7 Ways to Study for Your Engineering Exam and Excel
Your college engineering exam can be technical if you go to the exam room inadequately prepared. A typical paper requires sufficient preparation, in theory, calculations, and graphical analysis. However, if you apply the right study approach from the start of your semester, you will ace it easily.
In this article, we have outlined the simplest approach to your engineering course, which guarantees you a grade A in your end-of-semester exam. The tips outlined are easy to implement and effective for all your college end-semester exams.
Manage Your Time
The right time to start preparing is at the beginning of the course. If you pile everything up for a few days before the exam, you will have difficulty understanding all the facts, derivations, and processes. This leads to poor content retention and poor grades.
On the other hand, if you start early and learn all concepts steadily, you are sure of scoring highly on all your tests and exams. Furthermore, technical concepts require more time to internalize and visualize all the processes, for example, the ideal engine cycle in thermodynamics.
Attend All Lectures and Take Notes
The first step to ensure you never miss your course content is attending classes. While having your lecture, write complete notes. You may use abbreviations in your notes to catch up with your lecturer’s pace. Listen attentively to understand.
You should also be active throughout your lesson, answer questions, comment, and ask for clarification. Doing this helps you remain attentive and internalize simple and complex ideas and their applications. Note that your course instructor's notes form a fraction of what you need to learn. Therefore, do more research and add more relevant content to your notes after class.
After your lecture, go through your notes and rewrite them in your own words. If you are studying circuit analysis, read first and write what you understand in your own words. If you write all the concepts and derive all mathematical expressions on your own, you automatically memorize them.
Begin With Hard Topics When Preparing for Exam
Some topics in your course can be simple and only require you to memorize and recall. However, most topics require high-order thinking and application. An example is electrical engineering due to its abstract nature with many calculations.
You should start with complex topics when your brain is fresh, which helps you absorb every concept without too much mental effort. In addition, allocate enough time for study to ensure you read everything in your course instead of scheming through your notes at the last minute. Studying in a quiet place helps you concentrate and cover a lot in a short time.
Read Before and After Class
Reading a topic in your course outline before you attend a lecture gives you a hint of what to expect during the lesson. At this level, don't aim at understanding everything. Instead, identify the challenging areas and be attentive while your lecturer explains them. Moreover, having an idea of what you will learn about helps you be active in class.
While in class, take notes and highlight difficult areas. You can seek clarification from your instructor and friends or research more afterward. Be attentive and active in class to ensure you follow all derivations and explanations while writing, commenting, and asking questions to help your lecturer know where you are not following.
After class, find a quiet place to review your notes and rewrite them without referring to your lecture notes. If your course instructors assigned you questions, ensure you answer them in detail. Answering questions and solving problems is the best way to gauge your understanding of a concept. If you find the question difficult, research more and consult.
When Given Home Assignment, Ensure You Do It
Lecturers give out homework to help you research and revise for your examinations. You should aim to answer all questions for your task and hand in your work on time. This allows your instructor to identify challenging areas and helps you read your notes in detail.
Some of the problems you solve in your homework may appear in your end-of-semester exams, and if you answered your homework questions, this is a thorough pass in your exam. It is crucial, therefore, to revisit all your assignments and homework until you are confident to answer all the questions before you sit for your paper.
Read to Understand, Not Just for Passing Exams
As a college or university student, you learn to acquire skills and become a professional in your engineering field. Therefore, you should learn to understand every concept and its application. If you study to understand, you will easily answer all your exam questions and excel.
On the contrary, if you read only for exams, you end up cramming notes and formulae. The content you cram can only help you answer recall questions but not application ones. Always read to understand until you feel confident enough.
Make Use of Past Examination Questions
Reviewing past examinations in your engineering course is crucial because it helps you understand the structure of your examinations. Furthermore, attempting the questions in past papers enables you to survey the whole unit and identify areas to revisit. If there are essays in past papers, ensure you write them and gauge your performance by referring to your notes.
Do not get discouraged if you find a challenging problem in past examinations. Instead, research more extensively and consult more. Remember, every difficult question is a stepping stone to better understanding and the best route to excel in your exams.
Key Takeaway
Your score at the end of the semester engineering exam is the sum of your effort throughout the semester. You should attend all classes, write notes and apply the above tips in your study. If you follow the seven tips, a good grade awaits you at the end.