How to Study for Exams Properly (the Research-Backed Way)

Exam prep is mostly about what you stop doing, not what you start. Here are the five things to stop, and the five things to do instead.

Stop

1. Rereading the chapter. It feels productive. It is not.
2. Highlighting in three colours. Same problem.
3. Studying for five hours on Sunday. You forget it by Wednesday.
4. Watching study-with-me videos as a substitute for studying.
5. Memorising past paper answers.

Start

1. Active recall. Close the book, write what you remember, then check.
2. Spaced repetition. Use Flashcards — review on day 1, 3, 7, 14, 30.
3. Twenty minutes a day, five days a week. Beats two hours on Sunday by 4×.
4. Mock exams under time. Use Mock Exam once a week.
5. Worked examples first. Use Math Solver for two examples before drilling.

The seven-day plan

• Sun — diagnostic quiz to find weak topics (Diagnostic + plan)
• Mon — worked example on weakest topic, three flashcards
• Tue — practice questions on same topic
• Wed — same topic via flashcards
• Thu — past paper question on the topic
• Fri — second weak topic, repeat
• Sat — full mock exam, mixed topics

Rinse for three weeks before the exam.

What to do the day before

Two things: a 30-minute light review of flashcards, and sleep. No new material. No five-hour cram.