Advice Anyone?

So, in 2013 I will be a senior. I am kinda nervous about that because from what I hear the seniors is WAY stiffer competition. Does anyone have any advice for me?

Okay… and I'm sorry for starting that little off-topic…um… discussion over on the Countdowns page. Sooo, what advice do I have? Let's see… Well, the first thing I would say is just what you said - the Senior division is a LOT stiffer competition. (It didn't use to be that way. In 2010 and 2011, the Juniors outperformed the Seniors.) So, just prepare yourself for the stiffer competition by studying harder than ever before. :D But, that's not really practical. Let's see…

Well, the Senior test is different than the Junior test for several reasons. First of all, it's harder. :P Second, the Senior test (at least this year's was) is more focused than the Junior's on content and knowing what the verses really say. Key Greek words are not quite as "important" - though they still are. Third, the Senior test does not mention references from which the question is taken as much as the Junior test does.

Aaand that's all I can think of right now.

Thanks–I need the advice too. :D

Thank you…as you think of more PLEASE tell me… So how did you study?

I helped start that off-topic thing as well. Sorry about that.

1. Know the in-depth verse context of every single verse. Write it out, teach it to someone, and learn it yourself. Even if it takes a lot of time.

2. Whatever you do, don't be nervous. If you are nervous before an event, don't talk about it. Normally, when you talk about it, it spreads from person to person. Or, ask Nicolas how not to be nervous :D He seems to be a pro about not being nervous at all.

3. For myself, I'm going over-board on the Greek words and cross-reference. It never hurts to know more.

4. Enjoy every minute of it. I can't stand thinking that I only have 2 more years to compete… :(

5. As Matthew said - it's stiff competition. I know.

@Bethany: Thanks. When you think of more…PLEASE tell me (as well as anyone else who wants to:D)

@SBG: Soooo…you heard Bethany's question. How do I not be nervous??

Oh, come on. I'm not a pro! :P And besides, as you might have realized by now, I'm quite terrible at relating to others how I do things. :D

PLEASE try to explain this thing for me.

EDIT: I have to go now…

@All: Please tell me all advice you have…

You informed us that you weren't nervous before Locals or Nationals. And you didn't seem nervous in semi's either.

Great, now I feel pressured. :P Umm… I'm not quite sure what to tell you, sorry. I think I have a gift or something. But of course, it's always very helpful to pray for peace when you are nervous. Other than that… I don't really know what else to say about it to help you. Sorry! :)

I'm getting myself into such a big mess on here. Sorry, Nicolas. I just knew that you were great at not being nervous, and I'm not that way…

But yes, some people are different than others. I get stressed out easily, and you don't Carissa. Nicolas doesn't get nervous and I do. It's just how we are, I guess.

Oh, no need to apologize. I was being slightly sarcastic when I said I was feeling pressured. :P But again, I am sorry I can't help you any more with that, except to remember to pray for peace. :)

Anyway, I'll just post something briefly regarding the main topic of this… um, topic. Although I have never been a Senior before, I might as well try to give some studying points, as BibleBee has been asking for them profusely. :)

First, keep your perspective straight. You are doing all this to glorify God, not to score high at Nationals. :)

Second, get a Strong's concordance and something where you can find references easily–then study them like crazy. :P

Third, read over the book you are studying A LOT. That helps much more than some might think. And try to memorize it as well, if possible.

Fourth, with memory verses, it is helpful to read the passage over and over and over and over; or you could study it phrase by phrase. Or both. :)

I'll try to think of some more tips. :)

@biblebee, the most important thing to remember is what Nicolas said: your foremost goal should be to glorify God. You can give God glory whether or not you make semi-finals.

I think that everyone that has commented so far has given a lot of good advice, so you already have a lot of information. This is just a couple things.

First, it is important to do it in the Lord's strength. He has all the motivation and personal strength we need for anything.

