Improving Memory

Do you have a problem remembering facts? Does that one answer just elude you for minutes, hours, days, weeks? You get into the exam and are so worried that you forget everything. Although you know it you may just be stressed out causing your memory to cloud. Here are a few simple tips for you to do in an exam or any situation to recall the facts.

Tip #1: Relax

When we are stressed out our bodies release a hormone that will affect our ability to recall facts, figures or memories. This hormone acts like a cloud on our memory, slowing down recall which will frustrate us even more making the recall process harder. There are a few simple things you can do to relax yourself:

1. Deep breathing: focus on each breath, holding for about 3-5 seconds. Repeat this until you feel that you can focus and that the stress hormone has lowered.
2. Stretching: this will disperse the hormones around your body, loosen muscles and getting you ready for some serious writing. In an exam close your eyes, stretch your arms up right above your head and bring them down behind your ears, pushing your shoulders right back.

Tip #2: Cast your mind back, picturing any details your remember

Warm your brain up. I know this sounds a bit strange but it works, think back to when you were writing your study notes, try and recall what you wrote, drew etc. Think how you felt when you were writing up your notes and the examples that you were thinking about and any acronyms that may of thought of for recall. This will prepare you for writing the major facts to answer your exam questions.

Tip #3: Pretend to be an onlooker

Think that you were listening to yourself read out the notes. Memory can be blocked by strong emotions, such as stress or fear. Watch yourself in your mind writing the notes, remember the paper and any sample questions that your given.

Tip #4: Be flexible with your memory

You can think backwards, forwards, above, below or freeze frame. Let your memory recall the facts the way it needs to, don't restrict yourself to exactly how your notes or the order of your readings were done in. Simply try and recall what was written and how it applies to the question.

Tip #5: Don't Rush yourself

Yes this is hard to say in an exam situation, but set your time limits before you go into the exam. Know that for Part A you will spend 20 minutes per questions, for example. Do the administrative tasks of an exam before your even get to the exam, such as setting time limits and having your student card 

pre-signed to save time, giving you more time to focus on your exam questions. If you feel that you can't answer a question leave it and come back later. Write and highlight yourself a note of the questions you need to come back to so you do not forget about them, make sure it is somewhere you will see when you finish the other questions, such as the front cover of the exam paper.

I hope you will find these tips. Good luck with exams and study.

Assessment grid

In a previous post I mentioned setting up an assessment grid to keep track of your assignments, their due dates, prioritising and organising your semester, as well as seeing how far you have come and how far you have to go. I have created an assessment grid, which is adaptable to your semester and subject offering. It is available for free download for you to get started with the new semester organised. Simply click download below the image or embed if you would like to put it on your blog.

Assignment Grid by Emily

Similar documents are available by Newbie_pro on Scribd. Along with some study notes on brand management and business strategy.

Marketing Students: Brand Management study notes

Here is a link to brand management study notes for a brand management exam. They cover nine pages, reviewing the brand management process in the first two, then trends in brand management and managing brands over time. The notes are $2.99 per copy.
These are the study notes that I used for my exam study. Overall for brand management I got a distinction or 75% to 85%.

The process of brand management covers:

1. Brand Positioning:
1. Brand Mantra
2. Brand elements
2. Marketing Activities
1. IMC
3. Measure and Interpret brand performance
1. ROI
2. Market valuation
3. Income
4. Grow and Sustain brand equity
5. Building strong brands
1. Making brand choices
2. Building relationships
3. Managing brands over time

These marketing notes are detailed and provide a broad overview of what brand management is and how it is used. I hope that you may find the useful.

Relaxation music

Here is a clip I found on YouTube for relaxation music, in relation to my previous blog on exam study. It has helped me with my exam study, helping me relax and concentrate.
The instructions that came with the video are:

1. Put the music on a low volume so it feels like its in the background
2. Focus on the video and just imagine you are on that beach with your desk
3. Imagine the breeze as you sit with your laptop
4. Close your eyes and then take deep breaths for 30 seconds
5. Open your eyes and look at the beach again imagine you are their
6. Now minimise the window and get on with your work with the music in the background

I hope you enjoy

HSC Students

To all you HSC students out there Good Luck in your final year of school. This post is about where you can go for extra resources for your assignments, study notes and exam prep. This post is mainly for Australian students, but you can use these resources still if your not in Australia.

Study Notes for Exams

There are a number of free resources where you can get study notes for your subjects. These include:

• Bored of Studies: This site offers students the chance to interact with other people completing their HSC all over the country. There are free study notes provided, guides to university or tare and tips and tricks about the HCS papers.
• NSW HSC Online: This is an initiative by Charles Sturt University to provide HSC students with information on writing for exams, study information and resources and some short study notes for  55 subjects in the HSC, including Business Studies, Economics, Ancient History and various languages. There is also good information about how to write for your exams and your options after school.
• Board of Studies ARC: This site provides information on assessments in the HSC, including multiple choice questions and provides links to syllabus documents and past HSC papers.
• Sydney University CCE: They provide preparation courses for HSC students in NSW, as well as a guide to getting through the HSC.

It is good to start early in your preparation for exams and assignments. This will help you to get the higher marks in your class, school or state.

After High School

When you finish high school you may feel a big void in your life for about a month or two, I know I had this and so did a number of my friends. It is a good idea to have a plan for after school, what type of career you want, where you may want to work (location and firm wise) and what areas of interest have you had in school that may help you reach your goals.

Create a goal planner for yourself and hang in up on your door. Have a look at courses at university or tafe, this will give you an idea of the performance measures you need to reach in your final year of school. You can also have a look at the Jobs Guide which has information on almost all occupations you could think of and what education and training you will need to enter that career.

You can get information on specific university courses from your specific state or territories University Admission Centre.

Good Luck to everyone with their Exams and Future