The end of a semester is always a bitter-sweet time. A sweet time, to rejoice at the end of a semester while looking forward to the one or three-month break. The bitter part of these times are the finals. The cumulative exam, every topic revisited in more questions, which means reviewing every subject. This might be a daunting thought especially when you are already overwhelmed by the individual exams. A troubling stepping stone is figuring out where to initiate.
#1 Make a topic list
Before you crack open a book or your notes, look over your syllabus and write down all the topics. Make a master list of everything. When writing the list try to be specific, don’t just write Respiratory Diseases, you want to have a thorough list, with particular disease process like Tuberculosis, Pneumonia, etc. This list will help you in planning and scheduling your study time to keep you on track.
#2 Accuities and Priorities
Once, the master list is entirely written or typed out, you first want to revisit each topic and think about how much knowledge has been retained or how well you did on those previous exams. Set priorities. The items you aced and somehow are knowledgeable with are not going to be studied the same as the ones that you barely passed.
#3 Briefly Review
The subjects that you did well in and retained a chunk of information review these topics. All notes from these topics read through. Depending on the number of issues this can be done in an evening. I would highly recommend finishing the review with questions from all the sections. This will help to solidify the knowledge. If you find you lack in one or two topics revisit these until you feel comfortable. If you start ahead of time this step can be done over the course of a week.
#4 Deep Down Study
The topic that gave you the most problems will be where you put your most considerable efforts. You want to take out all your notes, books, and questions. Begin with a review of the topic through your notes and the supplemental book. While reviewing, if any problems come up to write them down. Research the answers to the questions through the textbook, or by venturing to YouTube or via an Internet search. Once you feel a handle on the topics, answer some questions. Read all the rationales. The rationales at times can seem tedious, but reading them not only gives you additional information but also helps you to understand the question, and look for keywords.
In studying for finals make sufficient amounts of time. Do not wait for the night before a final to start studying. Please give yourself plenty of time. The more time allowed to study means more information to be placed in long-term memory. When studying hydrate, bring snacks, and don’t forget to get up and stretch. What ways do you study?