Second, the written test counts for 2/3 of your points, so it is very important not to skimp on it. Even though Bible knowledge and verse knowledge are weighted equally, it is critical to know your stuff.

Third, spend a lot of time studying. I don't know how much time you spent last year, but I studied about four days a week, and averaged about four to five hours a day.

Now, as to what to study, there is a lot that could be said :) It is always good to know the Greek words and cross references. When I studied I Timothy, I did a general overview of the book, which was basically reading the whole thing through a few times, making note of the author and recipient, learning background information about the book, and learning about the people in the book. The timeline on Blue Letter Bible was helpful for me to know about when different events occurred in Paul's life, approximately when the different epistles were written, and so on. After the general overview was done, I went through the book chapter by chapter, trying to picture the general themes of each chapter. This helped to know what were some of the important key words in the chapters. Although I got a couple key words from each chapter, I also studied the Greek word and a condensed definition of the words that I thought were important. Knowing the meaning of the names of people in the book, as well as the geographical location of places mentioned in the book is also helpful. I did not use a commentary this year, but I think that would be helpful in knowing why the book was written.

For studying the verses, I would memorize them, and so on. For getting them word-perfect, I would type out each passage by memory, and then check what I typed with what was on the card. If there was something I didn't like, I would set the card aside, and study it more. I enjoyed reciting it to other people, but didn't do it every day. It is more important to perfectly know what you have to recite before you recite it. This is because if you recite it wrong, it makes it harder to learn the passage correctly afterwards.

This was a lot of rambling, but I hope it helps! Solo Deo Gloria!

I would definitely agree with Thomas, especially 1 and 2, I spent as much spare time as I could studying, for Bible Memory it helps if you can say verses to someone, don't try to do all of them. :)
If you have a brother or sister, father, mother etc. who is available for maybe 20 minutes in the morning and then 20 minutes in the evening, who would be willing to listen to you that's a great way to go. :)
I used a couple of commentary's they were all very interesting but after the Introduction it wasn't a lot of help with the test.
Also I listened to John MacArthur that actually surprisingly helped with knowledge of the book, some Greek words, locations etc. But there are a lot of better sources, I just like listening to Him.
And I'm getting into the lot of rambling too. :)

@Thomas and Nathan: Thank you for all the advice you have given me. You say to spend a lot of time studying and I thought I did. I spent about 8 hours a day 5 days a week. I was talking to Nathan Tappendorf at nationals and he said he didn't study sometimes for a week at time depending on how busy he was. So how I am wondering how it is that some people can study less then I did and do way better than me. Is it because they "study smarter" then I do…they study the right things and I don't?

@biblebee, that is a tough question. You certainly spent a lot more time studying for Nationals than I did. It could be that they study the right things. Another thing could be how good that person is at test-taking. Personally, I have struggled with test-taking in the past, and it was my weakness this year at Bible Bee too. However, before Bible Bee started, I was using a SAT study course to prepare me to take the SAT, and it gave me some tips on good test-taking. You see, not every test question has an obvious "right" answer. On those questions, you must instead try to eliminate choices that could not be the answer until you have a choice that you just can't eliminate. There may not be enough time to do this on every question, but it certainly helps if you are unsure of one question. Also, if you are not positive that an answer is wrong, don't change it. From what I heard, studies relating to, I assume, the SAT reveal that your first answer choice has a "good" likelihood to be chosen. I say "good", because I doubt that it is always right. I was talking to Nathan Tappendorf and Ryan Sinni, and from what they said you should pretend to be making the test. In other words, pick the answer choice you would pick if you were the one making the test.

Again, this seems kind of ramblish. Solo Deo Gloria!

@Thomas: Thank you for the advice. My parents think that we don't do as good as others because we aren't good test takers. How do I get better at taking tests? By taking lots of tests? We took lots of practice tests before locals and nationals and I did well at those, do you think that part of it could be because the test at nationals is completely different then practice tests?

