Issue date: 4/30/09 Section: News

As finals week approaches, many students turn to the library to write papers, study, or even squeeze in a nap; Candyce Perry, a junior family and consumer sciences major, works on homework with a friend Wednesday night in Booth Library. (Karolina Strack/The Daily Eastern News)

The most effective ways to study for finals according to Eastern students and faculty vary.

The hard work of the semester is over, and finals are just around the corner.

With the majority of tests, quizzes and homework in the past, how a student studies for his finals can make or break his grade.

Faculty members usually take time to prepare students as the finals close in at the end of the semester.

"I answer all their questions about the final, and what kind of final it will be," said Parley Ann Boswell, a professor of English. "I hold extra office hours. If they can't come in, I'll answer their questions online."

Boswell teaches literature courses, and finds the most effective way to study for finals is to reread notes. When students get to a place where they do not understand the material, they should contact their professor.

Keep in mind each professor has a different way of preparing his students for finals.

"I post objectives on the Web and I tell them to go over all previous homework," said Cherie Lehman, instructor in the physics department.

Minh Dao, a professor of economics, gives his students a review sheet to study for their finals, usually about a week in advance. In addition, he includes class time in order to review.

"I'm pretty confident they're prepared for finals," he said. "Having said that, I think it's up to the students to study. It's only the main points, but they need to study hard."

Students choose a variety of ways to prepare for their finals.

"I lock myself in the study room and study for hours," said Emma Henigman, a junior nursing major. "I start on Friday night the weekend before my teachers give me a study guide and I go over notes."

Henigman said it is an effective way to study.

"Friday night I make a list of everything I need to do and get everything out," said Ricky Daniels, a junior hospitality major.

Saturday he will sleep in, and then eat.

"Then I'm going to the library until I go home and go to bed," Daniels said. "I study better at night in chunks."

Booth Library seems to be the place to go for some students.

"I study for finals by going to the library," said Jason Collins, a junior communication studies major.

He said the dorms are loud and it is quieter to go somewhere else.

Collins finds it effective to study alone because group members will often distract him from what he is studying.

Sean Jones, a senior history major, takes a different approach to studying for finals.

"The night before, I'll stay up and won't sleep at all," he said. "I'll buy a 5-Hour Energy drink and Red Bull. If there's a study guide I go through and I read it, answering each question and trying to memorize."

Jones starts the study guides a day or two in advance to work up to the exam.


Jennifer Brown can be reached at 581-7942 or at jebrown2@eiu.edu.

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