Education Guides

How to Become a Boxer

How to Become a Boxer

Maybe your biggest dream has always been to fight like your favorite professional boxer or perhaps you want another outlet for your competitive nature. Either way, becoming a boxer is thrilling, exciting and will test your limits beyond anything you have ever experienced before. Tie on those boxing gloves and get ready to work out every muscle in your body. Most of all, as you prepare to follow the workouts of the greats like Ali and Evander Holyfield, follow these steps to become a boxer in your own rite and have a great time challenging yourself in the process.

1. Think like a boxer. The first and most important step in becoming a boxer is thinking like one. Ali didn’t spend his afternoons on the couch and neither will you if you’re serious about the sport. Scout out your local boxing ring and spend whatever time you can there each day or week. Many times you can get connected with a coach who sees you boxing, and other times you can find one through other resources in your area. It’s important to find someone you can trust and will help you achieve your goals as a professional/amateur competitive fighter and encourage you along the way.

2. Participate in boxing events. Every boxing club or gym will give you access to boxing events, otherwise known as “smokers” or “white collar nights”. Although training typically takes six to nine months before your first fight, you can get in-the-know and prepare for one through these resources, by talking to other amateur boxers and learning about events from your coach.

3. Get licensed. Get familiar with USA Boxing. This is the governing body of amateur boxing in the United States and will determine when and how you can fight. You’ll want to make sure to get licensed (which is a prerequisite before participating in any amateur fight) which isn’t difficult but just takes filling out some paperwork and paying the filing fees.

4. Know your division. Depending on your age, this will determine what division you are fighting in. A regular amateur is for ages 18-34, Junior qualifies people ages 17 and under and the Master division is for ages 35 and up. It’s also important to know the weight requirements for your division so be sure to thoroughly read the qualifications before getting set to compete.

5. Win your first tournament. As you win that first local tournament, you will begin to move up the ranks and that’s when the fun really begins. You will begin to compete against other winners in your competition level, which will then continue on to the U.S. Amateur Championships.

If you’re just starting out, it may seem like you have quite a few “to-do” things on your list to tackle before you’ll be ready for your first fight. Although it can be tedious, you’ll find that fighting is an addictive sport and well worth the time and effort it took to get there.

Author Bio: Heather J. writes on behalf of BoxFitUK.com, your source for Rival Boxing gear!

How to Pay for College

Ways to Pay for College

Mounting student debt and rising college tuition prices have both been major subjects in the media recently, which has raised questions as to whether or not higher education is really worth the cost. Despite these rising tuition rates and the buildup of debt, most experts still agree that the majority of Americans would benefit from taking advantage of higher education opportunities. However, this still leaves students with the difficult question of how to pay for college despite a dwindling job market and loan requirements. Fortunately, there are still some accessible methods students can take advantage of to help pay for college and invest in a better future.

Taking Advantage of Scholarship Opportunities

It’s always best for students to consider scholarship opportunities before loans, since scholarships don’t require repayment and certainly don’t carry with them the burden of interest rates. The following list includes good websites to utilize when searching for a good scholarship:

These websites are good for connecting you with several different scholarship opportunities that range anywhere from academic awards to minority scholarship awards. Sports scholarships are also great for going to school while performing in the sports team of your choice. Although these scholarships can certainly be very helpful to help pay for college, one of the most helpful scholarship programs can be found through your current college and through your state. Many states have special programs for residents who have performed especially well in high school either academically, in sports, or in some specific subject.

If you continue to perform well at the college you attend, your school is also likely to offer rewards in the form of scholarships. Something important to remember when it comes to scholarships is that you can pretty much find one for just about anything. From being left handed to wearing a duct tape dress to prom, there are scholarships available for wacky subjects that seem completely unrelated to education. If you struggle with academics or are intimidated by the competition, it might be best to look into these alternative kinds of scholarship programs.

