how to CRAM for an exam (the right way)

Summary

This video offers a strategic guide for last-minute exam preparation. It emphasizes prioritizing topics based on a 'cram matrix' that considers both topic weight and personal strengths. The presenter suggests starting with a high-level understanding, skimming chapter summaries, reviewing vocabulary, and using YouTube for clarification. Practice problems are crucial, and the video recommends various resources for them. Lastly, it advises on leveraging remaining time for peer quizzes or rest, underscoring the importance of sleep for memory consolidation.

Takeaways

• 📝 Prioritize topics based on a 'Cram Matrix' to decide which to review first, focusing on strengths and weaknesses in relation to how heavily tested each topic is.
• 🎯 Start with a high-level understanding of topics by asking priming questions to establish significance and key principles before diving into details.
• 📚 Use chapter summaries and vocabulary reviews as efficient ways to grasp the main points of a topic, as they tend to be concise and informative.
• 🤔 Utilize online resources like YouTube for clarifying confusing concepts, but ensure to review these alongside textbook materials for a comprehensive understanding.
• 📉 Practice problems are crucial for reinforcing learning, especially in STEM subjects, and should be the primary focus when time is limited.
• 📘 Textbook exercises, old exams, and AI-generated questions are valuable resources for finding practice problems to test your knowledge.
• 🗣️ Engage in active learning by teaching the material to a friend or explaining it out loud, which can help solidify understanding and identify gaps in knowledge.
• 💤 Prioritize rest before the exam, as sleep is linked to memory consolidation, and avoiding burnout can lead to better performance.
• 🔄 If short on time, focus on the most critical topics (Priority 1 and 2) and practice problems to maximize the effectiveness of your study session.
• 📝 Note-taking tools like Paperlike Pro can enhance the studying experience by providing a paper-like feel and reducing grip fatigue, which may improve focus and retention.
• 🔍 Use tools like Google Bard for summarizing lengthy videos or generating tailored practice questions to meet specific study needs.

Q & A

What is the first step in the cramming strategy mentioned in the video?

The first step is to strategically decide what to review by looking at the exam guide provided by the teacher and identifying which topics are tested heavily and which ones are tested lightly.

What is the 'cram Matrix' mentioned in the video?

The 'cram Matrix' is a method to prioritize exam topics by asking two questions: whether the topic is a strength or a weakness and whether it is tested heavily or lightly. Based on the answers, topics are reviewed in a specific order of priority.

Why is it important to prioritize exam topics when cramming?

It is important because when cramming, there isn't enough time to review everything. Prioritizing ensures that the most crucial topics are reviewed first, improving the chances of doing well on the exam.

What should you do before diving into the details of each topic?

Before diving into details, you should establish a high-level understanding of the topic by asking priming questions such as the significance of the topic, key principles, and how you would explain it to a 5-year-old.

What are the three suggested actions to further understand a topic after priming your brain?

The three suggested actions are: skimming the chapter summary, reviewing vocabulary, and patching any gaps by watching YouTube videos.

Why is rereading notes or textbooks not considered the most effective way to study?

Rereading notes or textbooks is not the most effective because it often involves passive learning. Instead, focusing on chapter summaries, vocab review, and interactive learning methods like videos can lead to better comprehension.

What is the primary method recommended for studying STEM subjects when cramming?

The primary method recommended is doing as many practice problems as possible, as this helps identify knowledge gaps and reinforces understanding.

What resources are suggested for finding practice problems?

The suggested resources for practice problems are textbooks, previous exams, and AI tools like Google Bard that can generate custom practice questions.

What should you do if you have extra time after covering all the prioritized topics and practice problems?

If you have extra time, you should call up a friend and quiz each other on the material, or pretend to teach the topics to reinforce your understanding.

What is the final piece of advice if you are short on time and need to cram for an exam?

The final piece of advice is to prioritize the topics and do practice problems. If possible, also ensure to get enough rest as sleep is linked to memory consolidation.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Exam Cramming Strategy

This paragraph introduces a strategy for last-minute exam preparation. The speaker advises prioritizing topics based on the 'cram Matrix,' which involves assessing whether each topic is a strength or weakness and how heavily it will be tested. The speaker emphasizes the importance of tackling the most difficult topics first, those being weaknesses that are heavily tested. They also suggest avoiding the common mistake of reviewing topics in the order they appear in the exam guide, which often leads to inefficient study habits. The paragraph concludes with a reminder of the discomfort that comes with learning and the importance of embracing it.

05:01

📝 Effective Study Techniques for Cramming

The second paragraph delves into effective study techniques for cramming. It starts by recommending establishing a high-level understanding of topics through priming questions, which help to identify key principles and ideas. The speaker then suggests skimming chapter summaries, reviewing vocabulary, and using YouTube videos to fill in any knowledge gaps. They also discuss the importance of practice problems, which should be the primary focus during cramming sessions, and provide three resources for finding these problems: textbooks, previous exams, and AI-generated questions. The paragraph concludes with advice on leveraging remaining time for peer quizzes or rest, emphasizing the role of sleep in memory consolidation.

