Learn Like a Pro: Science-Based Tools to Become Better at Anything

How much time will you spend solving past exam problems, reading, reviewing notes, and discussing with peers? Sum your thoughts up in a quick study plan. If you want, you can go into more detail for a specific subject.

People misread and misunderstand all the time. On tests, however, this can be devastating. Be sure to read any test instructions carefully. If a test has five essay questions, you need to know whether you’re to answer all five or only one. It can also be wise to look at each question three times: before you start your answer, midway through, and wh

Previewing, practicing active recall, and annotating in order to read effectively. Analyzing and practicing with previous tests and monitoring your time to earn a good grade on exams.

Keep in mind the Hard Start approach: start with what seems to be the hardest problem—but only work on it for a few minutes, until you get stuck. When you move to an easier problem, your diffuse mode can work in the background on the harder problem.

Do your best to set aside enough time for sleep, especially in the days leading up to the test. Even if you struggle to fall asleep on the night before a test, you can tackle test day much better if you’ve stored several nights of good sleep already.

It turned out that many of the other students had access to the prof’s old tests. They knew roughly what the professor was going to be covering—and that the special assumption would probably be on the test. After discovering what the other students were up to, Barb started interacting more with her fellow students to make sure she had access to the

As you do the final review, make sure that you don’t leave hard questions blank, unless a wrong or incomplete answer gives you negative points. Instead, write down whatever relevant information you can think of. For example, you might note down the steps you would have taken or the formula you should have used. This can give you partial credit.

Barb noticed that the longer exams usually allowed more time per question, taking away some pressure and allowing for more diffuse mode thinking. Being a bit strategic when you plan your courses, if you can, can help you earn better grades. For example, if you typically perform better in classes where the grade is based on many small assignments, a

A plan doesn’t create more time, but it does allow you to spend your time wisely. A plan will also reduce stress, since you don’t have to worry about what to do. All you have to do is follow the plan.

before you start preparing for a test, do your best to find out what it will look like. Not the exact questions (we’re not advocating that you cheat!), but what type of questions you’ll get, how they’ll be evaluated and graded, and any expectations and assumptions. There are several ways to familiarize yourself with an upcoming test, such as review