5 Hacks for the day before an exam

It is the day before your exams and too much is at risk. The possibility of being held back or having to return during the holidays to retake your failed subjects have you on edge and you find yourself desperately trying to cram whatever you can. Here are 5 revision hacks that will hopefully help you in your last minute revision.

1. Times New Roman is the easiest font to read

That’s right! If you are in a rush to go through all the notes you have on your computer, it is a good time to change fonts to Times New Roman before you start!

Multiple studies have proven that Times New Roman is the best font for speed reading due to its simple letters. The font is also both easy on the eyes and familiar to the mind. This is also the reason why nearly all prints use Times New Roman. It’s popularly accepted that, in print, fonts like Times New Romans are easier to read, the idea being that the font actually make the letters flow together and consequently easier on the eyes. If you’re aiming for efficiency during your last minute cramming session, this simple but useful hack might be the key to acing your exams!

2. Study for 50 minutes, rest for 10. It might sound like a complete waste of time but trust me, occasional breaks are incredibly important. It may be the day before an exam but taking care of your body and mind is much more important than that extra 10 minutes.

Taking breaks not only refreshes your mind for the next 50 minutes but also helps you to fully digest what you have revised in the previous 50 minutes, allowing a more productive study session. Organising your schedule this way will also force you to study harder for the 50 minutes, instead of half-heartedly studying all the time, in order to truly enjoy your 10 minutes break without guilt.

3. Be confident and study out loud. When reading notes or studying materials out loud, we form auditory links in our memory pathways which helps us to memorise or remember the facts and information better. It will also help us to remember the contents we had revised during the actual exam as we can remember ourselves reading those content out loud.

Reading out loud is definitely no easy task, not just because it would take you a longer time to read a text, but also because it is an extremely awkward thing to do if you are studying in a public area or have your family members looking at you. Nevertheless, desperate times calls for desperate measures. This is a very effective strategy for last minute cramming and the results it promises is worth the risk of ruining your image?

4. Be in control of your devices Face it, you probably have less than 24 hours until you have to sit for the dreaded exam and the last thing you should do is spend the remaining time you have on social media. Scrolling through the pages of your favourite idols and close friends may be a good way to relieve stress but the risk of getting distracted and wasting too much time on your phone is too high.

That is precisely the reason why applications like Self Control (for MacBook) Cold Turkey (for PC) and Freedom on the App Store exists. These applications helps you to block certain sites from your browsers or phones for a certain period of time, helping you get rid of the distractions. Most of the software available are difficult to unlock once the timer has started and thus would help reduce the temptation of wasting your time on social media.

5. Sleeping Your teachers have reminded you, so have your parents and now I shall remind you once again.

Sufficient sleep is important! Different studies have repeatedly come to the conclusion that having sufficient sleep the night before will benefit one’s exam results more than spending the extra hours with a cup of coffee, staring at notes that will never sink in.

Along the way sleep had became something students could do without for the sake of the extra hours but sleeping is a crucial process for the brain works to heal the body by producing hormones beneficial for repair and growth. Sleeping also provides the brain with an opportunity to consolidate memories of what was studied and learnt that day.

Hopefully, the revision hacks above have been of help, and all the best for your examinations!

Ang Yen Chi

3 Unity

https://mind-hacks.wonderhowto.com/how-to/speed-read-your-way-through-anything-with-right-font-0158480/ http://www.awaionline.com/2011/10/the-best-fonts-to-use-in-print-online-and-email/ http://www.gearfire.net/10-ways-cram-successfully/ https://www.brainscape.com/blog/2011/10/reading-out-loud-remember/ https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/1501263