In a Flash: Using Note Cards to Ease Exam Anxiety by Joanna

In a Flash: Using Note Cards to Ease Exam Anxiety by Joanna - May 2016 Scholarship Essay

I awoke from my nap with my note cards scattered all over my body and bed with only a few minutes to spare to get to class. I lived more than 15 minutes away from school and only had 5 minutes to arrive in my classroom, where I would tackle my final exam. I didn’t have time to study, which I was planning to do beforehand with my 100+ note cards. Unable to pile all of the cards into a neat pile, I left them and ran to my car. I rushed to my car, leaving my Pepto-Bismol colored pajama pants on and forgetting to comb my hair, looking like the Bride of Frankenstein. As soon as I reached the classroom and sat at my desk, a wave of emotions and thoughts clouded my memory. I frantically took out my Scan-Tron and #2 mechanical pencil while my professor handed me my final exam. A wave of amnesia washed over me as I started bubbling in answers, coming to the realization that I might actually fail this class since the final exam was more than half of my overall grade. To my relief, I woke up from that horrible nightmare sweaty and bundled up in my blankets.

Although I felt extremely relieved that day, the real stress of not being prepared for an exam brings on all of the same stress symptoms. Visuals, audios, color-coded notes, outlines, and flash cards are all great study techniques students use to memorize information for their final exams. The study method that has especially helped me the most for final exams has been flash cards. Studying on my dining room table going over and over the terminology as well as the power point notes on the flash cards has seemed to work the best. Not only do they help jog my memory, but they also alleviate the stress that goes along with the final exam. Before I used note cards, I was often studying my notes and the professor’s power points and just reciting them over and over. It didn’t work and I felt like I had amnesia when I was handed the exam. Even though it takes a long time to write out each note card, by writing each word or power point slide and reciting them over and over it makes them ingrained into my mind. Now my exam anxiety is a thing of the past and the information just feels natural.