Exam Preparation
Study Habits | Exam Day Prep | Taking the Exam | Post-Exam
1. Study Habits
- Avoid cramming: Widespread educational and psychological research opposes cramming, which is when studying is done at the last minute, all at once.2 Cramming for finals is a hallmark of college life, and some students believe that it works. However, research has found overwhelming support for the "spacing" study technique rather than cramming. Distributing a given amount of study time over several sessions typically leads to better memory of the information than a single study session for the same amount of total time. A study examining cramming found that cramming is highly associated with low GPA. In other words, students who crammed for exams in the majority of their classes had a significantly lower GPA than students who rarely or never crammed.2 Spaced studying will give you the most bang for your buck.
- Study smart: Don't read and re-read your notes – try mixing it up with "retrieval practice," where you quiz yourself on what you know without looking. This will help the information stick.
- How to do "Retrieval Practice (PDF)"
- About Retrieval Practice
- Be diligent about your work: Athletes miss class frequently for competition. Make sure you plan ahead for the classes you are going to miss. Communicate with your professors, ask a classmate in advance for their notes, and set aside time to keep up with your classwork. Make it a priority to attend every class you can, especially the classes you find to be challenging. Don't avoid your difficult classes - this will only make your life harder. Keeping up on lecture notes, reading material, and assignments will make studying for the exam less painful.
- Get plenty of sleep: Sleep is essential for athletic recovery and memory storage. Sleep is the time when the brain synthesizes information, so learning is "finalized" during sleep. Additionally, sleep will help your working memory to be fully engaged during class and when taking an exam.1
- Do not multitask while studying: With such a busy schedule, it is important to get the most out of the time you spend studying. Set aside time in advance and make an environment for yourself with few distractions. Turn off the TV and put away your phone. If you are on the bus or plane, you could plug in some music to help limit distractions and show your teammates that you need some space. If you are studying in a group, try to stay on-task by making an agenda and setting a time limit.
- Use your resources:
- Go to office hours: office hours are there for a reason, and your professor will likely be pleased to have a student come to them with questions. Going to office hours with a list of questions will help you fully understand the class content and show your professor that you care about their class.
- Find peers to study with: Some people choose to study alone, however; it may be helpful to find a group of dedicated classmates to study with. This is another level of academic support. You can compare notes, quiz each other, share resources, and more.
- Smarty Cats Tutoring
- Brick Study Tables
- Athlete tutoring is available at the academic center
- Ask Jamie Rizzuto, jrizzuto@msubobcats.com, (406)-994-6130 for help and other resources
- More about Studying:
2. Exam Day Prep
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Create a morning routine:
- Have a healthy breakfast: your brain needs fuel!
- Drink some water
- Get some movement in (yoga, walking to class, stretching, or other)
- Listen to some music (calming or energizing - whatever your brain needs to get focused)
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Pre-exam stress/anxiety reduction tools
Diaphragmatic Breathing Relaxation (DBR), or "belly breathing," is a breathing technique that moves air downward into the body by using the contraction of the diaphragm muscle.3 Researchers have found that DBR is one of the most useful techniques to achieve reductions in stress and anxiety perceptions and symptoms in addition to having a relaxing and stabilizing effect on the autonomic nervous system. Breathing is controlled by the autonomic nervous system, which is the system that we are not under conscious control of. This system keeps the heart beating, makes the pupils dilate/constrict with changes in the light, and keeps us breathing without needing to think about it. Stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system (the fight/flight/freeze system), as a result of anxiety or high stress, triggers elevated heart rate, tense muscles, and shallow, rapid breathing responses. DBR stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system (the rest/digest system) and is able to reduce these symptoms. It also aids in concentration, relaxation, raising body temperature, pain management, and stabilizing heart rate and blood pressure. As a relaxation technique, researchers have found a significant amount of evidence supporting the effectiveness of DBR and no negative side effects.3
Basic Diaphragmatic Breathing (DBR) Exercise: YouTube Tutorial
- Lie down on your back or stand up in a comfortable position.
- Place one hand on your belly and one on your chest.
- Breathe in deeply through your nose, pushing your belly out (your hand should move out with your belly). Try to only move the hand on your belly, not the hand on your chest.