Joining the Military

When you make the noble decision to serve your country in the military, you are rewarded by several federal programs that allow you to attend an institute of higher education for free, receive benefits on housing, healthcare, and benefits for your dependents. If the cost of college seems overwhelming to you, joining the military may be a great decision. Not only does joining the military provide you with a paid education, it also gives you invaluable experience learning the various skills necessary for each job and experiencing new countries and cultures. These life lessons not only help you become more well-rounded as a person, but can also make you more valuable in the job market because you have more skills to offer.

Applying for Grants and Loans

Federal grants are similar to scholarships in that you don’t have to pay the money back; however, grants are usually preferred because they don’t require much (if any) work from the recipient. Students who come from low-income backgrounds usually qualify for the Federal Pell Grant, which can add up to $5,000 in aid per year for qualifying students. Although grants are ideal, many students don’t qualify for them and have to take out loans to pay for college. The following loans are available for students who need assistance paying for college:

Getting a Job

Rising tuition means that very few students are lucky enough to juggle classwork and homework without maintaining a part or full time job on top of that. Unfortunately, having a job is absolutely essential to making the cost of college easier on the student. In extreme cases, some students are forced into the position of taking on a full time job during the day while attending night classes just to be able to make ends meet. Fortunately, there are alternative options for paying for college besides employing a sugar daddy to help out.

Starting Your Own Vending Machine Business

Thinking of starting your own vending machine business? Take this quick quiz to determine if the vending business is for you.

1. When your boss is out of the office for the day, you are most likely to___

(a) Finish your current assignment and organize the materials for the presentation.

(b) Finish your current assignment and leave a little early.

(c) Work on your current assignment, with breaks for checking Facebook.(d) Spend all day updating your Facebook profile and posting pictures.

How to Start Your Own Vending Machine Business

How to Start Your Own Vending Machine Business

2. Your financial monitoring habits are best described as___

(a) Reconciling down to the last penny.

(b) Scanning monthly statements for suspicious activity.

(c) Scanning bank statements for significant overdrafts.

(d) Waiting to see if the ATM screen says “insufficient funds.”

3. Your standard procedure at a party is ___

(a) Working the room because you enjoy meeting new people.

(b) Parking yourself by the snacks and making small talk with other grazers.

(c) Hanging out and “people watching.”

(d) Hard to say because party memories are so fuzzy.

4. Your primary means of transportation is___

(a) A car or truck.

(b) Public transportation.

(c) Walking.

(d) The back seat of other people’s cars.

5. The area where you live is best described as___

(a) A city or town.

(b) A rural community.

(c) A remote outpost.

(d) Desolate and/or uncharted.

If all your answers were (a), congratulations:

1. You are self-directed and motivated.

2. You are good at managing money.

3. You enjoy interacting with people.

4. You have reliable transportation.

5. You live in a populated area with a number of viable locations for a vending machine. Visit an online retailer like www.1800vending.com to see how you can launch your business.

If some of your answers were (b), you should think about whether you are willing to do what it takes to succeed in vending machine sales:

1. You have to be willing and able to take initiative.

2. You need to keep detailed, accurate financial records. The IRS does not have a relaxed attitude about these things.

3. You need the social skills for building and developing contacts and negotiating potential sites.

4. You will need reliable and efficient transportation.

5. You need consumers. Whether you operate a soda vending machine or a hot food vending machine, your business cannot succeed if there are not enough consumers to create a demand.

If most of your answers were (c):

Although it’s good that you like to “go with the flow,” you may not be the best candidate for vending machine sales.

If most of your answers were (d):

It’s possible you should not even be buying things from vending machines.

Jessica writes about a wide variety of topics.  She especially enjoys writing about business. You can learn more about vending machine business at http://www.1800vending.com/

Where to Get Fake Money for Your Child

Where to Find Play Money for Your Kid

Knowing where to get fake money for your child can pay off dividends when it comes to teaching them how to count currency, identify the various types of cash notes, and be a responsible consumer. Plus, younger children may be prone to rip or tear bills as their curious hands explore the texture, so using fake currency will save you from losing real money.

