Ideally, you want to study and review your course content on a weekly basis. This is especially important for courses with 2 to 3 tests that cover a lot of content in one semester. The chart below shows how to space out and stack your review starting right from the beginning of the course.
| Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Focus: Week 1 content.
Read and prep for lecture.
Review/study notes from class. |
Focus: Week 2 content.
Read and prep for class.
Review/study notes from week 2 class.
Review week 1 content. |
Focus: Week 3 content.
Read and prep for class.
Review/study notes from week 3 class.
Review weeks 2 and 1 content. |
Focus: Week 4 content. Read and prep for class. Review/study notes from week 4 class. Start test preparation. Prioritize and review weeks 3, 2 and 1 content. |
Continue test preparation for weeks 1-4 content.
Test this week. |
In addition to weekly studying, start your test preparation 2 to 1 week(s) before each test date following the what and how do you study strategies.
The chart below provides more detail about what to focus on for read & prep, weekly reviews and test preparation.
|
Prepare for Class |
Doing readings and notes before class and pre-viewing lecture notes helps you to get more out of class time. It helps with paying attention, note-taking, answering questions, clarifying hard concepts and remembering more from class. |
|
Review after Class |
Review what was just taught in class and complete your notes. Identify difficult concepts and plan how to get additional support for them (e.g. Faculty, Peer Tutor, additional online resources). Focus on understanding the new content and start using active learning strategies to help with remembering it. |
|
Do another Review & Stack It |
Once you start to forget the content, it's a good time to review it again and break the forgetting curve. Use your Cornell Notes, flashcards, practice questions, or other forms of retrieval practice to help you review and retain information long-term. If you've been keeping up with the course so far, focus on using the information in a variety of ways. Stacking your review means reviewing content from previous weeks of the course. Focus on what you might have forgotten, connecting topics together, and building a comprehensive understanding of course content as a whole. |
|
Create a specific Test Prep Plan |
Use the Test Preparation Planner template to map out your test preparation plan. Make sure to include when you will study and what you will study each day until the day of your test (See example). Starting test preparation early is key. Cramming content a few days or the night before a big test is not a good learning strategy. |
