CEGEP study guide: workload, assignments and exams

1. Make a plan that includes all your courses

Put the next seven days on one page. For each course, write:

• What is due, and when?
• What have I already finished?
• How much work is left, and how long might it take?
• What is the next action I can actually do?
• What question or missing information could hold me up?

Then look one week further ahead for larger assignments and group work that need an early start. Use the dates and instructions in your current course materials, including any updates from your teacher.

Start your calendar with classes, work, travel and other commitments. Add study periods you can realistically use, breaks and some spare time. John Abbott's time-management guide recommends this combination of fixed commitments, weekly goals and room for tasks that take longer than expected.

Compare your time estimates with the study periods you actually have. Choose your first task by considering the deadline, the work left and whether you need someone else's answer. If a question might delay a whole report, ask it early while you work on another part.

Example: four courses in the same week

This is a made-up week to show the planning process. Adapt it to your own deadlines and available time.

• Literature reading for Tuesday: finish the assigned pages and note two passages to discuss.
• Calculus test on Wednesday: review the stated topics and retry the questions you could not complete independently.
• Physics report due Thursday: check the instructions and your collected data, then draft and revise the required sections.
• Social science group presentation next Tuesday: agree on responsibilities and a date to combine everyone's work.

A useful sequence could look like this:

• Sunday: check the physics report instructions and data for anything you need to clarify; send the group a proposed division of work; attempt a few calculus review questions.
• Monday: finish the reading and passages; work on the calculus difficulty you identified; begin the report.
• Tuesday: do a short calculus review without the solutions; continue the report and leave a clear list of what remains.
• Wednesday: after the test, finish and check the report; confirm the group's progress.
• Thursday: submit the report by the stated deadline.
• Later in the week: prepare your presentation contribution before the group's check-in.

These are tasks to place around your actual schedule. If they do not fit, change the plan or seek help early. Do not assume that every item takes one short study block.

2. Give each study period a clear finish

“Study physics” is hard to finish. “Draw the force diagrams for two practice problems, check them, and write down what I missed” gives you a visible result.

Other useful targets:

• Reading: identify the author's main claim and one example that supports it.
• Writing: draft one paragraph that answers part of the question, then check it against the instructions.
• Math: solve two problems without viewing the solution and explain the first method you chose.
• Group work: complete your agreed contribution and flag anything the group still needs to decide.

At the end, record what is done, what took longer than expected and the next step. This makes the next session easier to start. For a planning tool, Ahuntsic's student organization page includes weekly task planning and estimated-versus-actual study time.

3. When an assignment stalls, locate the difficulty

Keep your attempt visible. Find the first point where you cannot explain what to do next.

• The instructions are unclear: identify the exact sentence or requirement you need explained. Ask your teacher before building the rest of the assignment around a guess.
• You understand the task but cannot start: write what is given, what you need to produce and the idea from class that may apply. For a written response, try a one-sentence answer; for a calculation, start with a diagram or a statement of the unknown.
• Your method seems right but the result fails: check the steps individually. In math or physics, inspect signs, units, algebra and whether the formula's conditions apply. In writing, check whether the evidence actually supports your claim.
• You can follow the solution but cannot repeat it: close it and start again from the question. Mark the first point where you need to look. That is a useful target for your next practice session or question to a teacher.

A specific question is easier to work with: “I chose conservation of energy, but I cannot explain whether friction needs to be included here. This is my diagram and first equation.” For writing: “My paragraph describes the example. What would I need to explain to answer the comparison in the prompt?”

Follow your course's rules on collaboration, tools and outside help. Use permitted practice material when asking someone to work through an example with you.

4. Prepare for what you will need to do in the exam

Use your teacher's review instructions and current course materials to list the topics and question formats. For each topic, note whether you can do it independently, need a reminder or still need an explanation. Base that judgment on an attempt, rather than on how familiar the notes look.

Choose practice that matches the task:

• Problem-solving: choose a method, show your reasoning and check the result. Include questions where you have to decide which method fits.
• Concepts and definitions: close your notes, explain an idea in your own words, then check the details and apply it to an example.
• Written responses: make a short answer plan that directly addresses the question, with relevant evidence and the reasoning that connects it to your point.

Try to retrieve an answer before checking it, and revisit difficult material in later study periods. These are practical uses of the self-testing and spaced-practice approaches described in McGill's study tactics.

For calculation-based exams, do some practice under the expected time and material rules. Compare your attempt with a permitted solution or feedback, identify the first error and retry a related question. Concordia's problem-solving exam guide gives further guidance on independent practice and checking answers.

Keep a short correction record:

• What went wrong?
• What should I notice next time?
• Can I now do a similar task without help?

For example: “I read the height of a velocity–time graph as acceleration. Next time, I need its slope.” That gives you something specific to check on a new question.

5. If you are behind, choose a realistic next step

Recheck the deadlines and remaining work. Choose one task you can finish next and one difficulty that needs clarification. Keep later deadlines visible so that today's urgent task does not hide tomorrow's larger one.

If your plan repeatedly exceeds the time available, speak with a teacher or your college's student-support team. Explain what is due, what you have completed and where the work is breaking down. Ask about the options that apply to your situation; an extension or a change to an assessment needs your college's or teacher's agreement.

After a returned assignment or test, use the feedback to change one part of your next study plan. If method choice was the problem, practise choosing methods. If your explanation was incomplete, practise writing the reasoning that was missing.

6. Choose help that fits the problem

• Ask your teacher about course expectations, unclear instructions, feedback and the scope of an assessment.
• Check your college's learning or writing centre for study habits, planning, reading and written work. Services differ by college. For example, Dawson's Learning Centre lists help with time management, writing, study skills and exam preparation.
• If several courses are becoming difficult to manage together, look for student-success support at your college. Vanier's Student Success Advising includes help with balancing college and other commitments, study strategies and finding support.
• Consider subject tutoring when you need someone to examine your reasoning, explain a missing idea and guide practice at the right level.

Bring the instructions, your own attempt and one question you want answered. You can ask for help before you have a complete solution.

7. Use targeted math and physics practice

If a math or physics topic is holding up your work, choose the resource that matches the difficulty. These are topic resources; use your course materials to decide what belongs in your review.

• Algebra keeps interrupting your calculations: review algebra before calculus.
• You are unsure which derivative rule comes first: try the derivative-rule check.
• You need to understand what row operations do to a system: work through row operations and solution sets.
• You cannot decide whether a binomial model fits: try four binomial-model questions.
• You get stuck before the mechanics calculations: practise choosing a system and setting up equations.
• Position, velocity and acceleration graphs blur together: work through motion graphs.

Try the question before opening the answer. After checking it, explain the correction and attempt another question independently.

When you want to work through a difficulty with a tutor

You can ask Nablio for help with a math or physics question, even if you do not know how to start. Your tutor can explain the idea, work through a first example or review a solution you have tried. Bring the topics you want to review and a practice question you are allowed to share, if you have one. If more than one math or physics course needs attention, say which difficulty is most urgent so the session can have a clear focus.

Explore CEGEP math and physics tutoring.