How to study the night before an exam (and what not to do)

Updated October 2026 · 5 min read

It's the night before the paper. Maybe you've studied for weeks and just want to go over things, or maybe you're only starting now. Either way, the next few hours matter, and how you use them can make a real difference tomorrow.

Yes, you can cram, if you do it smart

Cramming the night before can work. Plenty of learners do it. But your brain can only take in so much in one night, so you have to be choosy about what you spend it on.

The trick is to go where the marks are:

• The easiest marks. Questions that come up every year, definitions, formulas and standard methods. These are quick to learn and almost always in the paper.
• The biggest marks. The topics that carry the most marks in that subject. A topic worth a quarter of the paper deserves more of your night than one worth a few marks.

Spend five minutes listing the topics in tomorrow's paper, then mark each one: "I'm fine with this", "shaky" or "haven't done it". Start with the topics that are worth a lot and that you half-know. That's where a few hours pays back the most.

Get the basics solid first

If your foundation in a topic is shaky, don't spend tonight on the hardest questions or on rare question types that only came up once in a past paper. They eat time and knock your confidence. Get the standard, everyday questions right first. Those are where most of the marks are, and the harder questions build on them anyway.

What to do in the evening

Go over summaries, not the whole textbook. Use short notes or a one-page overview of each topic. You want the key points, not every page.

Do questions, don't just read. Especially in Maths and Physical Sciences, reading feels productive but doesn't show you whether you can actually do it. Try a few past paper questions on your shaky topics, then check them against the memo.

Learn the things you have to remember. Formulas, definitions and key facts. Write them out from memory, check, and write them again. Short and repeated works better than staring at a page.

Check the information sheet. If you get a formula or information sheet in the exam, look at it tonight so you don't waste time learning what you'll be given.

Take short breaks. Work for about 45 minutes, then stand up, get water and step away for five minutes. Your focus will last longer.

Sleep: we get it, but get some

We understand staying up late the night before. Most learners do. But get at least a few hours of sleep. A tired brain reads questions wrongly, makes careless mistakes and goes blank more easily, and that can cost you more marks tomorrow than the extra hours gain tonight.

Go easy on the caffeine

A coffee or energy drink can help you get through the evening, but too much backfires. You'll feel jittery, struggle to focus and find it hard to sleep when you finally try. If you do have caffeine, space it out, and stop well before you want to sleep.

What not to do

• Don't try to learn everything. Getting a few topics solid is better than skimming ten.
• Don't get stuck on hard or rare questions if the basics aren't there yet.
• Don't keep your phone next to you. Put it in another room while you work, or turn notifications off.
• Don't let group chats panic you. Everyone else is stressed too, and it spreads.

Get your things ready before bed

Do this early in the evening, so it isn't the last thing on your mind:

• Pens, plus a spare one. Pens always die at the worst moment.
• Pencils, an eraser and a ruler.
• Your calculator, if the paper allows it, with a working battery and the right mode (degrees for trigonometry). If you have a spare calculator, pack that too.
• Anything else the paper needs, like a protractor or a compass.
• Your clothes for the morning, and your alarm set, with a backup.

On the morning of the exam

• Eat breakfast, even something small.
• Leave early, so you're not stressed about being late.
• Don't cram new work if you're already stressed. It just makes the stress worse and can push out what you picked up last night. A quick look over your summary page is enough.
• Keep away from other learners' last-minute talk. Everyone learns things their own way, and hearing a different method or a "did you know this will be in it?" right before the paper usually just confuses you. Put your earphones in or find a quieter spot.

In the exam

You don't have to start at Question 1. Read through the whole paper first, then start with the questions you feel most confident about. It settles your nerves and banks marks early. If you go blank on a question, leave it, move on and come back later. The answer often comes back once you're calmer.

Why our cheat sheets are made for nights like this

Our cheat sheets are designed for exactly this kind of studying. Each one covers a single topic and keeps only the most important parts: the key rules, the methods and the mistakes to avoid, broken down step by step with clear graphics. There's no padding to wade through when time is short.

Every sheet has "The short version", the whole topic on one page, and a "Common mistakes" page to check before you walk into the exam.

They also pair really well with past papers. Use the cheat sheet to get the topic clear, then go straight to past paper questions on that topic to practise. When you get one wrong, the sheet shows you where it went wrong.

Find your topic in our cheat sheets, or try a free one first. For a longer plan, see our guide on how to study for Grade 12 Maths.

Questions learners ask