Midterm Madness

The past two weeks have been fun-filled with studying, school, and homework, studying, work and yes even more studying. It is that wonderful time of year known as midterms. With five classes, four of them all having tests around the same time it is kind of a challenge making sure you know everything that you’ve been discussing in class. As I have shared with you before, French is my most challenging class. Amazingly however, I managed to get an 87 on the test. It was a test filled with writing. Looking at the test at first I was thinking there was no way I was going to do well. But, I took it one section at a time, remembered to breathe and dug way into my brain. A helpful tip for tests jot down everything you remember that you know will be on the test, such as in a foreign language class I always put the new verbs with their conjunction and new grammar rules down so I don’t forget about them when it comes to the writing part of the exam. Not only did we have a written test, but we also had an oral part as well. Now, it was not like in high school when you have a group of people and you memorize a conversation and present it in front of the teacher. No, for this you had to schedule an appointment with the teacher, know all phrases and situations is the chapters you have learned and are expected to respond to whatever the teacher says. The only preparation you can really have is just to review everything.

For my history class there was a lot to take in for the exam: lectures, PowerPoint’s, reading and online information. I thought I studied pretty well by reading my notes and looking back in the book but I was wrong. I realize now that I should have really understood every reading assigned and took more oral notes from the teacher. My goal for the next exam is to be better prepared; also going with your first choice for an answer really is most likely always right. Next was my JMC 110 class, a class fully about the history and principles of journalism. The class is lecture style with PowerPoints. I’ll have to admit I was actually a little bit of a rebel in this class because I don’t have the book that accompanies the course. I do, luckily, pay very good attention in class and take all the notes including talking the professors do. (Unlike history these PowerPoints are more straightforward) I read my notes over and over and even made flashcards for some of the important dates and names. (Quick, what was the name of the first American newspaper and who published it? haha.) During the test I referred back to my history knowledge to help me out; I ended up getting an 88. Not too shabby, I think. My English 101 class doesn’t have a midterm or final exam so the only test I had left to sturdy for was JMC 194; a class purely on English grammar. You would assume that a journalism major would know good grammar but the class is actually a little challenging. My teacher, who is an editor, puts the lectures from each class online so we can review them and really understand the concepts. For studying, I looked back on all the lectures and printed out the review so I could look at it the day of the exam before class. I also used other references to practice and study with. Although I don’t have the results for that class yet, I feel pretty confident I did well. I’m still crossing my fingers.