How to Study For Jeopardy!

[oduguy22]

Hello fellow boardies,

I wanted to ask you all a question, especially the Jeopardy champions since you guys have gone through the whole process. I am trying to find a good way to spot my weaknesses and study them so that way i can pass this online test and take the next step to auditions. Last week i scored in the mid 20s. i know a couple of my weaknesses is Literature and Art, but i have strengths in Geography, History, Math/Science and Sports. So what are some ways that you guys have figured out to point out other weaknesses? And how have you guys went about studying them to be Jeopardy ready? Each show i usually average around 12-15 in Jep!, and around 10-12 in Double Jep! when i play along. I know it'll be a process, but just want to get your ideas so i can push in the right direction and maybe i can be ready in the next year or two because I'm not far off. I have a strong academic background already so thats why i know i'll get there sooner than later. I use both Youtube and Dailymotion and watch old episodes on there, and i use j-archive.com. Seems like i average around this ballpark though. Its always been my dream to be on Jeopardy, and I've been watching it as long as i can remember, i used to do Scholastic Bowl in middle and high school, and have even took the Jep! college test a few times, but i really didn't start taking this Jep! journey seriously until 6/7 months ago. Any help is appreciated thank you.

[DysonSphere]

I haven't been on the show, but I was able to increase my test scores from high 20's to high 30's over the past few years. I do the four selected Jetpunk.com quizzes every day and try to catch Jeopardy, but really it's about memorizing lots of stuff in a structured way. I print out lists of things I dont know well to study on the bus each day. There are trivia books that do this for you. At a minimum, make sure you know all the capitals, Presidents and Vice Presidents. I think the most all-around important category is literature - author, most famous works, and if possible, a basic understanding of what the books are about.

[BobF]

Have you tried the Jeopardy! app that the author posted about?

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2718

Wow, it's down to page 3, no wonder you missed it.

[dhkendall]

Number one way to get better at J! - watch the show. As much as you can. I notice that you're already doing that, but keep in mind it's a process that will take years. Watching the show will help you learn what comes up a lot because they ask the same things (in different ways) more than you think.

Second best way is in my .signature. Be an information omnivore. Pay attention to everything. Read the paper, watch the news (current events often gets asked about (which explains why I'm still bad at US government questions because I don't see much about the U.S. Government on my news)). Be aware of what people are talking about: entertainment, sports - if people are talking about it, it's likely to come up.

Do these two things (and genuinely have a tv-friendly personality) and I guarantee in a few years we will see you on the show!

[Rex Kramer]

Each show i usually average around 12-15 in Jep!, and around 10-12 in Double Jep! when i play along.

FYI, "Jep!" was the name of the kids' version of Jeopardy! that used to air on GSN and Discovery Kids around the turn of the century. If that's what you're studying for, I suggest you aim higher.

The best way to figure out what you need to study is to go to the j-archive, pick a run of, say, 8 weeks of shows from a few years ago, and then play through every category and clue, keeping track of your right and wrong answers. When you've finished, put the categories into groups by subject matter and figure out (a) which ones you are weakest in that (b) come up the most often. Then study those.

Rex

[oduguy22]

Thanks so much, i will check out Jetpunk.com, and i agree that Literature is the most important and widely used subject to me, and its my weakest I feel because there are so many movements and so many notable authors and works, how did you best keep track of all these works? Im solid with Shakespeare but all the others especially 19th and 20th century is my weakness?

Yes i do have JFlash! It is a great app and i have been using it, thanks!

And yes i love to learn about new things, always reading and surfing the net for news so that wont be a problem, thanks!

Also you are right haha, i tried out for Jep! back then i was around 11-12 but i didn't get on unfortunately, feels so long ago, but that is good advice i will do that to find my major focal points, thanks!

[hbomb1947]

Thanks so much, i will check out Jetpunk.com, and i agree that Literature is the most important and widely used subject to me, and its my weakest I feel because there are so many movements and so many notable authors and works, how did you best keep track of all these works? Im solid with Shakespeare but all the others especially 19th and 20th century is my weakness?!

You could also, you know, read a lot of classic books. Especially if your time horizon is long-term. And you retain details about books much better that way than just memorizing lists. At the very least, you can read Sparknotes or similar summaries.

[grnwaz]

All of the above are great suggestions. I've always memorized best when I write things down by hand. So I just picked a few areas to start with and made lists, filling in relevant info. Subjects I found tedious to research (ones I'm not too interested in) I asked someone knowledgeable to make an outline which I will then fill in. It probably depends on what techniques work for you. But reading everything -- newspapers, online news feeds, magazines etc., will definitely be useful. The Sunday paper is great for lists of best sellers, arts discussion, and travel, in addition to the normal daily sections. Best of luck!

[patkav]

I second all previous suggestions and also encourage you to play all the trivia contests you possibly can, especially team events, where you can pick up knowledge from other people.