- Breathe out through pursed lips, as though you are blowing out a candle.
- Take 3 to 10 breaths – however many your body needs.
- Notice how your body and brain feel at the end of the exercise.7
How do I power-pose?
Assume a high-power pose for 2-6 minutes sometime before the exam. You can do this while sitting in class waiting to take the test, the morning of the exam in your apartment, or another time you feel comfortable doing this exercise, closely prior to the exam.
3. Positive Self-Talk/Affirmations:4 Positive self-talk is a cognitive psychological tool used to discontinue negative thoughts that can trigger anxiety, depression, and pessimism, and restrict functioning and performance.6 Positive self-talk has often been used by athletes as a cognitive strategy to help them maintain focus, improve motivation, and coping with negative thoughts, emotions, and events.6 Truly, believing you can do something will help you.
- Think about what you WANT, not about what you do NOT want. Don't talk about what you want to avoid. Instead, what do you want to happen? Rather than saying "I am not weak," say, "I am strong."4
- Use the present tense in your self-talk. You want to results in competition today, not "someday."
- Use positive and constructive words to describe what you want to achieve in your competition. Keep telling your brain that you are able to, and will, achieve it.
- Be specific. Tell your brain exactly what you want. For example, instead of saying, "I will have a good game," try "I can stay focused under pressure during this game."
- Keep your positive self-talk brief and easy to remember. This way, you can keep repeating it to yourself leading up to the competition.
- Do your best to emotionally connect with what you are saying. Try to feel and believe that is true. Emotions give life to your words and affect your subconscious mind more strongly than robotic repetition. It helps if your self-talk is realistic. For example, rather than saying, "I can get every question right today," say, "I am focused and ready to do my best on this exam today."
- Repeat your self-talk. Repeat it when you feel anxious, worried, angry/upset, in a funk, or having difficulty focusing on the competition. Repeat it when you find yourself thinking negatively about yourself. Repeat it as part of your competition preparation routine the night before and/or the morning of. You can even add a positive self-talk statement to your morning alarm to get you in your desired mindset for the day.
- Replace your negative inner conversations with positive conversations and encouragement. Over time and with practice, the habit of negative inner conversations will be replaced with positive and constructive self-talk.4
4. Identify and address Cognitive Distortions (PDF)
Cognitive distortions are thought processes that are unrealistic and are interfering with the ability to perform tasks, such as taking an exam. Look through this worksheet (PDF) to decide if you have any cognitive distortions before or during exams. An example of a cognitive distortion is the unrealistic thought that "I am going to fail this exam, and when I do, I will fail the class, lose my eligibility, and drop out of school." This thought would be classified as magnification/catastrophization because this thought assumes the worst in a very unrealistic way. The good news is that you can challenge these thoughts and overcome them using the TIC-TOC method.
Worksheet: TIC-TOC Technique (PDF)
The TIC-TOC Technique is a cognitive behavioral therapy tool and is one way to address and overcome cognitive distortions. Basically, identify your Task-Interfering-Cognition (TIC), which is the thought interfering with your task performance. Then, look at the cognitive distortions (PDF) list, and decide which distortion the thought is (it can be multiple). Finally, challenge your TIC by writing a Task-Oriented-Cognition (TOC). A TOC is a positive and action-oriented statement, to replace the distortion. When a TIC comes to mind before/during the exam, repeat the TOC to yourself.
Examples
| TIC | Distortion | TOC |
| I will fail this exam because I fail at everything. | Fortune Telling, All-or-Nothing, and Overgeneralization. | I actually don't remember the last time I failed an exam. I also studied hard to prepare myself for this exam. I will take this exam one question at a time. |
| Taking this exam is pointless and the subject is boring. | All-or-Nothing Thinking | I have taken so many exams in my time, this is just a routine task, and it does not have to be perfect. I might learn something from my studying, and it will make me feel better to get this exam (and the class) done. |
5. More Resources
- How to Manage Test Anxiety (PDF)
- Relaxation Techniques to Cope with Test Anxiety (PDF)
- Test Anxiety Tips
3. Taking the Exam
- Quickly look over the entire test before you start, and make a plan of attack. Consider the amount of time you have, formulas you need to write down, and what questions you want to start with.1
- Some people do a memory dump at the beginning of the exam. This is when the student writes down some core concepts on the front page before beginning the exam, such as formulas, definitions, or concepts. For example, if you were just looking at your notes and have a definition in your brain that you think you might forget - just write it down at the beginning of the exam.
