It’s that time of the year again when all that is standing between students and “no more pencils, no more books” are final exams. And in order to help students hurdle that obstacle easier, Questia, which describes itself as a the premier online research tool for students, put together several study tips to make acing those examinations a breeze.

• Plan Ahead – Procrastination may be your middle name, but don’t wait until a week (or day, yikes) before the final to begin your preparation! It may seem like common sense, but planning ahead is vital when it comes to saving you time and stress as well as retaining information. When you cram, you tend to immediately forget all that information that had cost a lot of money to obtain.
• Organize Yourself – Review the reading and coursework that you completed during the semester and organize notes and prior assignments by topic. By preparing your materials ahead of time, you’re able to better determine what you may need more information on and what you already have, in addition to streamlining your study process.
• Ask for Help – Whether you’re confused on a particular topic or just need someone to bounce ideas off of, create a study group or contact your TA to have a sit down session to review your notes. Remember to plan ahead and contact them in advance instead of the day before the final, especially since there tends to be a last minute rush and professor and TA office hours may be booked solid.
• Stay Healthy - Sleep, eat properly, and workout as you’re preparing! Don’t let the vending machine tempt you. Studies have shown that Omega-3 fatty acids boost energy and improve memory. Fish, walnuts, flaxseeds, beans and olive oil are the best brain foods.
• Give Yourself a Break - Though you may feel productive, staring at your textbooks for 13 hours straight can do more harm than good. Whether you take a nap, workout or take some time to see friends, make sure to take study breaks so you don’t burn out.
• Set Multiple Alarms – Have you ever had that nightmare that you missed your final? So that you don’t live that nightmare, set a few alarms to ensure that you won’t only wake up in time, but that you’ll arrive early enough to get a seat and settle in before the test begins.
• Don’t Rush Through the Test – The faster you try to rush through the material, the more likely you are to make simple mistakes and lose valuable points. Take your time to thoroughly read and understand the question before rushing to an answer.
• Don’t Stress Once It’s Over – Sometimes, you’ll leave a final feeling happy and triumphant. Other times, the impending doom of a poor grade is hard to shake. No matter how you’re feeling afterwards, it’s important to relax and let go without dwelling. If you didn’t feel as prepared as you were hoping to, learn from your experience and change your approach the next time around!

The key to success is an early start coupled with organization and those students who take the above tips to heart, will soon be leaving behind the teachers’ dirty looks, but with high grades on their transcripts.

Questia, a subsidiary of Cengage Learning, is an expert in helping students do well on their tests and papers by giving them 24/7 online access to scientific journals and academic books which were personally selected by university libraries. Questia also provides tools makes it easy to lay out a report or an essay or organize footnotes in any one of seven widely recognized format, thus allowing students to focus on research and writing