{"id":5007,"date":"2025-05-30T09:00:36","date_gmt":"2025-05-29T23:30:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/student-health-and-well-being\/?p=5007"},"modified":"2026-02-16T09:36:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T23:06:12","slug":"evidence-based-study-exam-preparation-and-writing-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/student-health-and-well-being\/2025\/05\/30\/evidence-based-study-exam-preparation-and-writing-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Evidence-based study, exam preparation and writing tips"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #003366\"><em>Upgrade your study practices with tips from cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and education, empowering you to balance your academic workload, personal life, and well-being. Updated 16\/2\/26 with a clarification of spaced practice.\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>As a student, you already know how challenging it can be to balance your academic workload, your personal life, and your wellbeing.<\/p>\n<p>Studying effectively isn\u2019t just about cramming before exams. It\u2019s about developing habits and strategies that help you learn better, remember more, and (ideally) enjoy the process a bit more along the way.<\/p>\n<p>A while back, I started collecting evidence-based study and exam preparation strategies for university students. These ideas are drawn from cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and education research (including work from groups like the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.learningscientists.org\/\">Learning Scientists<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.retrievalpractice.org\/\">Retrieval Practice<\/a>), as well as the wisdom of counsellors and student support staff who have been helping students succeed for many years.<\/p>\n<p><strong>My goal is simple:<\/strong> To extract from the literature the strategies that have actually been shown to improve academic performance, and present them to you in a practical, usable format.<\/p>\n<p>These are learning strategies that won\u2019t just help you this semester \u2014 they\u2019re skills that can benefit you across your lifetime.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s inside the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/scl\/fi\/syps811m0ww2sg3373g19\/Evidence-based-study-tips.pdf?rlkey=rf53nuopk687i2dlijycmqdqv&amp;dl=0\">document<\/a>?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The current version covers topics such as:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Evaluating how you currently learn and identifying areas for improvement<\/li>\n<li>Preparing yourself for success (what conditions help you be a good student?)<\/li>\n<li>Making the most of lectures and tutorials<\/li>\n<li>Getting information into your head (learning and memory strategies)<\/li>\n<li>Getting information out of your head (retrieval and exam techniques)<\/li>\n<li>How to approach exams<\/li>\n<li>Common writing traps and how to deal with them<\/li>\n<li>Strategies that don\u2019t work (even though we still use them anyway)<\/li>\n<li>Embracing the social side of study<\/li>\n<li>Finding the fun in study<\/li>\n<li>Goal setting, time management, attention, motivation, and self-regulation<\/li>\n<li>Finding balance between study and the rest of your life<\/li>\n<li>What to do when things don\u2019t go so well<\/li>\n<li>Further reading<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It\u2019s an ever-growing, living <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/scl\/fi\/syps811m0ww2sg3373g19\/Evidence-based-study-tips.pdf?rlkey=rf53nuopk687i2dlijycmqdqv&amp;dl=0\">document<\/a>. I revisit it semi-regularly, add new ideas, refine existing ones, and upgrade it as my understanding of effective learning strategies improves.<\/p>\n<p>If you have suggestions, feedback, or a study\/productivity strategy that\u2019s worked well for you, I\u2019d genuinely love to hear it.<\/p>\n<p>The document is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/scl\/fi\/syps811m0ww2sg3373g19\/Evidence-based-study-tips.pdf?rlkey=rf53nuopk687i2dlijycmqdqv&amp;dl=0\">free to download<\/a> and use. Click the image below to access it.<\/p>\n<p>If you find it helpful:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Consider sharing it with peers<\/li>\n<li>Check out our <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/student-health-and-well-being\/2025\/05\/30\/preparing-for-exams-the-series\/\">Exam Preparation Series<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Or connect with the crew at <a href=\"https:\/\/students.flinders.edu.au\/support\/slss\">Student Learning Support Services<\/a> if you\u2019d like more hands-on support<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Remember: studying isn\u2019t just about getting good grades. It\u2019s about building skills, habits, and ways of thinking that support your future career and life.<\/p>\n<p>I hope you find something useful in it.<\/p>\n<p>Take care,<br \/>\nDr G<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/scl\/fi\/syps811m0ww2sg3373g19\/Evidence-based-study-tips-October-2025.pdf?rlkey=rf53nuopk687i2dlijycmqdqv&amp;st=9h5o9ex4&amp;dl=0\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-6775 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/student-health-and-well-being\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/71\/2025\/05\/evidence-based-study-tips-document-cover.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1545\" height=\"2000\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/student-health-and-well-being\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/71\/2025\/05\/evidence-based-study-tips-document-cover.jpg 1545w, https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/student-health-and-well-being\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/71\/2025\/05\/evidence-based-study-tips-document-cover-232x300.jpg 232w, https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/student-health-and-well-being\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/71\/2025\/05\/evidence-based-study-tips-document-cover-791x1024.jpg 791w, https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/student-health-and-well-being\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/71\/2025\/05\/evidence-based-study-tips-document-cover-768x994.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/student-health-and-well-being\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/71\/2025\/05\/evidence-based-study-tips-document-cover-1187x1536.jpg 1187w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1545px) 100vw, 1545px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dropbox.com\/scl\/fi\/syps811m0ww2sg3373g19\/Evidence-based-study-tips.pdf?rlkey=rf53nuopk687i2dlijycmqdqv&amp;dl=0\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-5861\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/student-health-and-well-being\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/71\/2022\/09\/look-up-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/student-health-and-well-being\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/71\/2022\/09\/look-up-1.png 1200w, https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/student-health-and-well-being\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/71\/2022\/09\/look-up-1-300x75.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/student-health-and-well-being\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/71\/2022\/09\/look-up-1-1024x256.png 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/student-health-and-well-being\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/71\/2022\/09\/look-up-1-768x192.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; Upgrade your study practices with tips from cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and education, empowering you to balance your academic workload, personal life, and well-being. Updated 16\/2\/26 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":492,"featured_media":6147,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,14977,15454,31,71,2159],"tags":[756,20293,20290,7336,20296,6916,20289,4039,19663,20291,11887,11794,32,20292,20287,20288,20295,18876,19063,20294,19553,1055,17420,65,7337,73,10750,18935,18851],"class_list":["post-5007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-skills","category-performance","category-productivity","category-psychological-tools","category-recommended-reading","category-workbooks","tag-academic-success","tag-active-learning","tag-essay-writing","tag-evidence-based","tag-exam","tag-exam-preparation","tag-flashcards","tag-learning","tag-learning-strategies","tag-memory-techniques","tag-mindset","tag-note-taking","tag-procrastination","tag-productive-study","tag-revision-techniques","tag-self-testing","tag-student-guide","tag-student-support","tag-student-wellbeing","tag-study-checklist","tag-study-habits","tag-study-skills","tag-study-strategies","tag-study-techniques","tag-study-tips","tag-time-management","tag-tips","tag-university-life","tag-writing-tips"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/student-health-and-well-being\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5007","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/student-health-and-well-being\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/student-health-and-well-being\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/student-health-and-well-being\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/492"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/student-health-and-well-being\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5007"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/student-health-and-well-being\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5007\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/student-health-and-well-being\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/student-health-and-well-being\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/student-health-and-well-being\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/student-health-and-well-being\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}