An essential thing to put on your to-do list when studying for the CSW is to attend the webinar, “The Insider’s Guide to the CSW Exam.” It gives you the lowdown about what you need to know and expect on the test.
If you’ve purchased the workbook, you’ll find that the info is concise but jam-packed. And anything in it is fair game for the exam. It is daunting when you start reading it, especially the figures, foreign terms, and geography.
Time Commitment
One point that struck me particularly was the advice to study every day for an hour and perhaps plan on a year to get ready. Yes, you read that right. It’s essentially an associate degree in wine.
And it makes such good sense too. The memorization is the biggest hurdle you’ll face. So, the more you see it, the better it’ll stick.
But there’s a good way and a bad way to go about it.
Relearning How You Learn
If you’re like most people, you studied by one of the following techniques:
- Rereading
- Highlighting
- Cramming
- Reviewing your notes
You may have had enough success to pass. But psychologists have found that certain techniques are better uses of your time. That comes in handy with the CSW exam.
According to a study by John Dunlosky et al, practice testing and what the researchers call distributed practice scored best for improving test scores. Doing the latter would involve practicing a selection of spelling words one at a time but not repeating them twice in a row.
If you just wrote each one 10 times, you end up giving yourself a false sense of learning. And what you do know is likely short-term memory which fades fast.
So, for the CSW, you could practice the terms in this manner, geography, and all the other bits instead of rereading the text several times. It’s harder up front, but it helps you retain it better to recall it at the exam.
You could print up the blank maps from the workbook and test yourself. Mix it up with a review of terms and another session with regs. You get the idea.
If things seem overwhelming, give it a shot and see if it makes things click for you.
Photo by Ben Mullins on Unsplash