Q&A for How to Prepare for an Exam

Yes! You should definitely get enough sleep before your big day. Don't go to bed too early, however, or you won't be able to fall asleep. Plan on getting between 7 and 9 hours of sleep.

If you mean you forget everything you studied, that's usually just anxiety. Close your eyes and take a few slow, deep breaths. Try to relax. Remember it's not the end of the world. Then just go through the test and concentrate, it's likely the material will start coming back to you. If you mean you forgot your notes and it is an open-note test, you'll just have to try your best.

Night time before bed; if you read through your material just before you go to sleep, it will be the last thing you think about and the first thing that pops into your brain when you wake up. Morning is also a good time because your mind is rested.

That depends on your speed and the type of notes you have. If you can understand and memorize quickly, then not more than 5 pages would likely be ideal. If you are slow, go for 2 or 3 pages each day. Remember to start studying 2 weeks in advance, if you are slow at retaining information.

That's a little impossible and you probably know it. Read whatever you found the hardest and hope that everything else was retained. If you have one hour on hand, and three chapters to study, here is what to do. Divide the 60 minutes into three portions. So, you must study each chapter within 20 minutes. Further divide the 20 minutes into various parts, such as two halves of 10 minutes each. In the first 10 minutes, go through your notes and textbook. Understand thoroughly what you are reading. In the second 10 minutes, get someone to ask you questions. This will test if you have learned the chapter properly. Then go do the test, knowing that in future this is no way to study.

It depends on the individual. If you are someone who studies two weeks before an exam, you will have a good chance of doing well. But if you are a person who studies a day or two before an exam, you might not get that far. Just stay focused and tell yourself that even if you don't ace it, you will have done your best.

Try to distance yourself from the source of distraction. Change your place of study for example. Maybe a library is a better place to concentrate than your noisy dorm. Tell the people around you how important this test is for you, and ask them to please be quiet. Most importantly, turn off your phone. If that doesn't work, give your phone to a friend and ask them to hold onto it until you're finished studying.

If you did not sleep that much then just relax for a while before the test.

Study by yourself. After you're done studying, simply ask your parents to ask you questions. Indeed, many people find it quite distracting to study with others.

Try to understand and listen to each and every lesson that you have. Especially the ones you are weak in. Just study hard. Try to get someone to be motivated with you.

Review your lessons or your notes and then ask yourself what they were about. Maybe try to recite the definitions of important words and sum everything up as if you were talking to someone who didn't know anything about the subject.

That is great, it gets it out of the way while you're fresh and feel awake. Study well in the lead-up, be there in good time to revise over last-minute notes, breathe deeply and launch into it with a smile.

Just skim the chapter titles and topics, and if you have time, anything else that sticks out (vocabulary, etc.). But generally, 'surprise tests' don't happen unless you were previously assigned to read the material, which you should have done. If it truly is a complete surprise, then the teacher probably just wants to see what you already know and won't expect you to get a lot right. As long as you do the reading and work the teacher assigns when he/she assigns it, you have nothing to worry about. The less opportunity you've had to prepare for a test, the less harshly it will generally be graded (or it will be weighted less).

If you're competitive, then this might be the perfect motivation for you to excel on your exam.

Just be calm and start studying. If you think that you might fail, then keep reading those notes until you really know them.

Write down small summaries of the chapters, noting the important points. Make practice tests and complete them beforehand. You can also make a mind map. Learning visually really helps in understanding and never forgetting. Also, stay calm and take your time.

It's different for everyone! If you learn things quickly, around 2 hours might be a good place to start. If you're having difficulty mastering the material, extend your time to 3 or more hours a day.

Your sleeping timetable should be such that you get enough sleep (7-9 hours).

Ask for help from a friend, parent, tutor, or relative. You can also ask the teacher to see if he/she will explain it to you again in simpler terms.

Just take a few deep breaths and start with the easy questions.

Listening to songs with lyrics definitely will. Classical/instrumental music would be a much better choice.

I try to concentrate well and remember the notes, if not I try to concentrate about the other questions. Just do the best you can!

You're feeling tense. Take a few deep breaths to calm yourself. Encourage yourself by saying things like "I've got this" and "I'm prepared." Obviously, studying enough ahead of time helps.

Set small goals and try and achieve them. You may have to push yourself past being lazy so that you can achieve your goals. Also, think about how studying will benefit you in the future.

Well, you can’t. Getting good marks requires a lot of hard work and effort. If you study regularly each day for at least 2 to 4 hours, you'll get good marks on your exam.

You need to properly manage your time in order to give yourself time to study. Hardly anyone likes studying, so sometimes you just have to do it and get it over with so that you don't fail the class and have to take it again.

Remember that exams will not last forever. Soon enough you'll be finished and free to do whatever you want. Study hard and think positive. Picture yourself succeeding and getting great test scores. If you feel like you're experiencing serious depression symptoms, please talk to someone about this, like a teacher, counselor, parent, etc.

It depends. Some people prefer to study in the morning and others prefer to study in the evening. You should try both and see which one you prefer.

Yes, some foods like french fries do not help you in studies, but foods like avocados and blueberries help to boost your brain power and will help you out in your exam. Be sure to drink plenty of water and be hydrated as well.

On average, human beings require 6-8 hours of sleep a night, although there are conditions where people require more or less than that.