- Don’t wait until exams to make your review notes. Since many summatives are open book, review notes will be your best friend. They allow you to quickly access all the information you have learned over the course of the semester easily, concisely and quickly. Even if your summative is not open book, creating review notes will help you go over all the relevant knowledge and establish the skills you will need to be comfortable with to get good mark.
- Ask your teacher to go over all the materials and tools you will need to bring for the summative. Before your summative, it is important to ask questions and be prepared. Knowing what exactly you will need for the summative will make you feel more calm and confident going into it. Make sure that all these materials are organized and easily accessible so that you don’t waste valuable time rummaging around in your bag for your protractor or pen.
- If your summative is an ongoing project: Make a plan for each day. Summatives can be daunting, especially when they are a large multi-faceted project spread out over the course of a few days. To budget your time properly, as well as reduce stress, break down the project into portions that you can accomplish on each day of the summative. For example. If you have to write a two paragraph assignment in three days, the first day; brainstorm, decide on all your points, and find all quotes. The second and third day; write a paragraph each! By setting realistic goals for each day, you are more likely to finish on time, and produce more detailed work than if you only had the one end goal in mind. (Make sure to budget at least one day for proofreading, practicing, or refining your project.)
- Read the rubric, instructions, or assignment sheet CAREFULLY! Summatives are a relatively huge part of your grade and it’s important to know what is expected of you. DON'T SKIM! Start each summative by calmly taking a few minutes just to read the assignment. By having a full understanding of what you need to do you will be able to get the most marks possible and prevent forgetting to complete parts of the summative. (Make sure you go through the rubric again before you hand in your final product to double check you have everything).
- Be on time (or early). On a usual day of school, you may walk into your class just after the bell rings, but while summatives are going on it’s beneficial to arrive on-time, or even a few minutes early. By being on time, you maximise the amount of time you have to complete your summative. It may sound silly, but the time really does add up.
- Study for the summative. It sounds pretty self-explanatory, but it’s important. Even if your summative comes in the form or a project, reviewing your course material is always a good idea. A great way to study for the summative is to go over old tests or projects and review the questions you may have lost marks on, and reminding yourself of what you do well. Even if it’s open book, you don’t want to waste time reviewing your notes in class. That time could be better used making your summative the best it can be.
- Make yourself as comfortable as possible. A good night’s sleep, a good breakfast or lunch, taking pre-emptive bathroom breaks, making sure you have a sweater if you're cold, or wearing a T-shirt if you're hot, are all ways to make yourself feel more comfortable during the summative. By being prepared and at ease makes it easier for you to focus during your summative.
- Use your summative as a learning experience for your exam. Whether you did well, or not well on your summative, the best thing you can do is use it as a way to better yourself for the exam. Ask your teacher if you can see your mistakes -not just your mark-before exam week.Ultimately, the best thing you can do to succeed on your summative is to do everything in your power to feel calm and confident. Make sure you have the knowledge, the tools, the plan, the understanding, and the time to do what you need to do. And remember, it's almost over. Good Luck!By: Alessia Collia
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