Keywords

💡Cramming

Cramming refers to the act of studying intensively for a short period of time, typically just before an exam. In the video, the theme revolves around effective cramming strategies. The script mentions that students often wait until the last minute to study, which is when cramming becomes necessary. The video provides a strategy called the 'cram Matrix' to prioritize topics for efficient cramming.

💡Exam guide

An exam guide is a document provided by teachers that outlines the topics to be covered in an exam, often indicating the weightage of each topic. The script emphasizes the importance of using the exam guide to decide what to review first when cramming, as it helps in strategically choosing topics based on their importance and the student's familiarity with them.

💡Cram Matrix

The Cram Matrix is a method introduced in the video to help students prioritize exam topics during cramming. It involves asking two questions about each topic: whether it's a strength or weakness and whether it's heavily or lightly tested. The script explains how to use the matrix to order topics from priority one (weaknesses tested heavily) to priority four (strengths tested lightly).

💡Priming questions

Priming questions are used to establish a high-level understanding of a topic before delving into specifics. The video suggests asking oneself questions like the significance of the topic or how to explain it to a 5-year-old. This approach helps in getting an overview before starting detailed study, as mentioned in the script.

💡Chapter summary

A chapter summary is a concise recap of the main points covered in a chapter, often found at the end of textbook chapters. The script recommends reviewing chapter summaries as a part of the cramming process because they are information-dense and help in quickly understanding the key concepts of a topic.

💡Vocabulary

Vocabulary, in the context of the video, refers to the set of specific terms and definitions related to a subject or topic. The script suggests reviewing vocabulary as a part of the cramming strategy because knowing these terms can help in passing the exam, even if it's not the most effective way to study.

💡YouTube videos

The script recommends using YouTube videos as a resource to clarify confusing concepts during cramming. Watching educational content on YouTube can help in understanding difficult topics by providing different perspectives or explanations that might not be available in textbooks.

💡Practice problems

Practice problems are exercises that help in applying knowledge and identifying gaps in understanding. The video emphasizes the importance of doing as many practice problems as possible when cramming, especially for STEM subjects, as it's a key way to consolidate learning and prepare for an exam.

💡Google Bard

Google Bard is an AI tool mentioned in the script that can generate practice questions for students. It's an example of how technology can assist in the learning process by providing customized questions based on the topics and difficulty levels specified by the user.

💡Memory consolidation

Memory consolidation is the process by which information is transformed from short-term to long-term memory. The script advises getting rest before an exam because numerous studies link sleep to memory consolidation, suggesting that it's better to sleep after reviewing important topics than to stay up all night studying.

💡Quizzes

Quizzes, as mentioned in the script, are a method of testing knowledge and understanding of a subject. The video suggests using the remaining time to quiz each other with a friend, which can help in reinforcing learning and clarifying confusing concepts through teaching.

Highlights

Strategically decide what to review based on the exam guide.

Use the cram Matrix: assess each topic as a strength or weakness, and whether it's tested heavily or lightly.

Prioritize topics: weakness tested heavily first, strength tested lightly last.

Avoid reviewing topics you're already comfortable with first.

Establish a high-level understanding of each topic before diving into details.

Ask priming questions to get an overview: significance, key principles, and simple explanations.

Skim chapter summaries, review vocab, and watch YouTube videos for further understanding.

Rereading notes or textbooks is not the most effective way to study.

Knowing vocab definitions can help you at least pass the exam.

Use YouTube videos for confusing concepts and use tools like Bard for quick summaries.

Focus most of your time on doing practice problems.

Use practice problems from the textbook, previous exams, or generate them with AI tools.

If you have time left, quiz each other with friends or explain topics to someone else.

Get some rest to help memory consolidation instead of staying up all night.

If very short on time, prioritize the topics and do practice problems.

