Most exam stress comes from cramming against a deadline rather than from the material itself. A study routine spread out over time, with the right kind of practice, works better than long last-minute sessions.
What you'll need
- Your syllabus or past exam papers
- A calendar to plan backward from your exam date
Steps
1. Get past papers first. Before you study a single topic in depth, look at 2-3 past exam papers to understand exactly how questions are asked — this tells you what 'knowing the material' actually needs to look like on the day.
2. Break the syllabus into a calendar. Count the weeks until your exam and divide the syllabus across them, leaving the final week free for revision only — don't be still learning new material days before the exam.
3. Test yourself, don't just re-read. Re-reading notes feels productive but teaches your brain very little. After reading a topic once, close the book and try to write out what you remember, or answer a past question — this is what actually builds recall.
4. Space your review out. Revisit a topic a few days after first learning it, then again a week later, rather than studying it once intensively. Spaced repetition beats one long session of the same length.
5. Simulate exam conditions at least twice. A week or two before the exam, sit a full past paper under real time pressure, no notes, no phone. This surfaces gaps and builds the stamina and pacing you'll need on the day.
6. Protect your sleep before the exam. An all-night cram session before an exam reliably makes performance worse, not better — a full night of sleep helps your memory more than a few extra hours of last-minute review.