Passing Exams For Dummies (2^nd Ed.)

Do you panic at the thought of exams? Do you think you're just not the academic type? No matter how old you are, exams can be stressful?but they don't need to be. This essential guide provides expert tips on how to change your mindset, improve how you learn and revise, control your anxiety, and get good marks?whether you're studying at school, college, or university, or to advance your career.

In Passing Exams For Dummies, you'll get hands-on, expert help to find out what motivates you and how you learn best; make your brain more receptive to incoming information and cope with exam pressure and anxiety; improve your reading style and condense your notes using visual mapping techniques; learn association techniques using memory pegs; use visualization to mentally and physically rehearse passing your exams; and more.

• Fully updated to reflect new research in how the brain thinks, learns, and remembers
• Information on the key role that astrocytes play in learning and the five key principles for rapid learning (attention, sensory input, solid effort, emotion and time sequence) that get these astrocytes engaged more quickly
• Reworking of terminology used in the model of the mind to bring the book fully up to date and simplify the content

If you're preparing for a school, college, university, or career-related exam, Passing Exams For Dummies has you covered.

Introduction 1

Part I: Releasing Your Potential to Pass Exams 7

Chapter 1: Passing Exams: Preparation Is Everything! 9

Chapter 2: Meeting Your Amazing Brain 21

Chapter 3: Discovering How to Learn 43

Chapter 4: Thinking Strategies for High Performance 63

Part II: Relaxing Comes First 85

Chapter 5: Exploring the Power of Relaxation 87

Chapter 6: Finding Ways to Relax 93

Part III: Reviewing and Rewriting Your Notes 105

Chapter 7: Knowing Your Academic Purpose 107

Chapter 8: Reviewing Your Notes 115

Chapter 9: Improving Your Reading Techniques 119

Chapter 10: Preparing Your Study Notes 129

Part IV: Remembering with Pictures and Patterns 143

Chapter 11: Making the Most of Memorizing Skills 145

Chapter 12: Using Mnemonics: Simple Memory Techniques 155

Chapter 13: Fine-Tuning Your Memory: Advanced Visual Techniques 165

Part V: Rehearsing for Recall and Performance 177

Chapter 14: Rehearsing Your Recall 179

Chapter 15: Rehearsing Your Performance 185

Part VI: The Part of Tens 191

Chapter 16: Ten Tips for Exam Day: Before the Event 193

Chapter 17: Ten Tips for the Exam — No Going Back Now! 199

Chapter 18: Ten Ways to Maintain Momentum between Exams 207

Part VII: Appendixes 213

Appendix A: Planners 215

Appendix B: Relaxation and Visualization Scripts 219

Appendix C: Learning Style Quiz and Motivational Reminder 223

Index 227

Primary market:

• Students preparing for school, college and university exams
• Mature–age students
• People needing to study for career–related exams.

Secondary market:

• Teachers and parents
• Adult learners

Patrick Sherratt teaches and facilitates training in meta-cognitive knowledge and performance psychology. He holds a Masters degree in education and has written a number of educational resources for students, parents, and teachers.