DO Study Smarter, Do NOT Study Harder, A

DO Study Smarter, Do NOT Study Harder, A

“Daig ng maagap ang masipag!” –Old Filipino Saying

by: Rev. Hope Jordan D. Guerrerro

      Teachers will tell you that the laziest boy in the class is the one who works hardest in the end. They mean this. If you give two boys, say, a proposition in geometry to do, the one who is prepared to take trouble will try to understand it. The lazy boy will try to learn it by heart [i.e., memorize the answer] because, for the moment, that needs less effort. But six months later, when they are preparing for an exam., [sic] that lazy boy is doing hours and hours of miserable drudgery over things the other boy understands, and positively enjoys, in a few minutes (Lewis 163). Many dread reviewing for an exam because it happens to be so hard. But often, what they actually mean by “reviewing” is actually cramming , and this is one of the most common causes of why people f ail in exams . The other common cause, which is actually closely related to cramming, is what is known (inaccurately) as “studying hard”.

      Even though most people will say that only by studying harder will a person be assured of having a chance of passing an exam, one should definitely NOT study harder when one can study smarter for two main reasons. First, this is because studying harder will actually cause you to fail your exam. Ever heard of the runner who overtrained herself that by the actual race she was too exhausted to catch up with those who did not train as intensively? The same with those people who “tried so hard” studying and then failed the exam. Exhausting oneself is not a good strategy.

But most importantly, this is because studying smarter can dramatically increase your chances of success. Most sport boxers or amateur wrestlers think that by merely lifting weights and learning to overpower the opponent as the main thing they should do. Then they meet one trained in either Jujutsu or Karate who is not as large or as physically strong or as fast. More often than not, technique will overcome mere physical speed and power, and the martial arts exponent overcomes her stronger or quicker opponent. The sight of a jujutsu exponent throwing a much larger and stronger opponent with such minimal effort it seems so magical is a testament to the effectiveness of technique. 

C.S. Lewis, the famous Oxford professor and author, said that mere memorization may seem like studying, but it is actually just a mask for laziness. Ironically, it is the lazy memorizer who eventually exhausts oneself and who at the exam forgets everything one has memorized in the phenomenon known as the infamous “mind block”. By contrast, the one who at the very beginning attempted to understand the subject in question long before the exam , may not seem to be working hard at all (to the annoyance of the one studying hard), but then impressively breezes through the exam.

      And this is the main reason why this tutorial is NOT a “be prepared for exams in two weeks” thing. At least three months of preparation is necessary—take note, THE VERY LEAST. This is what the old saying means, d aig ng maagap ang masipag , the one who prepares beforehand overcomes the one who merely works hard. S o how does one study hard? What does it mean to “study” if memorization is NOT studying? PRACTICE = STUDYING; “PRACTICE SMARTER, NOT HARDER” Practicing IS studying. The basic mistake one makes when studying for an exam is that they do not p ractice taking exams. They study as if preparing for a class recitation. Sothe essential component of studying for an exam is practicing taking exams, and this is

what the LabCE “Exam Simulator” is for. Practicing smarter has three stages: 1) the crawling stage, 2) the walking stage, and 3)the running stage.

1. The Crawling Stage. ‘ Take a practice test [i.e., the LabCE Exam Simulator]
with no time constraints, with all study helps [text books, flash cards, &c.] “open
book.” Take your time with questions and focus on applying strategies (Medical
Technologists 10).’ It is very important that at this stage o ne does NOT focus on
the exam score at the end . What is being trained here is understanding .

2. The Walking Stage. ‘Take a practice test with time constraints, with all guides
“open book” (ibid. 10).’ Even at this stage one does NOT focus on the exam score
at the end. What is being trained here is both understanding and p acing . ‘Wear a
watch. ... By pacing yourself, and continually monitoring your progress against
your watch, you will always know exactly how far ahead or behind you are with
your available time (ibid. 6).’

3. The Running Stage. ‘Take a final practice test with no open materials and time
limits. (ibid. 10).’ By repeating this stage again and again, one gradually
conditions oneself to the full rigors and stress of the actual exam (ibid.) much like
practice running prepares one for the actual race. It is also at this point that both
pacing and s core results matter. Therefore, ‘don’t skip one question without
spending any time on it, just to catch up. Take 15 fewer seconds on the next four
questions, and after four questions you’ll have caught up (ibid. 6).’

At the start you will primarily doing crawling . Most of your studying will be walking, but as the day of examination draws near you must do more running by then. When running becomes fatiguing, start walking for a while, then resume running . If you stumble and fall while running , start crawling , then resume running as soon as possible. In an exam, time will be greatest enemy (ibid.). But always remember “that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all (Ecclesiastes ix. 11, Dobelli 281283).”

Works Cited

Dobelli, Rolf. “The Boat Matters More Than the Rowing: Illusion of Skill,” T he Art of Thinking Clearly,

translated by Nicky Griffin . New York: Harper Collins, 2013.

Lewis, Clive Staples. “Is Christianity Hard Or Easy,” M ere Christianity. New York: Collier Books,

Macmillian Publishing Company, 1952.

Medical Technologist Exam Secrets – Study Guide: Your Key to Exam Success . Mometrix Media.