To emerge from the semester with flying colors, our help with homework team suggests that the student should do the following:
Know the grading system
As the finals draw closer, the student should have a sound idea about how your teachers assign grades. Usually, teachers give a certain weightage to factors such as participation, attendance, homework, exams and projects while grading the students.
A very common style is to assign a percentage to each such factor, although a few teachers also opt for a points system. Regardless of what system the teacher uses, it is important for the student to know the system that will be used to grade beforehand.
For instance, it may surprise the student when he learns that the homework and final exams both equally account for a quarter of the final grade. Or the student could end up realizing that homework has much greater weight in the final grades than the final exams. Or it could be vice-versa.
The single biggest reason why the student should have a fair idea about the grading system is to be able to decide how much energy and time to invest behind every grading factor, more so if you believe that there is not sufficient time to allocate equally to all of them.
As an example, if the final exams account for 30% of your grade and homework just 15% then you need to spend more time after exam preparation than breaking your head over petty issues in the remaining weeks’ homework.
Value your time
Our help with the homework team is very sure that towards the end of the term/semester performance is determined by how well the student is able to manage time. Time management means ascribing priority to every task that needs to be completed and finding time to complete it during your routine.
There cannot be a single strategy that would work for all because every student is unique and has different commitments. Moreover, each student finds comfort in a different study schedule. Therefore, the student must think carefully about his personal situation.
The study plan that the student comes up with should be customized for his/her needs. Those who believe in working at night should set aside a few minutes in the evening to glance through the notes or quiz oneself using flashcards. If you have any free weekends, utilize them to prepare for the final exams.
Clubbing tasks
Although you believe that doing homework and preparing for the final exams are two different tasks, they are essentially the same. According to our help with the homework team, completing homework is same as effectively preparing for the exams. This is because a major portion of the homework that you do during the semester is likely to figure in the finals.
To generate maximum value out of your time, your approach towards homework ahead of the finals should be such that it should work for you during the finals week. Ahead of the finals is the time when you need to assess whether your approach towards homework is working for you or not. If you keep forgetting what the homework was about on the very next day, you must change your approach.
Start thinking about what kind of learning pattern suits you – does streamlining study material in the form of charts and diagrams work for you? Would you gain more by reading the text before beginning to answer questions rather than answering questions and reading the text at the same time?
When one is reading the text, your eyes should light up immediately when they come across phrases such as however, therefore, except and although because they are followed by important information.
Keep in touch with dates, formulas, words and names that get repeated a number of times as part of your course. Keep a note of the points that your teachers keep emphasizing – they are certain to figure in the final exam.
The secret to succeed during the finals is to learn the art of using your time more effectively. Instead of feeling bogged down by the thought about how you would handle homework and finals both, apply the above techniques.
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