Cramming vs. Periodic Studying

One of the most stressful aspects of high school and ultimately college is the ability (or lack thereof) to form good study habits. One may often hear the dramatic tale of a college student staying up all night in order to receive a good grade on his or her test the following morning. This student either completely fails the test, or does really well. These results depend on the students themselves and their ability to study in this manner. In this essay, I will compare and contrast fellow two of the most popular forms of studying—periodic and cramming—in an effort to allow high school students to effectively choose which form may best work for them.

First, it is important to look at the amount of time each habit takes on average. Looking in a long-term viewpoint, studying periodically takes much more time than cramming. Although it may seem as if the opposite is true, cramming is fairly speedy. Before a test, a student may spend two or three hours studying for a history exam. A student who decides to study periodically may study for thirty minutes each night starting two weeks before the exam takes place. That adds up to seven hours, more than double the time it takes to cram for the test! One may argue that by studying a little bit each night, you could study ten or even five minutes a day, but that’s not particularly effective. In a mere ten minutes, it is nearly impossible to cover the needed information. By cramming, one is able to effectively fit two weeks of information in a shorter amount of time. If you participate in several extracurricular activities and/or have a job, it may be very difficult for you to make room for studying and homework each night. By cramming, you are limiting this time to one day rather than eve...

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...udy a little bit each night instead if you want to receive good test scores; if you study earlier in the day but cram during that time, you will still receive test scores that are just as good as those who study a bit each day because you are not neglecting any sleep.

Personally, I am an advocate for cramming the day before the test, but not right before bed. Instead, I study first, do a little bit of homework, study some more, finish my homework, and then study once again. If I study a little bit each night, by the fourth or fifth night I will begin to feel as if I have over-studied and then begin mixing up each piece of information. In this essay, I have compared and contrasted both methods and it should be much easier for each student to choose a way that works best for them. Both methods can be effective, it just depends on the students’ personality in general.