How To Apply What You've Learned

Knowing something is one thing, but being able to use it is another. And with many problems, it's the case that it is hard to find out which method or knowledge to apply. Sometimes, you sit down, read the question in an exam, and even though you know all the methods or information, you aren't sure what exactly the question is asking you. I've found this is especially the case in the sciences and mathematics, however this applies to all subjects.

Some exam boards and subjects have very simple, straightforward questions, whereas others really focus on the ability to apply knowledge to abstract or real-world problems. This post is mainly focused on the latter.

Practice, practice, practice

Understanding what a question is asking you is a skill. If you're lucky enough to have practice exam papers for your exam, I highly recommend you start off by working through those. Often, the same types of questions repeat themselves through the paper, phrased slightly differently, or on different content. There is usually a pattern, and once you understand the language used, it becomes quite easy to predict what answer is wanted. Practice those, and check your answers.

Over time, you will develop a sense of what information is relevant, and what is redundant. With other types of questions, you figure out what method and steps are needed, and in which sequence, to reach the correct answer.

Two great sources of practice exam questions I recommend are physicsandmathstutor.com and savemyexams.com.

Plan before you write

This post is mainly intended for students that know a lot of things which are relevant to the question, but struggle with picking the right one or structuring their answer. If you have no idea about what you could write in response to a question, this is more likely due to you not being familiar enough with the content. In that case, I suggest you go back to the books and study more before trying to answer practice questions.

Create an overview of everything you could write about or what springs to mind before answering a question.

I generally recommend this for answers over 4 sentences long. For shorter answers, there is usually not much point in planning or brainstorming, unless you have no idea about the correct answer, and want to go through all options that spring to mind by process of elimination. Plans are mostly beneficial for long-form answers or essays. If you are writing an essay, plans can also be extremely beneficial to structure your answer. Marks are often awarded then for writing style and clarity.

Read thoroughly

Sometimes, the issue is a word you didn't read in a question, or a text you skipped. This can especially happen if you're experiencing a lot of stress or time pressure. Personally, when I'm in a hurry, I'll often not take the time to read a question properly, leaving me wondering what on Earth they want, until I take the time to read it again.

Ensure you understand all the words and terminology in the question. This can be another source of confusion or misunderstandings. Sometimes, we skip past words we don't fully understand, and assume we still understand the question. Now, sometimes in an exam you will have access to a dictionary. However, if this is not the case, then I highly recommend completing practice exam papers, as these will familiarise you with the writing style of the questions.

Create your own questions

Once you have memorised something, experiment with creating questions about the topic. Try and make them as difficult as possible. This will get you thinking about applications of the knowledge.

The best time to do this is while you are learning the content, because then you can use the questions for memorisation as well as understanding uses of the knowledge. As a bonus, if you understand the applications of a piece of information, since you link it to more other pieces of information in your mind, you are more likely to remember it.

For memorisation, keep the questions simple and focused on one piece of information. For improving application skills, I suggest you shift more towards complex, intricate questions. If you are studying with a fellow student, you can also create questions for each other.