How to Study for Exams at Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen

JLU Gießen is not one compact campus. Humanities and social sciences cluster around the Philosophikum buildings, law and economics sit on their own campus, and the natural sciences, agricultural sciences, and veterinary medicine are spread across further sites including the university clinics. A student juggling modules from more than one faculty can lose real study hours simply moving between locations if the week is not planned around that layout.

The second common mistake is preparing for every exam the same way. A written Klausur in economics rewards timed problem-solving, a veterinary or medical practical rewards rehearsed procedure under pressure, and a Hausarbeit in the humanities rewards a tightly scoped argument built well before the deadline. Matching method to format is the fastest lever most students are not using yet.

Build a Gießen-specific exam map

Start with the official module descriptions and your Fachbereich's exam office pages. Record the exam date, format, registration deadline, permitted materials, and the building or campus where it takes place. JLU spans several distinct sites, so do not assume a familiar building from one semester applies to the next.

List every topic taught in the module and label it strong, uncertain, or weak. Match that list against tutorial sheets, Skripte, required reading, and anything the teaching team repeatedly flagged as important. This gives a far more useful revision target than working through slides in chronological order.

• Confirm your exam registration is visible in the correct university system before any deadline.
• Write down the exact format: Klausur, mündliche Prüfung, practical or clinical station, or Hausarbeit.
• Collect lecture notes, tutorial sheets, lab manuals, and any past or sample questions in one place.
• Note which campus or clinic site the exam happens at, since JLU buildings are spread across the city.

Plan your week around a multi-campus layout

Philosophikum I and II, the law and economics campus, the natural-science institutes, and the veterinary and clinical sites are not within easy walking distance of each other. Group tasks by location so a single day covers everything you need from that campus, rather than crossing the city twice for unrelated errands.

If your modules span more than one faculty, build a weekly map showing which days belong to which campus. Reserve library and group-study time for the days you are already on-site, and keep solo retrieval practice for days when you are working from home or a closer location.

• Batch library visits, lab sessions, and tutorials happening on the same campus into one trip.
• Use closer study spaces for short, frequent sessions between classes rather than commuting for every block.
• Build in extra transition time between sites during exam weeks rather than scheduling back-to-back commitments.
• Keep one lighter day each week if your modules are split across very different parts of the city.

Use the university library system efficiently

The Universitätsbibliothek Gießen operates a central library alongside subject-specific branch libraries tied to individual institutes and faculties. Choose the branch that holds material for your current module rather than defaulting to the most convenient building.

During busy exam periods, build a small portfolio of locations: a specialist library for reference texts, a larger reading room for long focused sessions, and a quieter backup for when your first choice is full. Check current opening hours and access rules before travelling specifically to study.

Match revision to your assessment format

For a written Klausur in law, economics, or the sciences, spend most of your revision time producing answers under realistic time pressure rather than rereading notes. Solve problems without looking at worked examples first, then check your method and repair the exact step that failed.

Veterinary medicine and several life-science programmes combine written exams with practical or clinical assessment. For these, rehearse the actual procedure, narrate your reasoning aloud, and have a study partner interrupt with the kind of follow-up question an examiner would ask. The oral-exam guide and the practice-exam workflow both apply directly to this kind of preparation.

• Klausur: timed retrieval practice, old questions, and an error log.
• Mündliche Prüfung or clinical station: spoken explanations and unscripted follow-up questions.
• Hausarbeit: a narrow research question, a staged writing schedule, and time reserved for citations.
• Lab or field-based assessment: repeated rehearsal of the procedure under realistic conditions.

A realistic final-week plan

If several JLU modules fall in the same week, rotate them across your days instead of fully finishing one before starting the next. The multiple-exam study guide and the seven-day exam plan give a fuller structure if you are starting later than you planned.

• Days 7-5: run a full-topic retrieval test for every module and rank gaps by exam weight.
• Days 4-3: drill weak topics through exam-style questions rather than broad rereading.
• Day 2: complete a full timed simulation and review every mistake in detail.
• Day 1: do light consolidation, confirm the exact building and campus, and protect sleep.
• Exam day: review only a short cue sheet and allow extra time for travel between campuses if needed.

Official resources to check

Dates, room access, registration rules, and opening hours can change. Confirm the details that affect your exam on the relevant official page.