How to Study

What Do They Want to Know?
Many tests are as much a measure of the way you study— your 
ability to organize a mountain of material—as they are a measure of
your knowledge of the material itself. This is especially true of any
test that purports to measure knowledge spread across the years and
your mastery of a broad spectrum of material—the SAT; GRE; bar
or medical exam; exams for nurses, CPAs, financial planners, etc.; and
others. Which means the better you study, the better your score will
probably be on such tests.
Chapter 8
How to Study for Tests
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Before you can decide how to study for a particular test, it’s impera-
tive that you know exactly what you’re being tested on. Preparing 
for a weekly quiz is far different than preparing for a final exam. 
And the biggest final of your life is child’s play compared to “monster
tests” like the oral exams I faced before they allowed me to graduate
college—which covered everything I was supposed to have learned
in four years.
Studying for a standardized test like the PSAT, SAT, ACT, or GRE is
also completely different—you can’t pull out your textbook and,
knowing what chapters are being included, just “bone up.”
The structure of the test is also of paramount importance, not nec-
essarily in terms of how you study, but how you tackle it once you
get your test book.
What Are You Afraid Of?
Tests are scary creatures. So before I start doling out test-taking
techniques, let’s tackle one of the key problems many of you will face:
test anxiety, a reaction characterized by sweaty palms, a blank mind,
and the urge to flee to Pago Pago on the next available cargo ship.
What does it mean when someone proclaims they don’t “test well?”
For many, it really means they don’t study well (or, at the very least,
prepare well). For others, it could mean they are easily distracted,
unprepared for the type of test they are confronting, or simply unpre-
pared mentally to take any test.
We all recognize the competitive nature of tests. Some of us rise to
the occasion when facing such a challenge. Others are thrown off
balance by the pressure. Both reactions probably have little to do 
with one’s level of knowledge, relative intelligence, or amount of
preparation. The smartest students in your class may be the ones
most afraid of tests.
How to Study
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