@biblebee, that is a tough question. Having struggled with test-taking myself, I feel a bit unqualified giving you advice. One thing that you could do is, like you said, take a lot of practice tests. There may also be books on the subject that you could get online or from a library.

As to the difference between the Nationals test and practice tests, I don't really know how to answer you because it is hard to know what to expect on the Nationals test. It is easy to focus on one particular area for study, and then that area is not tested very much on the Nationals test. Perhaps it would be better to study a little of everything, rather than focusing on several areas, unless you are sure that those areas are on the test. Examples of such areas would be Greek words, cross references, verse and book content, geography questions (to some extent), verse knowledge, etc. Hope this helps!

Test-taking strategies are kind of hard bsince nothing replaces actually knowing all the right answers.:) However, here is what I use when I take tests.

You probably already know about the process of elimination.

As Thomas said, don't change an answer unless you are absolutely sure you marked it wrong. Chances are you probably marked that answer for a reason when you when you marked it the first time.

One thing that I like to do is look for questions elsewhere in the test that might give you a clue as to the answer of a different question.

I can't remember the examples in a bible bee test but when I took a medical terminology class, one question would ask you to mark the correct spelling of a word while a different question later in the test would ask the correct meaning of that same word. Since the question asking the correct meaning of that word would have that word spelled correctly you could use that to get the correct spelling of the word. There are also less obvious ways in which you can sometimes derive an answer to another question from the way a different question is worded or by the answer choices for that question.

Another thing that I do is if there are two opposite questions and I can't remember which way it goes, I mark one answer for both that way I will get at least one answer correct instead of possibly getting both wrong. Otherwise you could just guess, but there is a 50% chance of getting both wrong or both right.

For example there are two multiple choice questions - one asks you to select "a.c." stands for and one asks you to name what "p.c." stands for. You can't remember which one stands for "before meals" and which one stands for "after meals." You could just make an educated guess from what you kinda remember or think it should be or you could just put the answer "before meals" for both questions and you will get one question right and one question wrong.

Probably one that everyone knows is that if there is no penalty, always mark all the answers since there is a 25% chance of getting it right if you mark it and 0% if you don't mark it.

@Thomas and RBTL: Thank you for all the advice you have given me. I really appreciate it :D

This information you all are sharing is really interesting and helpful - thank you!

@biblebee, one more thing I failed to mention: use a watch! It is especially helpful for the written test, because it allows you to know whether can spend more or less time on a question. I think what I did was checked my time every fifty questions or so. Since fifty questions was one quarter of the test, I could then see how much time had elapsed. If it was more than fifteen minutes, I knew I needed to go faster. If it was less than fifteen minutes, I knew that I could slow down a bit. It is also helpful for pacing yourself when you are doing the Oral Test.

Okay…maybe I should start wearing a watch. I never use a watch in the tests. Thanks again for all the advice :D

I wish I had had a watch during the test! :) I hadn't had one for years, until I got one for Christmas this… er, LAST year. :)

OK, hey everyone… I haven't talked forever. My advice: don't use a watch. No offense… :) but I think if you use a watch it'll probably waste your time. If you have trouble with one, circle it and then come back. If you have extra time, use it at the end of the test. Just my opinion :)

That's what I do too. I'm kinda afraid that if I use a watch I'll panic myself. :P

Well, it's just that you can go back if you have extra time and spend it on the ones you actually need time for… yeah, I don't think I'll ever try to use a watch… cause JIC it failed… LOL

Yeah, I totally agree. I used to circle the ones I had problems with in the book, but then we thought that they probably wouldn't like my markings in them if they ever re-used the test book. So I eventually started doing something like writing the numbers I didn't know on the extra paper, and then circling the numbers I knew I could figure out so I could go to those first if I had more time (i.e. the question in 2011 that asked how many spiritual gifts were mentioned in one passage. I didn't remember so I recited the passage to count) and that worked okay. Ooooh, that would be so bad if it failed! =D

Study…. Like Crazy!!!!! J/K

I'll share what I did a bit later (Like when I can actually sit down and write something!)

