How to Study for an Exam: 7 Techniques That Work in Any Subject

The most common way to study is to reread notes and highlight. It feels productive because the text becomes more familiar, but recognising something is not the same as being able to recall it in an exam. In 2013 a team of psychologists led by John Dunlosky reviewed hundreds of studies on ten study techniques. Rereading, highlighting and summarising were rated among the least useful. Testing yourself and spreading study over time came out on top.

These seven techniques work for any subject and any age. You can apply them with pen and paper, although an app makes it easier not to skip steps.

1. Test yourself instead of rereading

Trying to recall something without looking is what fixes it best. In a classic experiment by Roediger and Karpicke, students who read a text and then tried to recall it remembered more a week later than students who reread it several times, even though the rereaders felt more confident.

How: close the book and write down everything you remember. Answer the end-of-chapter questions before checking the answers. Make flashcards with a question on one side and the answer on the other. Ask someone to quiz you. Whatever you cannot recall is exactly what you need to review.

2. Spread your study over several days

Four 30-minute sessions on four days beat two hours the night before. It is one of the most robust findings in learning psychology: the review by Cepeda and colleagues pooled hundreds of comparisons and found a consistent advantage for spaced study.

How: as soon as you know the exam date, count the days left and spread the topics. Keep the last day for a mock exam, not for new topics.

3. Take a mock exam

A timed mock exam without notes combines the first two techniques and gets you used to the format. If your teacher sets problems, practise problems. If they ask for essays, write full answers, not outlines.

Mark it as strictly as your teacher would and list your mistakes. That list is your plan for the next days.

4. Mix question types

Doing ten exercises of the same type in a row feels effective, but nobody tells you the question type in the exam. Rohrer and Taylor found that mixing problems from different topics in the same session improved later test results, because it forces you to choose the right method each time.

How: once you have each topic under control, do sessions with questions from all of them in random order.

5. Explain it in your own words

Asking yourself why something happens, or explaining a step to someone else, forces you to connect new information with what you already know. Dunlosky’s review rates elaboration and self-explanation as moderately useful: they help, especially combined with the techniques above.

How: after reading a section, try to explain it out loud in two minutes without looking. If you get stuck, you have found a gap.

6. Study your mistakes, not just your successes

Every wrong answer in an exercise or a past exam is a concrete clue. Redo the exercises you got wrong a few days later without looking at the solution. If a mistake keeps coming back, such as mixing up two dates or two formulas, write it down and test yourself on just that until it stops happening.

7. Sleep

During sleep the brain consolidates what you learned during the day. Scientific reviews on memory and sleep agree that sleeping after studying helps you retain it. Cutting sleep the night before an exam to study more usually backfires.

A five-day plan for any exam

Day 1: write down the subject, the date and the topics. Take a quick test on each topic to see where you stand.

Days 2 and 3: work on your weakest topics and finish every session by testing yourself without looking.

Day 4: a mixed session with questions from every topic. Review the mistakes from the previous days.

Day 5: a timed mock exam. Mark it, review only what you got wrong and go to bed at a reasonable time.

How the MathCracks app helps

In the MathCracks app you enter the subject, the date and the topics of your exam. It prepares a little every day, shows you what you have mastered and what is still weak and, before the exam, offers a mock test: in the app with an instant score, or on paper, marked from a photo. If your teacher gives you a worksheet or a marked exam, you can work on the mistakes from a photo too. It works for every subject, on iPhone, iPad and Android.

Download the MathCracks app