Fake Money on the Internet

Thanks to the Internet, fake bills can easily be downloaded or printed directly from the website. Here are some of the best (and safest) sites I’ve come across:

Counterfeit Money from Other Sources

While the Internet is a convenient source for fake currency, you will also find it available from other sources. Here are a few to try:

Now that you know where to get fake money for your child, it’s time to begin the process of teaching them about how the economy works. You may be surprised at how fast they pick up these lessons, and parents with more than one mortgage and steep credit card debt might expect to receive some sound financial advice from their kids.

How to Become a Teacher

How to Become a Teacher

The old adage, “Those who can’t do, teach.” is a load of crap. As a fourth generation teacher (my great-great-grandmother taught Arithmetic in the early part of the 20th century) I can promise you that a teacher does more work and earns greater rewards than any other occupation.

If you’re wondering how to become a teacher, follow these steps:

Forget everything you’ve heard. There have never been more routes to becoming a teacher than there are now. As the population increases and the demand for teachers grows, so do the methods of becoming a teacher. You used to have to go to a teacher’s college or normal school to learn how to become a teacher, but there are now alternative and emergency certifications and plain old bachelor’s degrees. Because every state has different requirements for earning a teacher’s certificate, your own means of becoming an educator may differ from the plan outlined below. But most people in America will find these baby steps useful in their pursuit of a career in education.

The Process of Becoming an Educator

The process of becoming a teacher can start in many ways. You can enroll in a certificate program at an accredited university (even some online programs offer teacher certification courses) or look for “alternative methods” for teacher certification. Both traditional and alternative teacher certification programs are designed in such a way that you can get your certification or degree while you work another job. It’s common for teacher’s certification courses to take place at night or on the weekends.

Once you finish your degree or certification program, you’ll have to pass a test (called Praxis) to determine your academic abilities, skill at education, and the extent of your knowledge in your area of certification. Once you pass the Praxis tests and complete your certification program, you can apply for the physical teaching certificate from the state in which you want to be certified. When you are granted your teaching certificate, you’re free to apply for teaching jobs wherever your teaching certificate is recognized.

How to Become a Teacher

How to Become a Teacher

Public schools require one of these certificates, but many private schools are willing to hire teachers without certification. The difference is often your pay rate — private schools often save money by paying teachers less than public schools, although this isn’t always the case. Even if you want to teach at a private school, a certificate could help you earn more money, get jobs more easily, and make your employer more comfortable with your abilities as a teacher.

Examples of Teacher Requirements by State

In California, the state that boasts the highest average teacher salaries in the country, there are several “incentive” programs to convince people to enroll in teacher certification courses. There’s no one answer to the question of “how to become a teacher in California” — in fact, California has been recognized for its teacher certification programs. BTSA (Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment) is a state-funded teacher induction program that helps newly credentialed teachers in finding and keeping work.

The state of Illinois (with a low cost of living and a relatively high compensation rate for its teachers) is one of a handful of states in the country that will honor just about any state’s teacher certificates. The state of Illinois is also one of just a few states that automatically recognizes people who have completed necessary coursework for teacher certification and automatically recommends the state grant them a license. Because of the low cost of living and the state’s willingness to recognize other state’s certificates, Illinois is one of the most “teacher friendly” states in the country.

Though the state of Mississippi has one of the lowest starting salaries in the country for teachers (less than $29,000), they are ranked number one in terms of giving raises, with teachers earning over an average 50% raise in the first ten years of their careers. Wondering how to become a teacher in Mississippi? Thanks to one of the country’s worst job performance records in the recent past, the state’s teacher certification requirements have gotten tougher in recent years. If you want to teach in Mississippi, you’d do well to earn a teaching certificate at the college level, and those prospective teachers with Master’s degrees will find it that much easier to get work.

Benefits of Teaching – It’s Not Just about the Money

Depending on what part of the country you teach in, the money alone could be enough to draw you toward a career in education. In California, for example, the average teacher’s salary is around $60,000, with an average of a 50% raise over ten years.

