(To Be Completed 3-4 Weeks Prior To Exams)

1. Divide a piece of paper into 4 or 5 blocks—a block for each course you are taking. In each of the blocks, list the course and the grade you presently have (be realistic, not hopeful).

2. List the date of the final under each course name.

3. Identify the courses which have a comprehensive final with a “C” next to the date of the final exam.

4. Identify the format of the exam (multiple choice, essay, etc.) under the date of the final for each course. Under this, identify the levels of thinking expected—memory, restatement, reorganization and synthesis, application, and evaluation.

5. In the upper right-hand corner of each block, rank in order the most critical and important final to the least important final—the final which will make little difference in your grade. (Be aware of how much impact your final exam has on your overall class grade.)

6. Now, for each course in each block, list everything the test will cover—remember which exams are comprehensive. Handouts?? Chapters?? (Which ones??) Lectures?? Discussions?? Check your syllabi to be sure you have not left anything out.

7. Draw a line beneath this list. Now list what you still have left to do for each course. Which chapters do you still have to annotate? Which lectures do you have to write questions for or write summaries for? Which labs do you still have to hand in? What papers do you still have to write?

8. Draw another line. Now list the test preparation strategies you will use to study for the exam—study groups or study patterns, self-questioning using the annotations, mapping, charting, questions and answers, concept cards, going over old tests and quizzes, making up your own problems.

9. Now fill in the calendar, identifying exams, finals and when papers are due. Each day you need to do something from No. 7, but you will also need to study and review for the finals at least two hours a day. Be sure to use all of your available times—weekends, waiting time, etc.

Work Toward These Goals:

(a) Finish all chapter annotations, lecture questions and lecture summaries—one week prior to your first final (allow 8-10 hours)

(b) Review all lecture notes by asking yourself the questions out loud or by having someone quiz you—five days prior to your first final (allow 2-3 hours).

(c) Review all annotations by asking yourself questions over them—four days prior to first exam (allow 3-5 hours).

(d) Begin using your other test preparation strategies for your first final or for the final with the top priority ranking—2 days prior to your first final (allow 4-5 hours per course).