Exam Success Cheat Sheet:

Study Smarter With The 6 Pillars of Student Success

1. Know Where You’re Going: have a plan 2. Know You Can Get There: mindset

Instead of: Say:

How well
Topic
do I know I’m not good at math I’m not good at math yet
areas
this?
I messed up What can you learn from this?

Keep your study plan simple: have an overview of the The principle of growth mindset tells us it’s possible
topic areas you’re working on, perhaps prioritised with to grow and change, and get better at things you find
“traffic lights” (red = high priority / green = low) hard with the right kind of practice.

3. Make Time For The Journey: your routine 4. Eyes On The Road: unshakeable focus
Distractions cost time: each time you move your focus to e.g.
7.30-8.00am Wake up, shower, dress your phone, it takes time for your full concentration to return
8.00-8.45am STUDY: re-test what learned yesterday* % attention
8.45-9.15am Breakfast

Phone

Phone

Phone

Phone
Work
9.15-12.00pm STUDY BLOCKS (50mins, 10min breaks)
12.00-12.45pm Lunch
Time
Have a clear routine for studying – whether that’s an Don’t multitask: cultivate extreme concentration on
all-day routine for study leave / vacation days, or an the task at hand, and eliminate external distractions.
evening routine for studying after school or work. Turn the phone off and leave it in another room!

5. Learn Faster with Retrieval Practice 6. Beat Forgetting with Spaced Learning
% remembered

 ☺
Less re-reading More flashcards and
and making notes practice questions Time

To learn faster and remember more, spend more time Don’t do all your retrieval practice on one day: space it
using retrieval practice: i.e. testing yourself on what out over time. Each time you re-test, your memory
you know, pulling information out of memory strengthens and you forget more slowly.

Go further: recommended reading

How fast does your Are you scoring the

study technique get marks you deserve
results? on exam day?
Learn the 6 best study Learn the 31 test-
strategies for putting taking secrets for
spacing and retrieval boosting your score
practice into action. when it matters most.

How to learn faster – get your copy at How to ace the exam – available at:
https://examstudyexpert.com/study-book https://examstudyexpert.com/exam-book

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