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University Exam Tips that You’ll Actually Use

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As a first-generation student, there were many things that I struggled with in university. I didn’t have a support team who provided me with helpful university exam tips. I remember how devastated I felt when I almost failed my Zoology midterm. Up to that moment, I thought I knew how to study. It was only after I attended many workshops and spoke to my academic advisor, did I realize I was using techniques that were not well-suited for my learning style.

Over the years, I have researched and found valuable exam tips that I want to share. Just so other students would not experience the bottomless pit feeling that I felt.

Topics:

• 9 quick exam tips
• dealing with exam anxiety
• preparing for online exams

• how to create your own exam questions
• handling exam success

In this article, I captured helpful exam resources from the top institutions across Canada. To better prepare for exams. check out the extensive list of articles, PDFs and videos below.

Click on the exam topics that interest you and find your university below for resources specific to your university.

Quick 9 Exam Tips for College and University Students

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1. Complete as many practice tests as you can. Ask yourself, what are some questions that your professor will definitely include in the exam. Also, ensure that you understand the important key takeaways for each unit.

2. Look over the course syllabus. It highlights the main concepts and key topics for each unit. Make sure you thoroughly understand the learning objectives for the course.

3. Mimic the exam setting – complete a practice exam and time yourself. Do not look up the answers during the test. After you are finished, what were the questions that you had trouble with? Mark the questions you got wrong and re-do them. Make sure you are not memorizing the answers and ensure you understand all the steps.

4. If you do not have time to read the textbook, read the key summary tables for each chapter. It will cover the high-level important concepts that you should know about. It will also be a good refresher.

5. Use exam planners and break down your studying schedule. Track how long it takes you to review one unit, to complete practice tests and quizzes. This will give you a general idea of how long it will take you to study the whole course. You can check out Ryerson University’s final exam planning (PDF) or the University of Waterloo’s backwards planning (PDF).

6. Build connections with the concepts you are learning. This will help you memorize the material long-term. Create mind maps, summary sheets or flow charts.

7. Teach someone the material and explain the subject out loud. You can do this by having a study group or teaching someone virtually. When you speak out loud, it will help you memorize and understand the material better.

8. Know where and when your exam will be. Try to find the room ahead of time and arrive early. If you can, try studying or writing your mock exams in the examination room.

9. After any test or exam, be sure to talk to your academic professor, advisor or study coach to help you improve for next time. Don’t be too hard on yourself as every professor has a different teaching style which takes time to understand. You will eventually figure out your learning style and the best way to study.

It is important to reflect on what you can do better and what you will change for the next tests. You can also check out Ryerson University’s post-test reflection (PDF) for some good questions.

Creating your Own Examination Questions

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McMaster University: Learn how to create sample exam questions (PDF)
Concordia University: Learn about the four-level of questions: factual, analytic, hypothetical and evaluative (PDF)
Laurier University: Learn how to anticipate the questions that will appear on the exam (PDF)

Dealing with Exam Anxiety

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Read the instructions slowly and carefully. Use a highlighter to mark the important terms and parts of the question. When we are in a stressful situation, we tend to rush and miss what the question is asking.

Avoid talking to your peers before the exams. It can add to your anxiety if they mention something that you didn’t study.

I cannot stress enough how important a good night’s sleep is. When I lose sleep, I am tired and it’s harder for me to remember important details.

Learn more ways to control test anxiety by reading this article by Western University.

Tackle the easier questions on the exams to help you build momentum and confidence.

Learn some muscle relaxation technique from this article from Concordia University.

Ryerson University: Managing Test Anxiety (video)

Handling Exam Stress

What helped me was to use charts to breakdown my weekly tasks for each course. I would know exactly what I needed to study and what I needed to prioritize. These planners really helped me:
- University of Waterloo: Time management in university (article)
Here are other schedule planners with different formats:
- Wilfried Laurier University: Daily task list (PDF)
- University of Guelph: Task lists (Excel)

York University: Managing exam stress and anxiety (article)

Taking Online Exams

University of Toronto: Take-home and online exams (PDF)
Western University: Preparing for online exams that are open-book format (PDF)
York University Guide: Learn how to study for an online exam and set up your home space

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University of British Columbia Resources

UBC comprehensive guide to online exams
Chapman Learning Commons Student Toolkits: Preparing for exams

UBC exam information
University survival guide: All the resources students should know about at UBC

Concordia University Resources

Concordia University has great exam tips for exam preparation, test strategies, how to write essay exams, multiple-choice exam tips and dealing with exam anxiety.
Stay up-to-date with exam workshops at Concordia
Concordia exam information
University survival guide: All the resources students should know about at Concordia

University of Guelph Resources

Exam preparation and study strategies
University of Guelph Library: Succeed at exams (articles)
How to write lab exams (article)
U of G online tools and videos
Latest exam information at U of G here
University survival guide: All the resources students should know about at U of G

McGill University Resources

Quick exam tips from McGill:
- Review your past mistakes for old quizzes and assignments. Take the time to understand why you made those mistakes.
- Before writing the exam, quickly review and have an action plan. Are there essay questions at the end? Which sections will you need to allocate more time to?
- Pay attention to words such as “list, explain, compare, outline.” Make sure you are aware of what the question is asking.
Stay up-to-date on the latest McGill examination information here.
University survival guide: All the resources students should know about at McGill