Good luck!

[GameShowDude]

You should check out Karl Coryat's site. He has some great ideas about how to study for Jeopardy. http://www.pisspoor.com/jep.html

[Rex Kramer]

All of the above are great suggestions. I've always memorized best when I write things down by hand.

http://www.academia.edu/6273095/The_Pen ... ote_Taking

Rex

[jeopardyhopeful]

Don't forget about Sporcle. Also, Chuck Forrest and Mark Lowenthal's wonderful book, and On The Tip of My Tongue.

[oduguy22]

This is all great advice! And will look into all of this, thank you all! I really do appreciate it! Oh and congratulations Kerry on your run! You performed admirably, and i'll be rooting for you in the Tournament of Champions!

[patkav]

I forgot to mention something critically important from my professional life, not my Jeopardy life: take time to figure out how you learn best. Then apply that knowledge, as appropriate. If you are not a reading learner, memorizing lists is not going to be your best choice.

[Blue Lion]

My $.02:

Memorizing lists helps with respect to some topics, such as Shakespare characters, parts of the human body, and world capitals.

In addition, Jboard people have put together "Pavlovs," which are lists of facts that come up regularly (e.g., Danish philosopher: Kirkegaard). These facts typically belong to topics, such as opera, where Jeopardy questions usually don't ask for something obscure.

Believe it or not, doing the New York Times crossword puzzle, especially the Sunday edition, can help. The puzzles cover a huge range of topics, and solving them makes you more comfortable with Jeopardy's wordplay questions--not just "Crossword Clues."

[LHamilton]

Here's a nice list of reference books recommended for quiz bowl players (a lot of overlap in Jeopardy! knowledge) https://www.naqt.com/References/ (not schilling for them, just stuff that has helped me) and a good source of concise info that comes up a lot in trivia https://www.naqt.com/References/

I also enjoy StudyStack.com. It's a website with TONS of flashcards, games, tests to help you study virtually anything you can think of.

[rouquinne]

I'm late to this thread, but...

Bob Harris' book Prisoner of Trebekistan outlines the process he followed to study for the show.

In the two years since my audition, I have been working my way through the list at the back of the book Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know. Using notebooks, I write down the item on the list and what I know about the item. If it's something I don't know, I look it up.

Maybe all that work will come in handy one day.

[JeopardyBill]

Number one way to get better at J! - watch the show. As much as you can. I notice that you're already doing that, but keep in mind it's a process that will take years. Watching the show will help you learn what comes up a lot because they ask the same things (in different ways) more than you think.

Second best way is in my .signature. Be an information omnivore. Pay attention to everything. Read the paper, watch the news (current events often gets asked about (which explains why I'm still bad at US government questions because I don't see much about the U.S. Government on my news)). Be aware of what people are talking about: entertainment, sports - if people are talking about it, it's likely to come up.

Do these two things (and genuinely have a tv-friendly personality) and I guarantee in a few years we will see you on the show!

Very sound advice. It's easier said than done, but being in the habit of assimilating as much information that is surrounding you as you possibly can is pretty much the key to success, at least as far as the online and audition tests go. There is obviously a certain random factor in even being selected for an audition, but that is out of your control.


I didn't study for the online tests or for my two auditions, but I relied on four years of quiz bowl experience and over two decades of watching the show. As for when I actually appeared, I had a month to prepare, and that's when I seriously started working through as much of the J-Archive as I could. I would estimate that I played anywhere from 10-15 games a day for around 30 days, and I payed especially close attention to repeat questions and categories. You'll very quickly notice a lot of repeats, which will help you with the Pavlovian responses. Apart from the Archive and the many, many games you can play along with in real-time on YouTube, I used the usual suspects: almanacs, Sporcle, and standard trivia lists (Presidents, Vice Presidents, British monarchs, state and world capitals, state and national flags).

Pay close attention to the strategy tips you can glean from the books by Bob Harris and Ken Jennings. Most of all, just read a lot. Read widely. Jump into the Wikipedia wormhole and read related article after related article after related article until you can no longer remember where you began. You'll learn a ton of seemingly random facts, but hopefully, you'll start to see where they link together. Read about subjects in which you have absolutely no interest. It can prove useful if you appear on the show, but beyond that, you might find some new hobbies!

[goatman]

Bump: Go online to AMZN.com and buy a copy of Steven J Ferrill's 5th Edition TV Game Show Trivia. Best list of everything that repeats ever.
Current events are non-repeating for the most part, watch E-news (LOL! It really helps!) and read the papers!
Be sure to read our string on the many errors found in it. After you have read it 5 or 6 times you will start to see them yourself and mark up your copy!

[Robert K S]

The Time magazine hitting mailboxes now has a page on how to study for Jeopardy!, with a tiny little shout-out to the Archive in the fine print.