The SQ3R Method: The Final "R"

REVIEW!!

Those notes you took--reread them, and not just the day before your exam.  Instead, set aside 10-15 minutes each night to review past chapters or sections in addition to the time you spend reading new materials.  This will prove to be an incredible advantage, and while it may be an effort, it is going to pay off in terms of retention and performance.  Go through your previous chapters and make sure you pay attention to any margin notes or underlining you did, and be sure you know the definitions of important terms by heart.

Try to summarize information without going back and reading it.  For example, a few days after reading a chapter, see if you can still orally explain the main points and concepts of that chapter.  If you can, you KNOW IT! If you can't, maybe you should use your 10 minutes to review it until you do.

And about that time you're spending reviewing--don't let it get you down, because Sunday evening when everyone else is cramming before the test, you can spend 20 minutes reviewing once more to ensure you have everything down pat and then spend a leisurely Sunday evening and not be frazzled and stressed out come the test Monday.  So, you won't have to cram and you'll probably do a lot better than your classmates who were up until 3:00 AM trying to make sense of stuff they read but didn't learn or retain.  That can be pretty hard to do at three in the morning! 

Remember, the real goal is not a test score or a piece of paper--the real goal is learning.  Using the SQ3R Method of Reading is a great way to maximize your learning.