2 answers
Evelyn
Student
Burton, Michigan
1
Question
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What is the best way to study for a midterm or final exam?
Mainly for accounting or financial classes.
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2 answers
Wong Loke Yuen
Head of Programme cum Senior Lecturer
645
Answers
Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
Updated
Wong’s Answer
Hi Evelyn. As a lecturer in business and accounting, I know that preparing for midterms or final exams can feel stressful. Accounting and finance are different from other subjects because you need to understand the rules and also know how to apply them in problems. The best way to study is to combine reviewing your notes, practicing exercises, and actively testing yourself. Just reading your textbook or notes is usually not enough. Make a study plan early, and set aside time for understanding concepts, solving problems, and doing practice tests.
It is very important to understand the "why" behind accounting rules, not just memorize steps. For example, in financial accounting, know why certain transactions are recorded in a certain way and how they affect financial statements. You can use summary tables or diagrams to organize information. Also, breaking complicated topics into smaller pieces makes it easier to learn and remember them.
Practice is important: solve exercises from textbooks, past exams, and case studies. Studying with a small group can also help. Discussing hard topics and comparing how you solve problems with classmates can improve your understanding. But remember to spend time studying on your own too, so you are confident solving questions by yourself. Hope this helps. All the best.
It is very important to understand the "why" behind accounting rules, not just memorize steps. For example, in financial accounting, know why certain transactions are recorded in a certain way and how they affect financial statements. You can use summary tables or diagrams to organize information. Also, breaking complicated topics into smaller pieces makes it easier to learn and remember them.
Practice is important: solve exercises from textbooks, past exams, and case studies. Studying with a small group can also help. Discussing hard topics and comparing how you solve problems with classmates can improve your understanding. But remember to spend time studying on your own too, so you are confident solving questions by yourself. Hope this helps. All the best.
Thank you for the advice, Wong.
Karin P.
Lecturer, Academic Advisor, Career Coach
1085
Answers
Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany
Updated
Karin’s Answer
Hi Evelyn,
The best way to study for exams is always to study continuously during the semester and do all the work and all the problems.
If you are fairly current and understand the content, you just need to revise (I like to write a little cheat sheet - which of course I don't use during the exam) with the most important points and the few things that I tend to forget.
If there are any sections where I don't quite understand the theory yet, I'll read up on that before I start doing practice problems to see if I really understand and if I can actually use it in a practical problem.
Really understanding the material is key. College is not the place where you just memorize stuff and get by. If you understand, it should become fairly obvious how to do a problem.
What can also help you prepare for an exam is a study group. Everybody has different problem areas. Asking questions of each other and explaining things to each other are great ways to check and boost your understanding.
Also get your hands on some old exams. It helps to know the format and length of the paper, i.e. how fast you have to work, but also to see the type of questions the lecturer likes to ask. I use an old exam as practice run (under exam conditions) to see how I'd do. It's of course not graded, but you'll have a pretty good idea if you did well, just middling or terrible. You'll also identify the sections or type of questions you find difficult and can focus to catch up on those.
I hope this helps! All the best to you!
KP
The best way to study for exams is always to study continuously during the semester and do all the work and all the problems.
If you are fairly current and understand the content, you just need to revise (I like to write a little cheat sheet - which of course I don't use during the exam) with the most important points and the few things that I tend to forget.
If there are any sections where I don't quite understand the theory yet, I'll read up on that before I start doing practice problems to see if I really understand and if I can actually use it in a practical problem.
Really understanding the material is key. College is not the place where you just memorize stuff and get by. If you understand, it should become fairly obvious how to do a problem.
What can also help you prepare for an exam is a study group. Everybody has different problem areas. Asking questions of each other and explaining things to each other are great ways to check and boost your understanding.
Also get your hands on some old exams. It helps to know the format and length of the paper, i.e. how fast you have to work, but also to see the type of questions the lecturer likes to ask. I use an old exam as practice run (under exam conditions) to see how I'd do. It's of course not graded, but you'll have a pretty good idea if you did well, just middling or terrible. You'll also identify the sections or type of questions you find difficult and can focus to catch up on those.
I hope this helps! All the best to you!
KP