Divine, James H., and David W. Kylen. How to Beat Test Anxiety
and Score Higher on Your Exams. Woodbury, New York: Barron's Educational Series,
Inc., 1979.
How to Beat Test Anxiety and Score Higher on Your Exams begins by helping students
to understand how they experience test anxiety before helping them take steps to reduce
it. Suggestions on how to reduce test anxiety include replacing negative self-statements
with self-affirming statements, and learning how to relax. The second half of the book
focuses on developing test-taking skills, especially those required for multiple choice
questions. Fleet, Joan, Fiona Goodchild, and Richard Zajchowski. Successful
Learning. London, Ontario: University of Western Ontario, 1987.
Successful Learning is an introduction to study skills, an earlier version of Learning
for Success. There is an inventory at the beginning to help students identify their
strengths and weaknesses followed by chapters on time management, essay writing, science
problem solving, exam preparation, and others. The authors encourage students to be
strategic, to study "smarter not harder."
Hanau, Laia. The Study Game. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1979.
The Study Game is well titled because the author approaches studying as if it were
a game which students can learn how to win. It covers reading for information, conveying
that information, consolidating information for exams, and writing exams. The language is
informal, frequently using point form rather than complete sentences, and the text
accompanied by sketches, arrows, and circled major points. Students who like mind-mapping
and take non-linear notes, will find this book helpful.
Jones, Bill, and Roy Johnson. Making the Grade. Manchester, UK:
Manchester University Press, 1990.
In two volumes, Making the Grade shows how to improve study skills. Volume I
examines input, learning new information, and Volume II examines output, presenting ideas
in papers and exams. The books are organized in brief segments with prescribed rest and
reflection. There are anecdotes to illustrate points and to help students deepen their
understanding of their own experience.
MacFarlane, Polly, and Sandra Hodson. Studying Effectively and Efficiently: An
Integrated System. Toronto: University of Toronto, 1983.
Studying Effectively and Efficiently: An Integrated System provides a brief
introduction (46 pages) to study skills. Topics include concentration, time scheduling,
listening and lecture note taking, reading and learning from textbooks, writing papers,
and preparing for exams. The book contains a brief, clear explanation of the mechanisms of
learning and memory.
Pauk, Walter. How to Study in College. Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Company, 1984.
How to Study in College is a book that covers a wide range of study skills, from
improving memory to answering specific types of exam questions. It is particularly strong
in dealing with reading and note taking skills, not surprising considering that the author
is a researcher in reading. The book is well organized with a thorough table of contents
and index. Each chapter has a self-test to promote learning and remembering.
Richardson, Frank C. Coping With Exam Anxiety. Editor. Arlene Young.
Athabasca, Alberta: Athabasca University, 1990.
This book uses an informational learning approach to help students understand and reduce
their exam anxiety. The book will help students understand the extent to which their
difficulty with exams is due to preparation or anxiety. For many students, reading the
book and doing the exercises will be sufficient to reduce their anxiety. Others may also
wish to seek the help of a counsellor. Athabasca University Students can obtain the book,
free of charge, from the Athabasca University Students Association (AUSA).
Sullivan, Kathleen E. Paragraph Practice. New York//London: Macmillan
Publishing Co., Inc.//Collier Macmillan Publishers, 1984.
If professors or tutors criticize students' paragraphs, Paragraph Practice can
help. It explains what a paragraph is and how it differs from other writing. The author
breaks the paragraph down into its parts, and shows how several of them can be united to
form a brief compositionthe kind of composition written for exams and tutor marked
assignments.
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