Carissa… we are in this together!!!!!!

Yep :D

Alright, sorry it took me so long to write this!!! it seems we're always busy!

Number one, don't ever think you know "too much" information!!! Know as much as you can! Also, remember that the test accounts for most of your score. I'm not saying 300 points from orals isn't going to do anything, but you have to remember that the people who are really serious about studying will most likely have a 300 oral too. Basically, you can't "make up" your score with the oral round…

The second thing is to know everything about the book(s). Know it by memory, by divisions, by topics… etc. Know the historical background, how it ties into other books of the Bible, look up all the names and memorize their meaning…
For memory, I would not only recommend memorizing the whole book, but also knowing exactly what each verse means.

For Greek, I wrote out the important words of every verse of 1 Tim in Greek. Then I made a stack of about 250-300 flash cards with greek words on them… it was sorta overkill, but I knew all the greek on the test!

As some people already mentioned, know the context of all your memory verses… This is REALLY important. I actually missed one question from Acts 13 because I didn't study the chapter well enough! :( Make sure you know what the passage is saying, who is saying it, who it is being said to, other historical facts from the chapter, background on the subject…. (List goes on!)

For cross references, I used Blue Letter Bible's (blueletterbible.org) cross reference system… it works really well. That was for the topical cross references. I also used their greek dictionary for the greek cross references. Also, the memory verses all tied into on of the two books… it's really important to know where all they tie in.

Lastly, I would make sure to always keep a clear view of why you're studying. It's much more then just a monetary prize…. The rewards of the BB are eternal! Also give your studying a lot of prayer… God knows what you need to know, and He will guide you in the study process!

Oh, and those random Bible trivia questions… you might just want to memorize the whole Bible… that way you'll know them all!!!!! J/K

Hope that gave you some good ideas! (I'd say good luck, but I don't believe in luck so "God bless!!!")

@Jordan: Thank you for all the advice you have given me. Yes, memorizing the books studied helped me a LOT! I am definitely going to memorize them every year I compete.

MEMORIZE THE WHOLE BIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!???????????? J/K

MEMORIZE THE WHOLE BIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!???????????? J/K

Yeah…. why not!!!??? HAHA!

Hey… if you're serious and you aren't presently loyal to another group… could you join the "Entire Bible" group?? :D

I hope you're joking!!!!!!!

I'm entirely serious! :) A number of people have decided to join me in the life-long task of memorizing the whole of God's Word–would you like to join as well? :)

You know, now that I have memorized Philippians, I might join back into the Entire Bible group. I actually forgot that I was in it before I moved to Philippians.

Those are good points, Jordan! Thank you for sharing!

Wow!!! I guess I will! After this years BB, I have made it a point to continue to always memorize God's Word!

So, how do I join?

At the top of the page, hover over "Account," and underneath it click on "Profile." You can choose the group you'd like to join there. Just be sure to click "Update Profile" at the bottom when you've finished! :)

Truthfully, I'm super excited about this Bible memorization plan. I've been thinking a lot about diligence and such, and thought about what common goal we all have in our life - to memorize the Bible. How many more things can we do, but we just don't push ourselves? A lot of this stems from thinking about the verse in 2 Corinthians 9 that says "But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully." KJV. If we memorize little, we see little rewards. If we memorize a lot, we see lots of rewards - why don't we push ourselves more in this life? We do so much for Bible Bee - why don't we when there isn't Bible Bee? (I understand you can't study 8 hours a day, but I feel like, at least for myself, I could be doing a lot more than I have been the last several months….)

Okay, just a thought - but why don't we make a Bible Memory Accountability? I'm so bad at following through with my memory work for each day! You can go at whatever you pace you want, but then we could all keep each other accountable for if we did what we said. Thoughts?

