Survival Guide: Midterms

WSPN’s Jackie Stoller and Jay Abdella offer their best tips on how to ace your midterm exams this week.

Go to the library
Food and friends make the best combo for studying, and staying at home can become boring and repetitive. Going to the library and having a change of scenery can spice up your studying and make it more productive. This is also a good place to meet with groups and study together.

Start early
It will save you time later if you start to do small things that will make your life easier in the long run. Still, don’t start weeks before– you will just begin to forget stuff.

Make flashcards
Writing out your notes will help you recall information that you may have forgotten. Although it may seem tedious, it’s a good way to write out your notes and be able to quiz yourself after you make them. You can also use your flashcards in groups to quiz each other.

Organize tests/notes/worksheets into units
Create different sections for each subject and organize those topics individually. Study each section for a little bit and switch topics.

Talk to your teachers
They may have group study sessions for the class. They are also here to help you with questions and difficult topics!

Math
Make sure you are organized before you start. It is helpful to go through your old notes and worksheets and mark what you have forgotten or need more practice on. You can also retake old tests. Teachers tend to reuse similar questions on the exams.

Science
Review old tests and quizzes– everything on the exam will already be covered on one of the assessments. For biology, make sure to study the diagrams. One way to do that is by printing blank diagrams to practice labelling them. For all science classes, make sure to review the textbook. It is also helpful to work in groups to make a master study guide.

History
Whether you prefer online or handwritten flashcards, one of the best ways to study history is to write out the material from the semester. A lot of the history classes are fact based and flashcards coincide perfectly with that. Be ready for exact questions that you have seen before on past tests and quizzes. If an essay will be part of the exam, and the question has been given, make sure to have an outline planned.

Language
Language usually splits up their exams into a paper test, a listening exam, and an oral exam. You should know how to use grammar as well as review your old tests and oral exams. Audiolingua is a great source for language listening practice. You will most likely take the oral and listening parts of the exam on a different day. Latin does not have oral exams and will only take a written exam.

English
Take practice grammar quizzes online. The grammar section will have 15 multiple choice questions. If you know what the essay is about, create an outline for it. Unfortunately, there is no way to truly prepare for the reading section.