Exams Tomorrow? Study Tip: Relax

[Editor’s Note: This month, faculty members are posting on their exam taking tips. This is the fourth post in the series.]

As law students know, tomorrow begins exam week.  We have endeavored to present some exam taking tips from some of the faculty who will be administering those exams.  (Those tips can be found here, here, and here.) I’d like to add one more to the list.  Relax.

It may seem odd to say “relax,” but I think “relax” is an important exam taking tip that is often overlooked.  For weeks now, students have been outlining, reviewing their outlines and texts, meeting with study groups to go over concepts, and drawing graphs and flow charts on the whiteboards in Eckstein Hall’s study rooms.  All of that work is the process of studying and all of that work will continue in your head long after you have closed your text or left your study group.  (If, in the last couple of weeks, you have dreamt about outlining or about the course material you know your brain is processing all of this material.)

Now, on the eve of exams, allow yourself permission to take the night off.  Plan a dinner with friends (try not to talk about exams), watch a funny movie, get in a good workout.  And above all, get a good night’s sleep.  Your mind is processing and absorbing the material you’ve been feeding it; there isn’t anything new you will learn tonight if you push yourself to study until the wee hours of the morning.  You can spend time tomorrow morning making one or two more runs through your outline before you head to your exam.

Best of luck to all students.

 

 

 

 

This Post Has One Comment

  1. Melissa Greipp

    This was one of the great exam tips Professor Anzivino gave when I was in his class. It’s a good approach because it requires advanced planning to finish studying a day ahead of the exams. It also eliminates the confusion that results from cramming the night before.

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