Some states compensate their teachers far less. South Dakota’s average teacher salary is almost half of California’s, at just $34,000.

Aside from salary, teacher’s unions across the country fight hard for their members, providing good pensions and health insurance benefits long after retirement.

There are more benefits to being a teacher than a paycheck. No joy in the world compares to seeing a student grasp a concept right in front of your eyes.

Once you’ve been a teacher for a few decades, you may find yourself teaching the children of your former students, or even the grandchildren. Seeing generations of a single family through their formative years is a benefit unto itself.

Don’t forget summer — unless you teach in a year round education district, teaching offers you a couple of months’ worth of built in vacation during your students’ summer break. But many teachers find themselves tutoring or working other jobs during their time off, either to make ends meet or keep themselves busy.

If you or someone you know wants to know how to become a teacher, take encouragement from the fact that educators will always have work. A teaching certificate is the perfect fall back option for any other career, any many people who burn out at other jobs find themselves gravitating towards a career as a teacher. If you’re looking for a career with rewards beyond your bank account, consider becoming a teacher.

Resources

How to Become an Actor or Actress

How to Become an Actor or Actress

Being a world famous entertainer is a glamorous dream. If you want to learn how to become an actor or actress, you’re going to need patience, perseverance, and the ability to take criticism. Most people in the acting profession wait years for their big break, going to endless auditions and improving their ability to act. Persevering doesn’t guarantee that you’ll become a big star, but it does mean you’ll give yourself a chance.

You’ll need certain skills to become an actor or actress. You’ll also need to take certain steps to move forward in the profession. These skills and steps comprise the traditional path to becoming a Hollywood, Broadway, or television actor.

Move to Los Angeles or New York City

You won’t be “discovered” in Peoria. People need to move to the places where the jobs are in their field. Acting jobs are found in New York and Los Angeles, so if you want to become an actor or actress, that’s where you need to be.

If you don’t want to move to one of these two cities, your chance of getting a job becomes much lower. You might become a skilled stage actor in a local theater, or enjoy a hobby as an amateur actor or actress in community theater, but you’re not going to become a big time celebrity or Hollywood star. If have no interest in living in Manhattan or LA, that’s all right. But you won’t become a successful film actor.

Take Acting Classes

Join a drama club or take a drama class. Be on stage performing and get whatever instruction you can. Learn the craft and decide whether or not you enjoy being in front of an audience.

How to Become an Actor

How to Become an Actor

Successful actors and actresses improve their acting ability their entire lives. While models, singers, athletes, and celebrities of all types might get acting jobs, if you’re none of those things, improving your ability to act is your ticket to the big time.

Find a good class and an acting instructor you trust. Learn your trade.

Get a Head Shot

A head shot is a photo you include with your resume. Producers are looking for people with the right look for a part, so your head shot tells them if you have the look.

Before having your head shot taken, get your hair styled by a professional.

To become a famous actor, it helps to be attractive and have nice features, especially if you’re female. But even if you aren’t, there are jobs in television and movies that need an unorthodox look or an everyday kind of attractiveness. Character actors are often the most-skilled actors on the set.

Build a Resume

Start building a resume of the acting work you’ve done. Get in front of an audience or camera any chance that you can, so that you have something to put on your resume. Do school plays, commercials, and anything else you can.

Once you start to build up your list of acting accomplishments, drop the less impressive performances off your resume. This way your resume is constantly improving.

Contact Agents & Casting Directors

Write a brief cover letter, then send your head shot, resume, and cover letter to the casting directors and agents in the city. Follow up with an update every 4-6 months of your current projects.

Getting an agent is important, because they can help you network for jobs. Do your homework and sign with a reputable agent. A good agent will be able to advise you on which acting gigs are realistic and which acting gigs will help your career move forward.

Getting an agent and sending your resume and head shot around gets you in the game. A producer might not think you’re right for their current project, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be perfect for their next production.

Read the Trade Papers

The trade papers let you know what’s being casts and where to send your head shots. Read the trade papers all the time, no matter how depressing your lack of current work might get. Keep your eye on the prize. Most actors didn’t become famous overnight.

