The ultimate anatomy study guide:
- Give yourself 1-2 weeks to study efficiently and be the most prepared.
- Diagrams and models
- Study microscope slides
- Memorize the study guide if given one by your teacher/professor.
- Have someone quiz you.
- Retake or take practice quizzes and tests
- Retake the homework.
- Give yourself 1-2 weeks to study efficiently and be the most prepared. So plan out accordingly, I used to use a planner that had a calendar to put in each assignment / test and its due date. This will help you better coordinate what assignments / chapters you need to get done by in order to give yourself at least a week to only study for your test/exam.
- Diagrams and models are your best friend. When memorizing the vast amount of parts of the body, diagrams and models are the best go-to because it will help you “put a face” to the name. If you can, print out the diagrams you need to study without the labels on and color each part in with a different color and then put the name of that part in the same color. Example: on a diagram of the skeletal muscles of the body color in the bicep in blue and put “bicep” in that same shade of blue.
After you’re done coloring and labeling, start memorizing each label in groups. I used to memorize each part in groups of five but you can do more or less. So first look at 5 labels and their colored parts, pointing to them and reading them out loud. Do this as many times until you feel ready to cover the labels (with your hand or with a piece of paper) and then list off those labels to each part you point to or look at. Reading out loud helps so much and by the time you are tested on a part of the body you’ll be able to “see” the color associated with it and instantly know what that part is.
Repeat these steps till you have the entire diagram memorized and can identify each part without needing to see the labels. Note: if the name of the part is long or spelled oddly, make sure you can spell it out too as I’ve seen my teachers/professors require you to spell every one correctly.
With Models: if your school provides models in the classroom, take a video of you pointing to each part and saying the name of that part out loud. This way if you’re being tested on models that were provided in the classroom room, you’ll be able to study them at home. When you’re studying, Watch the video in parts, so just like the diagram, play the video up to 5 parts you’ve pointed to, repeat those parts aloud and repeat till you’ve memorized those parts fully. I would usually repeat them out loud with myself on the video, rewind till I memorized them, then pause the video right before the answer was given and answer out loud, then play the video and check my answer!
- Study microscope slides if applicable. Do this by taking a video of the slide in class, making sure to identify each slide you’re looking at and all the parts in it aloud. Then refer back to it when test prepping.
- If you’re given a study guide by your teacher and they say that the test will be just like/very similar to the study guide, make sure to fill out the entire thing and then memorize it like a script. Study guides tend to be lengthy so what I would do is I would divide the study guide questions into parts. Say the study guide is 20 questions long. I would study fill out and study 5 question a day. (You can do more or less if you need)
When filling out each question, use your notes provided by the lecture to answer.
If you’re given a study guide key, only look at it to check that your answer is correct!
After filling out the answer, be sure to read anything relating to that question. For example, if the question is about mitosis then after answering the question, read / watch anything that was discussed in class about mitosis.
After reviewing the subject the question is on, read your answer out loud and start memorizing it just like a script, you can even condense your answer if you have too. Memorize it sentence by sentence till you can fully answer without looking at your page.
- Have someone quiz you if you can, whether it’s a family member, friend or classmate. Have them quiz you on the diagrams or models you memorized by pointing to each part and you answering out loud. Have them quiz you on the study guide by them asking you the question and you answering out loud.
- Retake or take practice quizzes and tests if your class provides them on an online interface like Pearson. This will also give you a feel of how the tests may be. Be sure to retake the tests until you get 100% and make sure any ones you get wrong, take a picture of them and study them.
- Retake your homework if you can. If you can’t just study the homework.
But honestly, if a study guide is provided and the teacher tells you that stuff will be on the test, the study guide will be the most important to get down! :)