- Read the directions. Some questions may have multiple parts, or can be tricky such as "choose the statement that is NOT true." You don't want to lose points on the information you knew, just because you didn't read the directions.
- For multiple-choice and matching, use the process of elimination. Cross off the answers that you know are not correct, then go from there. If the list of answers is overwhelming/confusing, you can cover up the answers and try to answer the question on your own first, so that you know what to look for.
- Answer the easy questions first. Leave the difficult and/or time-consuming questions for the end, especially they have low point values.
- If you get stuck on a question, mark it for later and move on. It is better to miss one point on a tough question than to miss 10 points on questions you actually knew because you ran out of time.
- Take the exam one question at a time. Humans are not good at multi-tasking. If you can focus on one question at a time without worrying about the others, you will be more accurate and efficient with answering the questions. Also, difficult tasks are less overwhelming if they are taken one step at a time.
- For essay questions, write a short outline before getting started. This will help you organize your thoughts and produce an answer that flows better.
- For math-based problems, show your work. This will help you stay organized as you solve the problem so that you can go back and find mistakes if you end up with an answer that does not make sense. If you receive your graded exam and the question is marked wrong, showing your work will help you learn from your mistake (or possibly get a half-point if you were close!)
- At the end of the exam (if there is time) go back through your exam to make sure you answered all the questions, check for a back page, and proof-read your answers.1
- Finally, if you start feeling overwhelmed or thinking about failing, or having a tough time focusing, take 3 deep breaths, and soldier on. You can do this!
4. Post-Exam
It's easy to leave the exam excited to be done and joyfully go burn your notes. However, here are some tips to help you learn from your experience, be successful in the next exam, and celebrate.1. Keep your notes. Your notes may be helpful for the final exam, other classes, and/or later in your profession. For example, algebra is a major component of chemistry classes, so be nice to yourself, and keep your algebra notes for later.
2. Talk to your professor or sign up for tutoring if you struggled with part of the exam. Concepts often build on each other within and between college classes. Also, education is expensive - so get your money's worth by learning the information you are paying for.
3. Review your test preparation strategies. Did you study effectively? Did you start studying too early or too late? Were you mentally focused on the exam? Anxious? What bit of your preparation routine could you change next time to do better? Jot down a few ideas while they're fresh.
4. Treat yourself. Often, high achieving student-athletes forget to reward themselves for their toils. Celebrate the accomplishment of finishing your exam by taking a break, getting a coffee, giving yourself a self-five, dancing to some music, going for a walk, or other.
References
1. St. Lawrence University. (2021). How should I prepare for tests and final exams? Retrieved from: https://www.stlawu.edu/academic-support/how-should-i-prepare-tests-and-final-exams2. McIntyre, S. H., & Munson, J. M. (2008). Exploring cramming: Student behaviors, beliefs, and learning retention in the principles of marketing course. Journal of Marketing Education, 30(3), 226–243. https://doi.org/10.1177/0273475308321819
3. Y., Chen, X., Huang, C., Chien, & J., Cheng. (2017), The effectiveness of diaphragmatic breathing relaxation training for reducing anxiety. Perspectives in Psychiatric Care, 53, 329-336. doi: 10.1111/ppc.12184
4. Michigan Medicine (2021). Stress management: Breathing exercises for relaxation. University of Michigan. Retrieved from: https://www.uofmhealth.org/health-library/uz2255
5. Sasson, R. (2021). Positive self talk to motivate and encourage yourself. Retrieved from: https://www.successconsciousness.com/blog/positive-attitude/positive-self-talk/
6. Hamilton, R., Miedema, B., Macintyre, L., & Easley, J. (2011). Using a positive self-talk intervention to enhance coping skills in breast cancer survivors: lessons from a community-based group delivery model. Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.), 18(2), e46–e53. doi: 10.3747/co.v18i2.706
Developed 2021 by Quinn DeStefano, OTD Student
Reviewed 2021 by Aaron Grusonik, MA, Psy.D