The trade papers you need to read include Variety, Backstage, The Ross Reports and Dramalogue. Finding online trade publications that keep you updated too. Any publication that gives you the names and mailing addresses of relevant producers and directors should be among your reading material.

Network the Entertainment Scene

Accept invitations to any industry events or industry parties you’re invited to. Entertainment is a who you know business. Networking and meeting new business contacts is essential.

Even if these people may not be on top of the world, almost everyone at these industry parties is ambitious. A few have big talent. You never know when one of these people will become the next big actor, director or producer. Make friends with everyone and avoid making enemies.

Get Ready for Disappointment

Read a few Hollywood biographies to see how long some people faced disappointment and rejection. Actors and actresses talk all the time about the dozens and dozens of auditions where they read and never got the callback. That’s the nature of the business.

Keep persevering, keep networking, keep improving, and you might just get your big break. The acting profession is one of the most highly competitive fields in the world. Who doesn’t want to be a movie star?

Keep Your Head in the Game

If what you’re doing doesn’t seem to be working, take more classes and improve your craft. Stay at it in the gym and don’t get out of shape. Look at everything you do as a way to further your acting career.

Resources

How to Write a Bibliography

MLA style is the most widely accepted “format” for a bibliography. Though there are other styles, knowing how to write a bibliography in MLA style will keep you in touch with what most schools and other institutions are looking for in a bibliography.

A bibliography is necessary for many reasons. Use a bibliography to acknowledge or give credit to sources you’ve used — these can be words, drawings, ideas, illustrations, quotes, or any other materials that you summarized or paraphrased when writing a document. Basically, a bibliography gives credit to those thoughts and thinkers that inspired you.

Writing Bibliographies

Any bibliography worth writing will include the author of the text, the title, the location of first publication, the publisher, date of first publication, and page numbers. Page numbers are really only important if you’re using a source like an article from a magazine, a journal, any periodical, a newspaper, encyclopedia, or an anthology. The following instruction will guide you through the process of writing bibliographies.

Author

How to Write a Bibliography

How to Write a Bibliography

When citing the author’s name, don’t write any “titles”, like Dr., Mr., Mrs., the Honorable, or whatever the title may be. It isn’t necessary for a bibliography. One exception to this rule in MLA style is the use of titles like “Jr.”, “Sr.”, “III”, etc. This is to differentiate between people with the same name. You have some wiggle room in MLA style bibliographies when listing an author’s name — you can write the last name first, followed by the first name and middle name, or you can leave out the middle name. You can also use a middle initial, or a full last name with initials for the first and middle name. Whatever style you like, as long as the last name is first.

Title

Simply list the title, unless the title on the front cover of the book is different from the title on the title page. In that case, always use the title on the title page for your bibliography.

You must underline the title and subtitle of a book, magazine, journal, periodical, newspaper, or encyclopedia. This helps to set off the title visually.

When citing a newspaper’s title, remember to include the location of the newspaper if it isn’t in the name. Add the name of the city or town after the title in square brackets — the most common example would be “National Post [Toronto].”

Place of Publication

Don’t simply use the name of a country, state, or county as your place of publication — make the place of publication specific to a city. When there are more than one cities listed, choose the very first city from the list in the book. You don’t have to cite the place of publication for sources from encyclopedias, magazines, journals, or newspapers — only books. If the city of publication is well known, don’t add the State or Province afterwards. We all know that New York is in New York, and Chicago is in Illinois.

If you learn MLA style for bibliographies you’ll be doing yourself a favor. It is the most widely accepted bibliography style, and when you don’t know what style of bibliography you need, MLA will always work in a pinch.

How to Write a Research Paper Outline

Sooner or later, a teacher or professor is going to want you to write an outline for your research paper. This might seem unreasonable piling on by your instructor, but term paper outlines actually help you build a blueprint for your paper, while getting your thoughts organized. So knowing how to write a research paper outline not only helps you get a better grade by satisfying your teacher’s whims, but it also helps you get a better grade, by helping you write a better essays.

