The more material you need to review, the more important it is
to clear your schedule. A four-, five- or six-course load covering
20, 40, or more books, lectures and discussions, papers, and projects
will easily generate hundreds of pages of notes. Reviewing, under-
standing, and studying them will require your full-time effort for a
week, even two. So make sure all other end-of-term work, especially
major projects and papers, are out of the way.
Organize Your Material
1.Gather all the material you have been using for the course:
books, workbooks, handouts, notes, homework, and previous
tests and papers.
2.Compare the contents with the material you will be tested
on and ask yourself: What exactly do I need to review for
this test?
3.Select the material for review. Reducing the pile of books and
papers will be a psychological aid—it’ll seem as if you have
more than enough time and energy to study for the test.
4.Photocopy and complete the Pretest Organizer at the end of
this chapter. Consider carefully the “Material to be covered”
section. Be specific. The more detailed you are, the better
job you’ll do reviewing all the areas that you should know.
This exercise will help you quantifywhat you need to do.
5.As you review the material and conclude that you know it for
the test, put a bold check mark on the “Review” line.
6.Hot tip: Make a crib sheet as if you were going to cheat on
the test, which, of course, you are not. Use it for last-minute
review. And if you are lucky enough to get an open-book test,
thank me!Chapter 8 ■ How to Study for Tests 179