Your study skills do matter. Long before the exam, you have to develop some effective ways of studying. Reading the material skimming won t do. Take good notes. Annotate the text and ask questions, participate in discussions.
Notes are a pre-writing exercise.
Put question marks or stars next to things you think might show up on a test. Be able to refer to the page and paragraph. Develop your opinions. Care about what you believe and defend it. Decide what you think about it well in advance of the test.