Writing a Research Paper

Here’s are some tips for writing a research paper and summarizing it by providing an outline you can follow while writing.

Write a Thesis Statement

A “thesis statement” states the argument you are going to make in your essay. A thesis statement is a concise statement of the argument your are going to make. This statement is not a fact, but requires proof of some sort. The rest of your research paper is meant to be research and evidence presented that supports your argument or thesis.

Remember, a thesis is defined as an “unproved statement” put forward as the premise of an argument. Therefore, a thesis statement states the premise of your entire research paper. Your thesis should be stated in the first paragraph of your research paper, then everything else in the paper should go to proving that thesis. In the outline, it should be summed up in one sentence.

Example Thesis: Grape is the tastiest flavor of bubble gum on the market.

Write Your Outline – Use the Thesis as a Guideline

Next, start your outline. Major points in the outline are going to be numbered with roman numerals (I, II, III, IV, etc). This divides your research into various broad categories. This sets out the various methods you’re going to use to prove or disprove your thesis (disproving your thesis is valid, too).

Another way to look at the roman numeral outline points is they are different ways you’re going to look at the arguments. To prove that grape is the best flavor gum, you might divide the arguments into “Sales Figures”, “Taste Tests” and “Personal Endorsements”.

Proofs – Dissecting Your Research

Next, you’ll want to add alphebetical sub-headings underneath your roman numerals. These is going to be specific research under each of the headings we gave earlier: sales figures, taste tests and personal endorsements.

Under “Sales Figures”, you’ll want to get your hands on the sales data for each of the major companies, to show that the big gum companies sell more grape units than other units. Next, you might want to qualify those sales figures by seeing how much those companies push their grape products, by showing the amount of marketing that features grape ads. This might be harder to get, so you’ll probably have less space devoted to this in your actual term paper, so put it second in rank of importance.

How to Write a Research Paper Outline

How to Write a Research Paper Outline

Next, move on to taste tests. You’ll want to see what consumer polling shows, from taste tests over the years. Then you might want to conduct your own research, asking 10 or 20 different friends or family members which flavor gum is their favorite. Since the national taste tests involve a larger sampling, you’ll give it precedence in your essay.

Finally, you’ll want to look at personal endorsements. Here’s where your arguments get more subjective and spotty, but you can also switch gears and talk about depictions of gum in the culture. Start with celebrity endorsements and other famous people who have ever mentioned their favorite type of gum. Then move from paid endorsements to the placement of bubblegum flavors in the pop culture, to show that grape is mentioned more often in art, and therefore has made a bigger impressions on the culture as a whole.

Now you have your research paper outline. Below, you have a thesis, three methods to prove or disprove you thesis, and data to elaborate on those three methods. Once you pour through all that information, you’ll come to a conclusion about your thesis. Remember that when you write your paper, you’ll want to conclude your research paper with a paragraph or two summarizes your research, then coming to a definite conclusion.

This conclusion would read something like “…proves that grape is the best tasting bubblegum, according to sales figures, taste tests and references in the culture”. Or “…disproves that grape is clearly the best tasting flavor of bubblegum, due to lack of evidence through sales figures, consumer polls and pop culture references.” But that’s for later; right now, you have an research paper outline to hand to your teacher.

Thesis: Grape is the tastiest flavor of bubble gum on the market.

If your professor doesn’t dismiss your patently silly topic out-of-hand, you now can proceed with your research paper. Listen to any suggestions from your instructor as to changing points in your outline, if he or she doesn’t think they are cogent or likely to be provable. Ask for methods to prove any assertions that you’re having trouble proving. Writing your essay will be a lot easier, once you know how to write a research paper outline.

How to Study for a Test

Learning how to study for a test is going to improve your grades throughout your school years, from elementary school all the way through post-graduate university work. Getting organized and knowing what you’re going to be tested on is an important part of the learning process, so we’ll cover that as we talk about studying skills.

