What to do and not to do when reviewing for tests

By Staff Writer: Alexis Klask

One thing most high school students dread is homework,  when in fact it should really be about studying. Sure homework is an intrusion on free time and causes stress with short due dates, but studying is something so easily overlooked.

Studying is a tool that can be used to make or break your grade. If you study subject materials every night, it’s more likely to receive a better grade. However, with studying comes distractions and with distractions comes ignorance toward the materials you were previously reviewing.

There are many distractions when studying, but there are solutions on how to fix them in order to maintain that A+ grade in your class. My top 3 distractions are usually the following:

1. The cellular device – as great as technology is, it is also a huge distractor. IPhone or Android? Most likely these phones will have internet connection which enables the use of social media networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, etc. My advice is to just put the phone away. Take it, put it in a box, grab a lock, and throw away the key. If you’re tempted to grab it, then you won’t be able to focus on what you need to be studying. Just remember that tweeting about how you’re not studying isn’t as cool as everyone makes it out to be.

2. YouTube – full of funny cat antics and people falling down. YouTube drags you in with its videos and suggestions after watching videos. Opening up the computer straight to YouTube to just “take a break” for a second will most likely turn into an hour. Avoid this website at all costs to ensure you won’t be distracted.

3. Music- teenagers say they can focus on music and study at the same time, but in reality that isn’t possible. As much as people say they are mutlitaskers, multitasking is a skill that can’t be accomplished. When listening to music while studying, you will focus on one or the other. If you are listening to the words or beat of the song and singing along with it or anticipating the upcoming beat, you are focusing solely on the music. When you are looking over school work and are hearing the words or equations play back in you head, then you are focusing solely on the work. Go ahead, try to read something off a paper while listening to music with lyrics and try to sing the lyrics in your head at the same time. Your brain is not able to comprehend both simultaneously.

Students conform to their own ways when it comes to studying, whether that is reviewing by repetition, or using auditory or visual strategies. While all three have their own techniques on how to study, they are also linked together.

Repetition varies because it can be classified by writing down definitions multiple times on a paper or by saying the definitions out loud repeatedly. In that case, it’s simple to say that repetition is linked with auditory techniques. With repetition, students are able to write down the information and process it in their brains however they choose, which would relate to the visual aspect way of learning. It’s more of a studying technique to use when alone.

Auditory is a useful way to review items such as lines in a play or bones within a bodily system. Creating songs to learn material is auditory learning given that listening to a song about how to conjugate a certain verb in Spanish can help students who appreciate this type of learning. Repetition ties in with this especially when practicing lines. Reviewing the material over and over again, but having to hear yourself say it is a useful technique for people who benefit from auditory learning.

Visual people tend to take an overabundance of notes. They are able to re-learn material simply by reading it or by examining pictures relating to the topic. Students with this ability enable their auditory techniques in order to correctly write down the information they are given. Again, this is another skill that is more so for kids who like to study alone.

Midterms are here, but once they pass that only means more tests in the future and then final exams at the end of the school year. It’s important to study no matter how dull and boring it is. Dreading to look over subject materials happens often, but in the end it will pay off with a more than acceptable grade.