Finals week is probably the most stressful time of the semester, so we thought we would share a few preparation strategies that we’ve found useful ourselves. We hope that these tips help make finals a little stressful for you too!
1. Compose a mental “story” out of all that you’ve learnt in class this semester.
This will help organize ideas together in a coherent and logical fashion which will help with recall and with figuring out which ideas are relevant for tackling a particular problem. It might help to speak this story out loud.
2. Make a minimalist cheat sheet, with key concepts and formulas laid out in some logical fashion.
Try doing this from memory first, only referring to your class notes or textbooks if you get stuck and at the end to check if you missed anything.
3. Zoom in on any individual topics that you feel less familiar with or that have given you trouble in the past.
We recommend doing this after you’re clear on the big picture logic and connections between ideas.
4. Look back through previous homework, class exercises, and exams for questions from these topics that you found difficult.
Try working through them again from scratch. If they’re still giving you trouble try asking your professor, TA or tutor to help you understand the logic.
