3 Days Before the Exam & I've 2 Words For You: Cramming. Bad.

Every advancement exam cycle, I await something in my In Box, that makes me cringe every single time I see one of these things.  Yes, the Type Commander’s 5-Year Budget Plan Request is one of them (every Supply Officer will agree with me on this one!).  But that request only comes once a year.

It is the inevitable Leave Request Chit that appears, magically, about 7 days before every advancement exam cycle – asking for the 3 days prior to the scheduled exam in order to: I am having a very, very, very hard time typing this word – STUDY!!!!!

Alright, let’s say it together now:  To What????  Why don’t you simply write the REAL reason you are asking for these Leave dates, shipmates? – In Order to begin CRAMMING for the advancement exam, Senior Chief.

So what is Leave actually used for?  To relax.  To re-charge your batteries.   To take time with your family and/or friends.  Where in the world does it say that Leave should be used to study for an advancement exam?  It simply means, the 5-6 months prior to the exam you did not have: A Study Plan.

Shipmates, the MOST ineffective way of studying is CRAMMING for an exam.  If you cram the night before you might be able to pass some parts of your exam, but you will remember nothing afterwards.  Trying to learn weeks worth of material the day before does not work either.

The night before is not a good time to learn much because you feel anxious anyway.   Additionally, you feel pressured, and probably guilty, for studying at the last minute, therefore you cannot concentrate very well.

And do NOT tell me that when you study ahead of time you do worse than when you study the day before.  Years of research on how to study are against you and that statement, shipmates!  If this is the way you feel that I can tell you this: you must be studying WITHOUT learning anything, or you have developed the negative habit of learning under pressure.  Both are ineffective ways of learning, and both can easily create anxiety.

So what do you do?  How do you, appropriately, prepare for your advancement exam?

Well, here is our Top Ten List on how to STOP THE CYCLE OF CRAMMING for an exam –

1."I Don't Know Where To Begin"
Take Control. Make a list of all the things you have to do. Break your workload down into manageable chunks. Prioritize! Schedule your time realistically. Interrupt study time with planned study breaks. Begin studying early, with an hour or two twice a week, and slowly build as the exam approaches.

2. "I've Got So Much To Study . . . And So Little Time"
Preview. Survey your bibliography, reading material, and notes. Identify the most important topics emphasized, and areas still not understood. Previewing saves time by helping you organize and focus in on the main topics. Adapt this method to your own style and study material, but remember, previewing is not an effective substitute for reading.

3. "This Stuff Is So Dry, I Can't Even Stay Awake Reading It"
Attack! Get actively involved with the references as you read. Ask yourself, "What is important to remember about this section?" Take notes or underline key concepts. Discuss the material with others. Study together. Stay on the offensive, especially with material that you don't find interesting, rather than reading passively and missing important points.

4. "I Read It. I Understand It. But I Just Can't Get It To Sink In"
Elaborate. We remember best the things that are most meaningful to us. As you are reading, try to elaborate upon new information with your own examples. Try to integrate what you're studying with what you already know. You will be able to remember new material better if you can link it to something that's already meaningful to you. Some techniques include:

• Chunking: An effective way to simplify and make information more meaningful. For example, suppose you wanted to remember the colors in the visible spectrum (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet); you would have to memorize seven "chunks" of information in order. But if you take the first letter of each color, you can spell the name "Roy G. Biv", and reduce the information the three "chunks".
• Mnemonics: Any memory-assisting technique that helps us to associate new information with something familiar. For example, to remember a formula or equation, we may use letters of the alphabet to represent certain numbers. Then we can change an abstract formula into a more meaningful word or phrase, so we'll be able to remember it better. The key is to create your own links, then you won't forget them.

5. "I Guess I Understand It"
Test yourself. Make up questions about key sections in notes or reading. Examine the relationships between concepts and sections. Use as many of the Quiz Site and Flash Card Site links as you can on our web site.

6. "There's Too Much To Remember"
Organize. Information is recalled better if it is represented in an organized framework that will make retrieval more systematic. There are many techniques that can help you organize new information, including:

• Write chapter outlines or summaries; emphasize relationships between sections.
• Group information into categories or hierarchies, where possible.
• Information Mapping. Draw up a matrix to organize and interrelate material.

7. "I Knew It A Minute Ago"
Review. After reading a section, try to recall the information contained in it. Try answering the questions you made up for that section. If you cannot recall enough, re-read portions you had trouble remembering. The more time you spend studying, the more you tend to recall. Even after the point where information can be perfectly recalled, further study makes the material less likely to be forgotten entirely. In other words, you can't overstudy. However, how you organize and integrate new information is still more important than how much time you spend studying.

8. "But I Like To Study In Bed"
Context. Recall is better when study context (physical location, as well as mental, emotional, and physical state) are similar to the test context. The greater the similarity between the study setting and the test setting, the greater the likelihood that material studied will be recalled during the test.

9. "Cramming Before A Test Helps Keep It Fresh In My Mind"
Spacing: Start studying now. Keep studying as you go along. A good approach, rather than Cramming can be to begin with an hour or two a day about one week before the exam, and then increase study time as the exam approaches. Recall increases as study time gets spread out over time.

10. "I'm Gonna Stay Up All Night 'til I Get This"
Avoid Mental Exhaustion. Take short breaks often when studying. Before a test, have a rested mind. When you take a study break, and just before you go to sleep at night, don't think about academics. Relax and unwind, mentally and physically. Otherwise, your break won't refresh you and you'll find yourself lying awake at night. It's more important than ever to take care of yourself before an exam! Eat well, sleep, and get enough exercise.

So the ONLY time I will sign a Leave request the week before an advancement exam is if a sailor is truthful with me:   “Senior Chief – I could use the rest!”

That sailor is prepared to succeed.