How To Study Well For a Test

No one could achieve good marks in exams without studying and understanding course material properly. If you want to get good grades in exams then you should study well for your test.

Being a ACCA student, I always search for ideas which could help me increase learning efficiency and get distinguish marks in exams. In this article, I have discussed some effective tips to help you study well for a test and score good marks in exams.

Plan Your Studies ahead


To study well for a test, you must plan your complete text ahead. You should write down every topic you are expecting to be examine in your test.

The right way to make your study plan is to divide all topics in three sections which includes the most important but difficult topics, relatively easy topics, and not so important topics or the one need less time to revise.

The biggest mistake many students usually do is they left difficult or tricky topics to study at last moment. This approach usually leads to frustration in exam.

For Example, I do not like to read much about management accounting or you can say… it is the one I find most frustrating to study. To make my studies interesting, and make sure that I complete Management Accounting before exams, I usually combined it with a subject I like the most.

My ACCA To Do List


  • Overhead Apportionment (1.5 Hrs, F2)
  • Depreciation and amortization (1 Hr, F3)
  • Overhead Apportionment (1 Hr, F2)
  • And so on

This was just an example to show you how you can handle frustrating topics by combining them with your favorite and relatively easy topics.

It really works.

Set Goals


Studying without having any goal is a waste of your time. Firstly, you need to decide what kind of marks you want to get in your exams. This will determine how much efforts you are willing to put in your studies.

You should also know what you want to achieve in a particular study session. If you have your test after one week then you must have a goal to complete certain topics every day, if 48 hours are left then you should set goal for each study hour.

Work Smarter Not Harder


The most common advice for students is "there is no magic formula to pass exams other than hard work". As a student myself I don’t like the term hard work especially when it comes to study.

I believe that by working smartly you can get better result in exams. You can understand much content in less time as compare to a student who is working hardly to learn it by rote.

I have seen many students who study for 12 hours before test and get poor grades. On the other hand, there are many smart students who study for few hours but still get excellent results.

Study well for a test doesn’t mean you should read your text book all the time or try to repeat them without thinking about them. To prepare yourself effectively for a test, you need to understand what you are learning.

Short Study Session


To absorb your textbook content you need an active brain. You cannot understand a bit with a tired brain.

To keep your brain active and work at its optimum level, you should always divide your study time into several short sessions of about 1 hour 15 minutes each.

In each short session you will spend one hour to learn new concepts and remaining 15 minutes to check your understanding by writing what you have learn in a form of notes, without referring to the textbook. Tally your notes with textbook and correct your mistakes.

Give yourself a short break after every study session. Do something interesting during short break.

Take Notes


Notes taking is one of the most effective technique for better understanding of your course content and to make your studies interesting.

Taking notes while studying promotes better understanding of content and help you revise your syllabus in less time. You may use these notes to recall important concepts before test.

Notes are best pre-exam tools for students of all grades.

Take Away:


Study well for a test is not a rocket science. It is all about understanding what you are reading.

To get good grades in exams you should plan several short, highly productive and goal oriented study sessions, and make quick recall notes for last minute revision for a test.

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