by Meera Hatangadi
Getting started with studying for FBLA objective tests can be a daunting task, but not to worry, there are a few steps you can follow to make it less intimidating. Let’s get right into it:
Step 1: Pick interesting events
It is imperative that while picking your competitive events you pick events that genuinely interest you. You may be tempted to pick a topic based on its popularity or your likelihood of winning awards at that event, however, if you do so you might just end up not learning anything at all! Picking an event that you genuinely wish to explore will make you more motivated to study, and will definitely make the process of learning much more fun and interesting. At the end of the day, the content of the event is the most important and so if you are interested in the topic, you will likely find yourself doing well in your event.
Step 2: Know your competencies
Once you have picked your events, go to the FBLA website and look at the exam description. More specifically, pay attention to the list of competencies. While FBLA does provide some study material, the competencies simply serve as a reference sheet to the content of the course, it does not go in-depth with all the concepts you must know. It is crucial that you understand what each competency entails as it will greatly help you save time ahead.
Step 3: Practice test
Take a practice test! You can find many practice tests online, I personally use testfrenzy.com as it has multiple practice tests for most events. Once you’re done taking it, note which competencies you missed most questions in. Now I know you must be thinking, “why would I take a practice test before learning the content?”, and here’s why: it is more efficient to find out your weaker points and work on them rather than working on everything. Taking a practice test will allow you to see which competencies you’re weak in. This will allow you to work on these competencies and boost your overall score. If you are short on time and are studying last minute, this is especially important since it will allow you to prioritize what to study. If you have plenty of time to study, this will give you direction on what to start studying for first, and give you an idea of how you can improve
Step 3: Study!!
Individuals have many different strategies that they use to study, pick the one that works for you! I personally like to write all my competencies in a document, and then do research on the ones that I missed most questions in. I write down all the vocab terms, main concepts, and recurring ideas in the document. I then find a few Quizlets or practice material to go over the content. Then I basically write down everything that I think I won’t remember into this document, and then I move on to the next competency. When I have a lot of time to study, I will typically go through all the competencies. However, if I do not have time, I would just go through the ones I know least about, and just briefly go over the others. While I find this method to be very efficient for me, this may not be the case for everyone. Each person processes information differently, and at the end of the day only you can figure out what study plan will suit you the best.
Step 4: Practice
Once you are familiar with the content, just do as much practice as you possibly can. Do Quizlets, practice tests, flashcards, whatever helps you get a good grasp on the content. If you have time, it would also be beneficial to do some timed practice tests as it will allow you to see how you would perform under the stress of time.
Step 5: Review
Before you take the test, make sure to review the most important topics and the ones that you found the most difficulty in. The way I personally do it is that I make a one-pager. I fill this one-pager will anything and everything that I feel is crucial for me to review. I find that visual cues also help a lot in reviewing and retaining information, so I try to include a few of them in my one-pager. Before I take the test, I quickly look over the sheet to refresh my mind on the topics.
And you’re ready to take the test! Following these five steps will mean that you have a solid grasp on the content and the structure of the exam. As long as you keep your cool and do your best, you should do fairly well on the test. But most importantly, you would have learned a lot of new content on a subject you are interested in!
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