor—teach it. Answer the question and explain as much as you can about everything supporting it. The more knowledge you can pull from your memory, the better you will retain it.
When you first start, it may be hard to do. That's okay—it should be. There will be many times where the answer is just on the tip of your tongue, but you just can't remember it. Take a look at your notes and try to trigger your memory with as little reading as possible. Then get right back into your explanation. Start from the beginning and do it again. Try to go all the way through without having to look at your notes. Studies show that this active recall and recitation method is far more productive than merely reading and rereading because it helps commit the information to long-term memory.
My example up to this point has been about questions that require textual answers, but the principle stands for math problems or anything else. It's all about practice. Whatever you expect to be on the exam, self-test it—whether it's history, math, statistics, chemistry, or physics. Ask questions, solve problems, and write short essays—whatever the format of the test will be. Always try to explain as much as you can about why and how you are doing things. Talk to yourself. Tell a story. Wrap it in as much context as you can. The more connections you make, the better you'll remember.
Spaced repetition. Remember, this is a process of spaced repetition, and it will be continuous, leading right up to the exam. You'll gradually add and practice more questions as you progress through your textbook and lectures. You'll self-test the first chapter, but meanwhile, you'll have had your lecture on chapter two. Before you self-test chapter two, you'll come back and take a quick look at chapter one—doing a bit, coming back, and doing it again. Add new material, and come back. You're slowly and steadily repeating the old while gradually adding the new. You may think these sessions will grow bigger and bigger, but they won't. You'll be adding, reviewing, and reducing the time you spend on previous questions. It's practice. You're slowly but surely committing everything to long-term memory.
The amount of material you choose to self-test in each session will depend on how much time you have and the level of difficulty of the material. Just start testing yourself. Take small bites. You're just getting a feel for the content and seeing how much you already know. More importantly, see how much you don't know. That's why starting early is best. It's good to know that now, not later.
How often should you do this? You’ll do self-testing a little bit at a time, on a regular basis, spacing sessions out over intervals—not too soon, but not too far apart either. So, the question becomes: what's the right interval? If you've ever used a flashcard system like Anki, you start by doing short reviews, then repeat or delay based on your own assessment of how well you know the information on each card. They have buttons like "Again," "Good," or "Easy," and depending on what you select, the system waits a certain amount of time before it shows you that card again. It could be minutes, hours, or days. The theory is to study what you don't know more frequently, but also to give you just enough time between reviews to actually forget a little. Forgetting and then forcing yourself to remember, or partially looking up what you've forgotten, strengthens your memory. It should take some effort. A little difficulty enhances the learning process.
Studies have tried to measure specific intervals. I've said this before, and I'll say it again—don't overthink it. It's the job of research scientists to find the perfect answer. You're a college student. You're never going to do it precisely. Jim and I never did. You're too busy, and the material is too varied. You'll end up more stressed about planning it than actually doing it.
There's a great book called "Ultralearning," where the author talks about his experience with spaced learning. He says his spacing might not have been ideal, but it was simple. He emphasizes: when it comes to retention, don't let perfect become the enemy of good enough. Just go with your instincts. You'll have a good sense of how well you know something as you go through it. You'll never know for sure what the perfect interval is, so don't even try. Just make continuous self-testing part of your routine. Consistency is more important than exact timing. Do it, and keep doing it. You'll see quick results and you'll want to keep going. Remember, success breeds success.
Mix it up. I've mentioned this in a previous video, but I'll say it again here. Most people think that practicing one thing continuously for a long period will help them master it faster. Studies actually show the opposite is true. This is called interleaving—mixing up your practice so you don't do too much of one thing for long periods. When you're planning your practice time in Shovel, do it consciously. Do some hard math here, some easy English there, easy math later, and hard chemistry another time.
Focus on what you don't know. The biggest benefit of self-testing is avoiding wasted time studying things you already know. Continually rereading material you know is inefficient for long-term retention. Self-testing solves that. When you’re absolutely sure you know something, mark it clearly. I used to put a thin line through my questions or a checkmark next to them—use anything that visually confirms you don't need further practice. Each time you review, you can quickly scan your questions and skip the ones you've checked off. When in doubt, briefly revisit them—but don’t waste time continually looking at familiar material. Focus only on what you don't know.
When are you done? You're finished when all the questions are checked off, as if you took the exam and got an A. A small warning: don’t be in a rush to mark questions as known. The danger is forgetting early material before the exam. Check them off only when you're absolutely sure, or wait until the last two weeks before the exam.
Don't overstudy. There's no doubt that doing well requires consistent, intense practice, but many students actually study too much. They worry so much about missing something that they review repeatedly, reaching a point of diminishing returns. When you confidently know the answers by heart, trust your instinct and move on. Use the time to review for another exam or get ahead on other assignments.
Simulate the exam. If you can get a previous actual exam, use it to review your test questions or conduct a dry run. Go to the actual classroom if possible, and simulate the exam under the same timeframe. Evaluate your performance—this may highlight areas needing more work or confirm that you're prepared.
Chapter questions. Many textbooks have end-of-chapter questions. If you lack access to real exams, use these to test your knowledge. Flashcards are also very effective. I'm currently learning Spanish, and flashcards are part of my daily routine. They're especially useful for definitions and terminology—not only in language learning but also in STEM fields such as engineering, chemistry, biology, and medicine. Medical students frequently use Anki because it helps organize and schedule spaced repetition effectively.
Lastly, start testing early, stay consistent, and take small bites regularly. Don't stress about intervals. Just start practicing, and you'll crush your exams.