Are you ready for your exams? High school exam periods can vary, but they typically occur either at the end of the year (for non-semestered schools), or at the end of both January and June (for semestered schools; winter and spring exams, respectively).

Whether your evaluations have just passed, are coming up soon, or aren’t for a while, it’s always important to know how to prepare. An exam not only has a significant impact on your final grade, but it can also be a way to measure how much you’ve learned throughout the course. You should take every exam seriously, and make sure you allot enough time to get ready. It never hurts to do well!

Here are three tips for high school exam preparation:

Know the structure. Aside from obviously just studying the material, preparing for the format of the exam can be very valuable. Teachers usually release information related to the structure well in advance. As well, many exams are combined-format, so you might need different study strategies for each section. Let’s say an exam has 50 multiple-choice questions and an essay. You can create flashcards of key terms, concepts and definitions, as well as brainstorm potential questions and arguments.

Play your strengths and weaknesses. If you know a certain part of the curriculum inside out, there’s no point in reviewing it in great detail. When you’re studying, focus on what you don’t know so well and make sure you understand it before moving on. This way, you’ll at least have general knowledge of all the material, instead of only studying what you’re good at. If you focus only on what you’re good at, there’s always the chance that those topics may not even appear on the exam anyway!

Choose wisely. Sometimes exams offer students a choice (between short answer topics, for example), and this can be a great way to showcase your strengths. That being said, if you have to choose, pick the option that is easiest for you. Students sometimes try to write about what they think the teacher prefer, even if they don’t know what that specific topic is about. Take advantage of the opportunity and write about what you know. You’ll be able to provide more accurate information and concrete examples instead of “speculating” about something you don’t fully understand.

Following the above guidelines will help you out, but ultimately you still have to put in the work. Make sure you make time to study properly before the exam (and preferably not the night before the exam). And remember, there’s no reason exam preparation can’t be fun—as long as you’re still being productive, studying with friends or classmates can actually be a great way to prepare. Good luck!