Knowing how to study make you an efficient student, and therefore a better student. Studying properly also eliminates a lot of the frustrations of homework and tough exams.

Know the Subject Matter

First, learn from your instructor exactly what you’ll be tested on. Teachers always tell the class what part of the curriculum the test is going to cover, so pass attention and write down the teacher’s words, so you know exactly what the test is about.

Next, collect all the materials you have covering that subject. This includes not only lecture notes, but worksheets and pop quizzes your teacher has given you in the meantime. Keep these papers in a folder specific to that particular class, so your study materials are organized.

Read on the Subject

Cover the reading materials you’ve been assigned for this testing period. Reading and paying attention is always going to make a test easier, so make an attempt to keep up with your reading.

If you’re cramming for a test and don’t have time to make up all the lost reading time, then keep your book with you. Skim over the book and get an idea what is being focused on in your reading, so you’ll have an idea which concepts to study most.

When a term or concept that you’re studying doesn’t make sense, look in the glossary at the back of the book to see where that subject is covered. Look up the pages where that term shows up in your assigned reading for this examination, then read enough to make yourself familiar with the concept. This is targeted reading, and therefore targeted studying.

Prioritize Study Notes

Mark which terms and ideas that were highlighted by the lecturer. Get the basic terminology down that’s used, which helps you in trying to understand everything else about the study material. Mark the study notes with stars or yellow highlights on the notes that are important, including definitions and keywords.

Make a Study Sheet

Spend 5 minutes typing up or printing off a worksheet, with all the various study subjects you’ve covered since the last test. This lets you check off what you’ve already studied, to let you make a checklist of study subjects. Make notes on the study sheet, if there are any materials you find are difficult to absorb or understand, then go back and study these a second time, after you’ve covered everything else.

Write Questions – Answer Your Questions

You or a friend of yours in the class can write questions you think will be on the test, leaving enough space for answers. Then you can answer the questions, using your book and study materials. This is the classic “open book test”.

Use Flashcards

How to Study for a Test

How to Study for a Test

When studying vocabulary or basic terms, put them on flashcards. Write the answer on the back of each card, which is a way of studying. Studies show that writing down a piece of information is like reading that information three separate times, ie reinforces word retention three times better than simply reading it silently.

Study in a Quiet Place

Remember to study in a place that’s quite and distraction free. Study in a library or quiet room. Don’t have on the tv or radio, and don’t study in a restaurant or off-campus bar. This is not efficient studying. Instead, spend time studying, then go out some other time into the social scene.

If you do decide to relax with some music, make it instrumental music with no lyrics. This means you won’t be distracted listening to a person sing about some other subject. Studies show that classical music makes people smarter and aids studying, but if you hate classical music, consider finding a good trance station or chill station on iTunes that plays instrumental trance or chill songs.

Repetitious Study

Repeat your studies over and over again. Don’t skim over the material once. Continue to drill this information into your head, until you know exactly what you’re studying.

Avoid Study Sessions

Unless you simply cannot force yourself to study, don’t have study sessions. While study groups often encourage each other and gives extra input on what the test is going to be about and/or which material is most important, study groups also tend to involve a lot of talk about stuff other than your test, so it’s inefficient in most cases. Make decisions based on your group of classmates and your study habits, of course.

If you’re a good student, though, you probably don’t need a study session to get prepared for the test.

Don’t Wait to Study

Don’t wait until the night before to study for the test. Study a little bit at a time (that is, do homework), so you don’t have to cram for the test. Cramming isn’t the best way to prepare for exams.

Continue to Brush Up until Test Time

After you finish studying for the test, continue to review your study materials in your mind. This lets you get settled in your mind the correct answers and internalize the concepts.

Studying for Exams

Studying for the big test is a classic school year situation. Once you learn how to study for a test, you can apply those study skills in just about every subject you study. You can apply those study skills on every level of your education.

Don’t be that student with a good mind and lots of potential, but who can’t apply himself or herself. Instead, learn how to study for exams and ace your next test.

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