You know. One thing people (or is it parents? or lecturers? Wadever.) always say, STUDY SMART. Or your mother always forever nagging at you saying that you should go and sleep early. Or your lecturers saying, last minute burning of midnight oil is no use. You groan and you grumble. You complain and you pout. But deep down inside, it is so true.

Not to worry. Don't ever let examination stress stop you from making your mark. Simply follow this guide to the science of studying smart.

STAY HEALTHY

Oh my goodness. It is such a usual scene. Stress addicts must BEWARE. Too much stress = illness. You are putting yourself at risk of getting a nasty cold in the middle of exams. All night studying sessions fuelled by caffeine ( I don't understand why people drink coffee to keep them awake - unhealthy! ) might seems a great way of achieveing lots in a short time, BUT they wreck your sleep cycle, disrupts your eating pattern and trash your immune system.

My advice: Try to destress by turning to your friends and family. Or take the time to exercise. JOIN THE WEEKLY BIE RUN! A good way to de-stress. Or listening to music as you relax. you can be surprised how much you can achieve by destressing.

BE A WISE REVISER

Start that now. A good time, since main exam is drawing near.

1) Test yourself.
Testing yourself on what you've just learnt helps embed it in your brain.

2) Use your imagination.

Maybe it is easier for a Pisces like me.I am always day-dreaming and maybe this is why I did not manage to fail exams. (Kidding!)

While revising, try to remember the classroom scene where the subject was taught. This engages other parts of the brain - your imagination and visual sense - which can come to your aid in the exams when you are trying to recall facts. And it add abit of fun.

You also can even try emulating your lecturers' movements. I am serious. It may sound mad, but students who mimics the gestures of teachers while learning maths learn new strategies more quickly then those who don't, according to a Chicago University study of 49 students. The movement helps lock ideas into their brain.

3)Listen to music.
 Complex structure and rhythms of classical music can also help by coordinating the parts of the brain that control rational and creative thought. Ok. Rock music may have similar effect.

4)Summarise it.
 Make your own notes. Highlight the key points and then read from there. By reading one whole page crammed with words, it is such a miracle that one can remember all of it at once. Unless you are Mozart. Or Einsten. Or ... do I need to say more?

5)Night Nerves.
 The night before an exam can be hard. Don't start revising completely new areas - it will just make you panic. Stick to the key points and summarise.

Actually, go to sleep earlier is better. You can perform better. Say "Stop" to yourself at the onset of any negative thoughts.
When we feel threatened, our fight-or-flight reflexes kick in and the body directs the blood to the brain at the top of the spine. Survival instincts invade your head and rational thoughts take dive. But these stress exists only in your mind. There is no physical threats such as wild animals in the exam room.

6)Psych yourself up.
Use positive relaxation and focusing tactics and you can help to control your stress better.

NOTE: Studies shows that exam pressure is likely to impair the performance of good students than average ones. Why? Because good students can lose the strong short term or working memory that enables them to process numbers and thoughts while focusigon a problem. On the other hand, students with less powerful working memory may rely on other methods like looking for patterns (guessing) and are less likely to fold under pressure.

Lastly...

7)EXAM ROOM COOL.

use relaxation techniques. Before the beginning of the test, close your eyes and reflect. Breathe in and out to relax the body and refocus any negative energy. But don't breathe in and out so fast that set your examiner in a panic thinking you are having a heart attack and will try to do a CPR on you while yelling for someone to call 911. I think you will surely get a heart attack .  

Bring your lucky charm. It is believed that such magic can work by decreasing the anxiety and keeping you at your optimum level of performance.

But whatever you do, don't lose your lucky teddy, lucky pen or lucky undies.
And NEVER NEVER bring a lucky charm "boyfriend/girlfriend" into the room. They will be most likely to be kick out on the butt by the examiners and you will end up doing badly in your exams by imagine the worst of what had happen to them outside the exam room.

So....ON YOUR MARK!!!

Acknowlegement: Reader's Digest June 2007 Issue