Sorry for being long-winded.

Hmm… a Bible Memory Accountability group? That sounds like a great idea! :) However, I hate to say that I probably will not be posting there very often until summer, since until then I will be very busy with school and work… But it would certainly be great for accountability! :) I think you should go ahead and start it, if you want. :)

Okay… so I thought I'd see if I could revive this topic :)

So, last year, I studied hard for locals about two weeks before the contest… I know, that's pretty bad! See, I was NOT excited about doing the bee, so I just didn't work very hard for most of the summer! It' was only God's grace that I made it to Nats! Thankfully, God changed my views on the whole program, so I'm looking forward to a much more prosperous summer this year.

So, how do you all study for locals? I mean, is the Sword study sufficient for the test? (I'm guessing it's not!) And any other thoughts on the first part of the bee would be helpful!

It's just that I realized that I feel way more confident about nats then locals! Weird, I know!

Jordan, if you study for Locals the same way you studied for Nationals last year, you should be good. Your study techniques and memorization skills are amazing.

Locals was always the easy part for me;) but, I guess the only advice I could give from my Bible Bee experience would be to know the Greek words and cross references. ( I think you did fine on this last year,) another thing I did was take lots of practice tests on the book and general Bible knowledge questions.

I will ask the Davis' if they have any other advice, because they do a really great job of getting their kids prepared for the test.

Totally, elanee! :D

Thx, Elanee! See you this Saturday!

I'll share a few test-taking tips that I've learned. Sorry if I repeat something someone else has already mentioned.

1. Make sure you understand the content of the book of the Bible, don't just memorize it.

2. Take every practice test you can, and learn from the mistakes you make on those exams, so you're sure not to make them on the actual test.

3. If you run out of time, and still have blank questions, answer the question, with only one answer choice. For example, if you run out of time, answer all the remaining questions as 'B', or 'C', don't randomly select answers.

4. Make sure you read the whole question, and all the answers, no matter if you think you already know the answer. I found the Bible Bee tests especially, you need to read every answer, before picking the best one.

5. Make sure the grammar of your question matches the grammar of your answer. Make sure it makes complete sense grammatically.

6. Answers with "always" "all" "none" "best" "only" or "never" things like that, are generally wrong. Answers with "usually" "frequently" "some" "often" "possibly" or "mostly" things like that, are most likely correct.

7. Treat every option as true or false. That way you can eliminate all the false answers, and choose the correct one.

8. Often the correct answer is the one with the most information. But NOT always, so read each answer carefully.

9. Test writers often attempt to hid the correct answer in the middle of the pack. Statistically, the correct answer is more often 'B' or 'C'.

10. Don't worry about the pattern of the answers (like answering 'B' four times in a row), test writers sometimes do things like that to trick you up.

11. Look for the correct answer in another question, it is likely various questions will shed light on each other.

12. An "All of the above" answer is often the right answer. If you see at least two correct statements, "all of the above" is right.

13. If two answers for one question are exactly opposite, changes are high that one of them is correct. But that is not always the case, so evaluate each answer carefully.

14. Test writers will sometimes make an answer mostly correct but add something little that makes it false. Common limiters include, names, dates, and places. Example: "The discovery of the new world by Columbus in 1482 was important because…" See what's wrong with this answer? It's easy to miss.

15. Watch for words with double negatives, and negative prefixes like: im- ir- un- non- in- or the like.

16. For numeric questions, look for the similarities between answers. Figure out what answer shares the most characteristics with other answers. It is likely the correct answer.

17. For the most part, don't change your answer unless you miss-read the question initially, or just randomly guessed.

There are always exceptions to these rules, so don't consider them law, but carefully read each question and answer, and evaluate it based on your knowledge.

I hope these tips help! I would love to hear everyone's initial learning strategies and plans, now that we're getting closer to our starting date.

Thx so much for shareing!! :)