Study plan · Students · Exams
How to make a study plan that spreads the work out
By T. Krause
A study plan that gives each topic one week and moves on leaves out the two things one review rates highest, spreading study over time and testing yourself. Here is how to add them, using an invented four-week statistics exam and nine short sessions.
To make a study plan, list every topic on the exam and count the sessions you have left. Put each topic in an early session, then bring it back in later sessions as a self-test. Leave the last week for a mock exam and for your weak spots, and move things as soon as one slips.
The reasoning comes from Strengthening the Student Toolbox, John Dunlosky's 2013 article in American Educator. It reports on a review of ten study strategies that he carried out with four collaborators. Two got the highest rating, practice testing and distributed practice, which means spreading study over time. Rereading and highlighting are under "Less Useful Strategies (That Students Use a Lot)".
What a plan has to answer
Dunlosky says students should map out three things: "how many study sessions they will need before an exam, when those sessions should take place", and "what they should practice during each session". That's the job of the board.
He also offers a starting size, saying "two short study blocks per week may be enough" for a given class to start on new material and restudy old material. That's for term-time study of one class, so we'd treat it as a minimum when an exam is close.
An invented statistics exam
The student, their study group, the exam and the sheets below are invented, and the sessions are our own suggestion. The topics and rows come from our study plan template. On the board, the weeks run across as columns, and Topics, Practice and Group session are the rows. We've turned the tables on their side here so they fit a phone.
| Topics | Practice | |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Descriptive stats | Sheet 1 |
| Week 2 | Probability | Sheet 2-3 |
| Week 3 | Hypothesis tests | Past paper 2025 |
| Exam week | Mock exam | Weak spots |
The group meets on Tuesday at 18:00 in weeks 1 and 2, on Tuesday and Thursday in week 3, and for a Q&A on Monday of exam week.
The order of topics is sensible, since hypothesis tests build on probability. The trouble is that it gives each topic one turn. Descriptive stats gets week 1 and then never appears again until the mock. Dunlosky says each block should cover recent material and "material they studied in previous sessions". So the board needs another row.
Step 1: add a board row for coming back
| New | Self-test on | |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Descriptive stats | Nothing yet |
| Week 2 | Probability | Descriptive stats |
| Week 3 | Hypothesis tests | Probability, descriptive stats |
| Exam week | Nothing new | All three |
Self-test means closing the notes and answering questions from memory. A few old questions at the start of a session will do. Dunlosky says that with practice tests, students "will quickly retrieve the previously learned material after just a handful of sessions", which leaves more time for the new topic.
Step 2: count the sessions
The group meets on the sample's dates. Our student adds one solo block each week and one in exam week for the mock.
| Group | Solo | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Week 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Week 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Exam week | 1 | 1 | 2 |
That's nine sessions, which meets Dunlosky's two a week in every week. Now you can test the plan. Week 2 has two sessions, and Sheet 2-3 is two sheets on a new topic plus a self-test. That looks tight. It's better to find this out now, on a board, than in week 2.
Step 3: decide what each session does
The group sessions and the solo blocks shouldn't be the same. Our student uses the solo block for the sheets, then uses the group session to go through what went wrong and to quiz each other. Each person brings three questions on an old topic. That's the self-test row, carried out by people who'll notice a bad answer.
Step 4: plan the slip
In week 2, suppose Sheet 3 doesn't get done. On a board you move the note to week 3 and look at what it pushes out. Week 3 has three sessions, so Past paper 2025 can still fit. If it couldn't, the mock would become the first timed paper, and that's a choice you'd want to make on purpose.
Our template suggests changing a note's colour when a topic is done, so you can see how far behind you are. A note that's done and a topic you can answer from memory are different things, though. We'd only change the colour after a self-test.
Step 5: use the exam week properly
The sample puts a mock exam and "Weak spots" in the last week. Weak spots can only be known from the mock, so the mock has to come early enough to leave a session afterwards. With Q&A on Monday and an invented exam on Friday, the student sits the mock at the weekend before, so in this plan exam week starts on that Saturday. They bring what went wrong to Monday's group session, and Tuesday to Thursday are free to go back over it.
What not to spend the time on
Rereading as the main activity. Dunlosky says "rereading does not always enhance students' understanding of what they read". Read something once, then close it and test yourself.
Highlighting. He files this under less useful strategies too, and describes a study in which students who highlighted did worse on comprehension tests. A self-test made from the same page is a better use of those minutes.
One long session. Dunlosky's example of massed study is the night before the exam. Moving it earlier still leaves it massed. Split it across several days.
Mixing up topics within a session, which he calls interleaved practice, is rated "promising". He says it hasn't been explored as much, so try it on problem-based subjects like this one and don't build the whole plan around it.
Frequently asked questions
How far ahead should I make a study plan?
Our template suggests four to eight weeks, which is our own guideline. If you have less, the same method still applies with fewer sessions. Start with the count, then decide what to cut.
How do I split time between several exams?
Give each exam its own row of sessions on one board, so you see the whole week. A weekly planner is good for working out when each block happens.
What if I don't know what the exam covers?
Ask, or look at the syllabus and past papers. You could also keep a KWL chart for a topic, listing what you know and what you still need to find out.
How long should each session be?
Dunlosky says short and doesn't give a length. Choose one you'll keep up, and judge it by whether you can answer questions from memory afterwards.
Build your plan
Open the study plan template, replace the statistics topics with yours, and add a row for what you'll test yourself on. Count your sessions before you do anything else. Put the mock exam in now, with at least one session after it.