All you want to do is go home. However, there is ONE hurdle in your way: finals. It’s that time of year again. Finals season. What is the most efficient way to prepare and study for finals? Well, I suppose it depends on the final. Is the final a take-home essay, or is it a final exam?

How does one go about each? Here are the tips I generally follow.

Final: Exam

1. I begin by considering all the material I have learned throughout the course.
2. Then, I go through my notes and decide what information I have a good grasp on, what I think I know, and then what I need to study more to understand fully. (I will use different colors to denote each).
3. I will then rewrite my notes, using colored pens, highlighters, etc. (colors make everything better!) each day as my study tool.
4. The day of the exam, I go through my notes once more, by simply reading through them, and practicing areas that may still need some clarification.

Final: Take-home Essay

1. I begin by reading the prompt, underlining/ highlighting the key points of it.
2. Then, I outline my thoughts.
3. Afterwards, I go paragraph by paragraph and write each. Typically, I write my body paragraphs before my introduction and conclusion since the boy paragraphs dictate the thesis, etc.
4. Lastly, after I have written the paper, I will go back and edit, edit, and edit!

I hope these tips are helpful! Good luck to those with exams and essays!