PSYCHOLOGISTS TELL HOW TO PREPARE FOR EXAMINATIONS

"To cram successfully for an exam, a student should first organize the work of his course around a precise statement of the general problem studied," several members of the junior instructional staff of the Psychology Department stated yesterday.

After outlining the course, you should memorize one 'stimulus word' for each point in the outline, and thus later recall the outline by association," they explained. "By memorizing a few words in this way, there is no danger of confusion from a large mass of material.

"Immediately upon getting up after a night of studying, one should look over his list of 'stimulus words'," they said. "If necessary, this list can be memorized in rhythm and written down on the back leaf of the exam bluebook immediately upon the opening of the exam."

Active Learning More Effective

Active learning, that is, studying by writing down notes or really thinking over what one is reading, is many times more effective than passive learning, they explained. The use of stimulants such as caffein or benzedrine is sometimes effective, but there is a let-down afterwards.

The time for maximum efficiency in studying for most students is between 11:00 A.M. and 1:00 A.M. according to experiments conducted recently. If a person studies more than three hours past his regular bedtime, his efficiency drops very quickly, and, after 5:00 o'clock, becomes almost zero in any case, they claimed.

When questioned as to the best methods to use in answering exam questions, the instructors stressed organization of the answers, and urged that persons should not 'bull' or repeat what they have already said in different words.

Don't Bull on Exams

"Few markers take off for partially incorrect information if it is relevent and follows logically from the material at hand," they said. "Intelligent conjecture is not 'bull,' but don't just talk about something you heard in a lecture whether or not it is related to the question."

"When you are asked to answer a series of questions, always put down some answer, for you will probably be given no credit for nothing, but at least partial credit for anything at all," they continued. "When writing your answers, use an interesting style, not just subject, verb, object over and over again."