What You Need to Succeed

Goal

To maximize your performance through preparation, organization, and practice.

Preparation (Educational Testing Service, pp. 2, 8-9)

Your preparation for the test should include learning what the test covers and studying areas you do not know very well. It’s also important to incorporate strategies for reducing test anxiety into your studying. Deep breathing, for example, has been shown to decrease anxiety. Slowing down your breathing helps your body to release tension and be in a more relaxed state. Since it’s impossible to be both relaxed and anxious at the same time, teaching yourself how to relax will go a long way toward decreasing your test anxiety. Here are some additional ways to reduce anxiety:

• Eat well and exercise. Be especially careful that you don’t disrupt your regular eating and exercise schedule to study for the test. Continuing your activities as usual will help you maintain your emotional and physical well-being.
• Studies have shown that lack of sleep can contribute to memory loss and lack of concentration, so get plenty of sleep throughout your studying schedule, and especially the night before the test. Lack of sleep could catch up with you at just the wrong time-when you are taking the test-so always be sure to get enough sleep.
• Continue to socialize with friends and family, and take study breaks regularly. Your emotional health is as important as your physical health for minimizing anxiety, so make sure you take time for some social interaction.
• Surround yourself with positive people who support your studying. Try to avoid friends and acquaintances with negative attitudes, especially negative attitudes about the test itself.

Deep Breathing & Muscle Relaxation Exercise (Educational Testing Service, p. 9)

Instructions: Practice the following techniques for several weeks or months in advance of the test.

• When you start feeling anxious, take a couple of long, deep breaths and exhale slowly. While you do this, it may help you to close your eyes and imagine a peaceful setting, such as a quiet, tree-lined pond.
• When you feel your body tensing up, focus on a particular group of muscles (e.g., the shoulders or scalp), and first contract them for about 10 seconds and then let them relax. Concentrate on the difference in the feelings and repeat the exercise, trying to get the muscles to relax more each time.

Tip: When you’ve become proficient in these techniques through practice, you’ll be able to use them during the test whenever you feel anxiety creeping up on you. They take only a few seconds to do and can make the test session a lot less stressful.

Organization (Educational Testing Service, p. 2)

In order to stay organized, create a clear study plan for the weeks leading up to the test and stick to that plan. When you find yourself wanting to deviate from your plan, reflect on the benefits of doing well on the test (i.e., a high grade, entrance into graduate school, advancement in a job, etc.). View the times you have set aside to study as an appointment. Just like you don’t break appointments with your doctor, don’t break your study appointments with yourself. In addition to scheduling study time, schedule time to relax and have fun. If you know that you’ll get to relax by watching a TV show tomorrow, for example, it will make it easier to stick with your commitment to study today.

Practice (Educational Testing Service, p. 2)

Practice for the test by becoming accustomed to sitting for a period of time, answering sample test questions if available, and pacing yourself. When we feel anxious, it is easy to overlook important details-details that may be crucial in order to answer test items correctly. Replicating the testing experience as much as possible ahead of time can result in calmer nerves the day of the test.

Next Step

Practice progressive muscle relaxation by watching the following video: