Studying in the Sand

It's that time of year when people are just itching for a break and what better break is Spring Break? Some people may disagree and say when exams end in the Spring. Well, what I say back to that is, if you're going anywhere that's even slightly warmer than the Greater Syracuse area, it's a heaven sent break. My Spring Break is located in South Carolina where it's not too hot this time of the year, but the sun is still shinin'. Spring Break is supposed to be filled with no worries and much needed sun, but as I escape off to La-La Land, I suddenly remind myself; Dr. Wiles has been so kind to give an exam the day we come back from Break.


When I first heard our second exam was to be given the day we come back, I became stressed and convinced that all I would be doing is studying while on vacation. With our assignment this week being Exam Prep, I became aware of the timing of these strategies (well at least in my case). BIO 123 has a lot of information attached to it and especially for this exam; we have been learning about all the different systems in the body and it is essential that we memorize and understand the location, structure and function of each part.


For one of the assignments attached to learning about Exam Prep was making a Source Outline. This outline is used to organize information by source when it comes time to review for the exam. The directions state to list a source that's used in class then to write titles or headings to identify each section of the source. This kind of outline shows a great strategy for a text-based class where reading is required along with lecture, but with BIO 123, that isn't necessarily the case; the text is used more as a reference if we are confused on a topic. The lecture notes and items discussed specifically in class are what is asked on the exam. Even though the source outline wouldn't be the best strategy to use for the exam, a class like PSY 205, where the exam is 1/2 lecture and 1/2 text would be a great way of reviewing for that exam.


The other outline assigned was the Topic Outline. I loved writing up this outline, because as I was writing it I was also reviewing the material and in a efficient way. For the topic outline the directions were to organize the information given in a specific class by topics and also subtopics. With this outline, it was especially useful because BIO has so much information packed into one exam that it would be hard to miss a topic or subtopic if I do a Topic Outline. When making this outline it was like more of a study sheet a teacher in high school would give me than just a typical outline. It would be crazy for me not to get below a B when using this outline because all the information I need to know is right in front of me in a neat, organized format.


What's great about both of these outlines is attached to both of them is a Study Schedule where you write down the date where you're going to review it and also the time frame when this studying is going to be taking place. Again, these strategies are being given at the right time because now when I'm on vacation, I will have a course outline done and ready to be reviewed and I also will have scheduled times where I will need to take a break from the fun and sit down to review. I'm going to focus on picking mornings for studying, because at that time of the day, I'm more productive and it's unlikely for me at that time to skip out of studying.


With doing these strategies on Exam Prep, my stress level towards the 2nd BIO exam has gone down tremendously. Knowing that a break I've been looking forward to for a long time will not be ruined by constant worrying and stress, is a huge relief. Using the course outline and other Exam Prep strategies will make me into a more efficient studier when starting to review for exams in the future, not just this one BIO exam. Actually now that I've said all of this,studying in the sand doesn't sound so bad.