Transcripts

all right so you decided to wait until

the last minute to study for an exam and

now you're sitting there you're a little

bit nervous you're not too sure if

you're going to do well don't worry in

this video I'm going to break down my

strategy for cramming for an exam all

right so first and foremost you have to

strategically decide what to review

chances are your teacher handed out an

exam guide that breaks down every single

topic that's going to be on the exam and

it probably even tells you which topics

are going to be tested heavily and which

ones are going to be tested lightly your

goal is to look at this list of topics

and be very diligent about which ones

you choose to review first look I think

the mistake many students make

especially when they're cramming and

trust me it's one that I've been myself

is that they'll look at this exam guide

and just cover all the topics in order

they'll be like oh okay this exam guide

lists 10 topics so I'm going to review

all 10 in this exact order but when

you're cramming you unfortunately don't

have time to review everything that's

going to be on the exam which is why I

want you to use something I like to call

the cram Matrix for every single topic

on the exam guide ask yourself two

questions one is this a strength or a

weakness and two is this tested heavily

or tested lightly and based on your

responses to these two questions you'll

be able to figure out the exact order to

review the exam topics if it's a

weakness that's tested heavily that

becomes priority number one if it's a

weakness that's tested lightly that

becomes priority number two if it's a

strength that's tested heavily that

becomes priority number three and if

it's a strength that's tested lightly it

becomes priority number four and look I

know that sounds a bit obvious but back

in High School I would often forget to

do this in fact I genuinely believe if

you don't take time to prioritize your

exam topics most students will naturally

review priority 4 topics first which is

a mistake because those are the topics

you probably don't have to review and

the reason this happens is because

priority 4 topics are the ones we're

most familiar with so as we're cramming

for an exam it makes us feel most

comfortable to review the topics we're

already familiar with and look as I've

said in previous videos and as you've

probably heard online if you're

uncomfortable it probably probably means

you're learning and look I know it's

going to be uncomfortable to tackle

those Priority One topics first but if

you're watching this video I believe in

your ability to do so okay now that you

have a prioritized list of exam topics

you might be sitting there wondering

gohar how do I actually go about

studying these topics and this leads me

to my second piece of advice first

things first you need to cover your

bases so instead of diving right into

the topic and memorizing all the little

details like random formulas and vocab

words try to establish a high level

understanding of the topic first and a

great way to do this is to ask yourself

some priming questions for example ask

yourself what is the significance of

this topic what are some key principles

and ideas that underly this topic how

would I roughly explain this topic to a

5-year-old the goal here is to get a

rough overview of what it is you

actually have to learn now once you've

sort of primed your brain I suggest you

do these three things to further

understand the topic one skim the

chapter summary two review vocab and

three patch any gaps by watching YouTube

videos and and look I do want to say

that rereading your notes or rereading

your textbook is not the most effective

way to study but remember right now we

are just trying to establish a high

level understanding of the topic

reviewing chapter summaries from your

textbook are great because they tend to

be very information dense and have

almost no fluff and then when it comes

to reviewing vocab this might be a

controversial take but I genuinely

believe knowing all of the vocab words

and their definitions will allow you to

at least pass the exam and once you've

gone through the chapter summary and the

vocab word for a particular topic now

it's time to review any of the concepts

that might be confusing by pulling up

YouTube videos now as you CR for an exam

it's important to have the right tools

and supplies which is where the sponsor

of this video comes in paperlike now if

you take notes on your iPad you might

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notes with the pen and a paper this is

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check out the paper like Pro bundle all

right now back to the video now if

you're really short on time and can't

watch entire YouTube videos I recommend

pulling up Bard pasting in the YouTube

URL and asking for a summary okay so

once you're done asking yourself priming

questions reviewing chapter summaries

reviewing vocab and watching YouTube

videos you should have now covered your

basis for a particular topic and this

leads me to my third piece of advice now

it's time to drill down you need to do

practice problems as many as you can now

truthfully doing practice problems is

how you should be spending most of your

time when you're cramming for an exam

back when I was a senior in college

studying for one of my hardest math

finals I remember I spent 90% of my time

doing practice problems and the other

10% reviewing my notes or online

resources and practice problems are

great especially for stem classes

because this is where you'll pick up on

knowledge gaps and those little bits of

information you need to Ace your exam

it's one thing to just learn the method

for solving a problem and it's another

to actually practice using it okay but

now where do you find practice problems

here are three resources that I

recommend number one you can do practice

problem straight from the textbook

chances are at the end of a chapter

you'll find anywhere between like 5 or

20 practice questions that you can do to

test your knowledge now if your textbook

doesn't have any practice problems you

can do practice questions from previous

exams for example if you're studying for

a mum or a final bring up old exams and

try to answer the questions once again

and finally if you don't have practice

problems in your textbook and don't have

access to previous exams you can use AI

to generate practice problem head to a

tool like Google bard tell it which

topics you want to review tell it what

grade you're in and ask it to generate

some practice questions the best part

here is that you you can adjust the

questions to meet your needs for example

if you want practice multiple choice

questions just say so if you want

practice open-ended questions you can

also say that you can also ask the AI to

generate harder or easier questions and

you can keep doing this until you feel

ready for the exam okay let's say you've

covered your bases and you've done like

a dozen practice problems for every

single topic if you still have time left

over well first of all congratulations

and here's my advice for how you can

leverage any remaining time you might

have call up a friend and quiz each

other maybe just talk for 15 to3 minutes

ask each other clarifying questions and

help each other understand confusing

Concepts you know one of the best ways

to understand a challenging topic is to

pretend to teach it shout out the findan

technique if you can get on the phone

and distill complex topics and explain

them to your friend in clear and concise

sentences chances are you have a pretty

solid grasp on the material okay but

let's assume you don't have time to talk

to your friend and it's getting pretty

late that leads me to my fifth piece of

advice get some rest numerous studies

link sleep to memory consolidation so

assuming you've at least reviewed the

priority one and priority 2 topics

you're much better off going to bed and

consolidating that information than

staying up all night and feeling groggy

during your exam the next day all right

guys so those were my five tips and

let's just say you have almost no time

at all to study do at least tip number

one and tip number three prioritize the

topics and do practice problems be sure

to like And subscribe if this video was

helpful and best of luck on your exam

coming up I know you're going to crush

it