When faced with the idea of dense study guides and hours of testing, it’s challenging to be motivated to review for midterms. With that comes the temptation to take an easier road: cheating.
Academic integrity is a tenant upheld by SWHS to prevent students from facing the consequences of cheating, which can affect their ability to go to college.
Sometimes, it can be difficult to sift through the resources given by teachers and figure out which ones are crucial and which don’t make much of a difference, which can make studying feel like it’s just not worth the effort.
The Prowl spoke with two members of SWHS’ chapter of National Honor Society to get their best advice for midterm preparation.
Prioritization is a skill that juniors, and NHS members, Sreejan Selvamohan and Vidyuth Srikanth both use to help narrow down their workload during exams.
Selvamohan usually takes a practice test before he starts studying so he can learn what he needs to focus on.
“If you just focus on your strengths, they’re just going to become stronger,” explained Selvamohan. “If you don’t focus on your weaknesses, obviously, they’re going to become weaker.”
Srikanth takes AP Psychology and is currently staring down a 35-page study guide provided to help him review.
Srikanth, like Selvamohan, is not completing all 35 pages of that study guide, but instead focusing on the topics he knows he needs more practice in.
Most of the time, though, the problem is not how to study, but how to get motivated to study.
“I know that if I do good on the midterm, then I can relax a little bit more for the next few quarters,” said Srikanth.
Along with the promise of an opportunity to to unwind, Srikanth is motivated by the satisfaction of getting good grades.
For Srikanth and Selvamohan, academic integrity is especially important because they are members of NHS and tutor other students during the school year. “You’re kind of a role model, if you make NHS,” said Selvamohan. “If you’re going to be a cheater, are you really a role model?”
With the proper motivation and confidence, students can do well on their midterms without breaking academic integrity and risking the consequences that come with it.
