How to prepare for a test in one week
A day by day plan for when a test or exam is a week away: what to cover, how to practise, and how to use the last day.
A week is short but enough if you are focused. The goal is to cover the topics most likely to come up, and to practise answering questions, not just reading.
Day by day
- Day 1: List every topic in scope. Mark each one as strong, weak or not started. Check past questions to see which topics come up most.
- Days 2 to 4: Work through the weak and most common topics. For each one, study it, then close your notes and test yourself.
- Day 5: Do a full past question paper under timed conditions, then mark it.
- Day 6: Fix what the paper showed you got wrong, and quickly review your strong topics.
- Day 7: Light review only: key definitions, formulas and diagrams. Stop early and sleep well.
Each day
- Work in focused blocks of 25 to 50 minutes with short breaks.
- Start with the hardest topic while your mind is fresh.
- Keep a one page sheet of formulas and key points to review on the last day.