Study Techniques
Best places to Study
Library
One of the best places to study is the library; a nice quiet environment.
Classroom
If you're looking for a place where you and a bunch of classmates can go to study, all you have to do is find an empty classroom. Classrooms have everything you need: blackboards, projectors, seats and desks, and no distractions. Note: if you're alone, you'll probably want to keep the door open.
Library
One of the best places to study is the library; a nice quiet environment.
Classroom
If you're looking for a place where you and a bunch of classmates can go to study, all you have to do is find an empty classroom. Classrooms have everything you need: blackboards, projectors, seats and desks, and no distractions. Note: if you're alone, you'll probably want to keep the door open.
Concentration Tips
The art or practice of concentration is to eliminate distraction and focus on the task at hand. If you find that you read through material and suddenly discover that you have no idea about what you've just read, or if you attend lectures and have difficulty paying attention to what is being said, these tips may help:
The art or practice of concentration is to eliminate distraction and focus on the task at hand. If you find that you read through material and suddenly discover that you have no idea about what you've just read, or if you attend lectures and have difficulty paying attention to what is being said, these tips may help:
- Stick to a routine, efficient study schedule
- Study in a quiet environment
- For a study break, do something different from what you've been doing (e.g., walk around if you've been sitting), and in a different area
- Avoid daydreaming by asking yourself questions about the material as you study it
- Before lectures, look over the notes of the previous lecture and read the course material pertaining to the lecture so that you can anticipate the main ideas that the instructor will cover
- Show outward interest during lectures (attentive expression and posture) to self-motivate internal interest
- Resist distractions by sitting in front of the room away from disruptive classmates and by focusing on the instructor through listening and note taking
Note Taking Techniques:
The most comprehensive note taking systems require attention on your part. You must be alert enough in class to take legible, meaningful notes. You can't rely on "writing everything down" because a lot of information in a given lecture won't help you actually learn the material. If you have problems determining the specific relevant points in a particular class, you can always ask the professor to clarify them for you.
The 2-6 Method: The 2-6 refers to the way you divide the space on your notepaper. Make two columns, using the red line on the left of the page as your border. Then, when you take notes in class, use the 6 column for the notes and the smaller 2 column on the left as a highlighting system. Write main headings and important points on the left, including material you think you will be tested on. When you're finished, you should have a comprehensive page of information that you can quickly scan for important points. Studying is 99% perspiration; if you give it a real, concentrated effort over the course of a semester you will see an improvement. Your academic success is entirely up to you.
Split Page Method
Class lectures and your textbook--they're the primary sources of course content and you need to learn both. So combine them with the split page method of taking notes. Just divide your notebook page in half lengthwise. Draw a line down the middle of the page. Take class notes on one side of the page and outline the text on the other side. When you study you'll have both. Class notes and text together, integrated. Some students find it helpful to add a third column for questions they need to ask the professor.
Using Group Notes
Are you tired of struggling to keep up with a lecture while copying page after page of notes in class? My advice? Don't take the notes -- at least not every day. Instead, form a group with some of your classmates and take turns taking good class notes. When it's not your day to be the note-taker, really concentrate on what is being said in class. You might want to jot down a few particularly important points, but mostly try to participate in class. Ask questions when you can't understand the point your teacher is trying to get across, and score points by answering questions your teacher asks. After class you can either photocopy the notes from your classmate, or better yet, copy them over by hand while reviewing in your mind what happened in class.
The most comprehensive note taking systems require attention on your part. You must be alert enough in class to take legible, meaningful notes. You can't rely on "writing everything down" because a lot of information in a given lecture won't help you actually learn the material. If you have problems determining the specific relevant points in a particular class, you can always ask the professor to clarify them for you.
The 2-6 Method: The 2-6 refers to the way you divide the space on your notepaper. Make two columns, using the red line on the left of the page as your border. Then, when you take notes in class, use the 6 column for the notes and the smaller 2 column on the left as a highlighting system. Write main headings and important points on the left, including material you think you will be tested on. When you're finished, you should have a comprehensive page of information that you can quickly scan for important points. Studying is 99% perspiration; if you give it a real, concentrated effort over the course of a semester you will see an improvement. Your academic success is entirely up to you.
Split Page Method
Class lectures and your textbook--they're the primary sources of course content and you need to learn both. So combine them with the split page method of taking notes. Just divide your notebook page in half lengthwise. Draw a line down the middle of the page. Take class notes on one side of the page and outline the text on the other side. When you study you'll have both. Class notes and text together, integrated. Some students find it helpful to add a third column for questions they need to ask the professor.
Using Group Notes
Are you tired of struggling to keep up with a lecture while copying page after page of notes in class? My advice? Don't take the notes -- at least not every day. Instead, form a group with some of your classmates and take turns taking good class notes. When it's not your day to be the note-taker, really concentrate on what is being said in class. You might want to jot down a few particularly important points, but mostly try to participate in class. Ask questions when you can't understand the point your teacher is trying to get across, and score points by answering questions your teacher asks. After class you can either photocopy the notes from your classmate, or better yet, copy them over by hand while reviewing in your mind what happened in class.
Skimming Tips
Recall how you find a name in a telephone book? You don't read any more than necessary to find the name you seek. Notice that you go directly down a column of news. Maybe you use your finger to guide your eyes. This type of reading is usually called scanning. Skimming uses the same type of skill mechanically but a different skill mentally. In scanning, you know what you are looking for. In skimming you don't.
Since you don't know exactly what you are looking for while skimming, prepare yourself by reading the title, source, author, and picture: then you question yourself, -- who, what, when, where is this likely to be mainly about? With a questioning mind you direct your eyes down the column of print, or in a zig-zag, if the lines are quite long. Look for exact names of people, places, things, ideas, numbers, and words like therefore, whenever, until, because, and instead, to clue you to how and why.
When you first start to learn to skim you may see only the words in bold type, italics, digits, or capitalized words. Soon you will note new or unusual vocabulary. As you become an efficient skimmer your span of perception will develop and your ability to make closure will increase.
Skim everything you intend to read before you make a final decision to read, discard, or study the material.
Skim all highlighting and develop a read-skim pattern to use for rapid review. And don't overlook this! Reviewing frequently and rapidly is the best way to memorize (or simply remember information) from notes and long text assignments.
Recall how you find a name in a telephone book? You don't read any more than necessary to find the name you seek. Notice that you go directly down a column of news. Maybe you use your finger to guide your eyes. This type of reading is usually called scanning. Skimming uses the same type of skill mechanically but a different skill mentally. In scanning, you know what you are looking for. In skimming you don't.
Since you don't know exactly what you are looking for while skimming, prepare yourself by reading the title, source, author, and picture: then you question yourself, -- who, what, when, where is this likely to be mainly about? With a questioning mind you direct your eyes down the column of print, or in a zig-zag, if the lines are quite long. Look for exact names of people, places, things, ideas, numbers, and words like therefore, whenever, until, because, and instead, to clue you to how and why.
When you first start to learn to skim you may see only the words in bold type, italics, digits, or capitalized words. Soon you will note new or unusual vocabulary. As you become an efficient skimmer your span of perception will develop and your ability to make closure will increase.
Skim everything you intend to read before you make a final decision to read, discard, or study the material.
Skim all highlighting and develop a read-skim pattern to use for rapid review. And don't overlook this! Reviewing frequently and rapidly is the best way to memorize (or simply remember information) from notes and long text assignments.
Time management Tips
Developing time management skills is a journey
that may begin with this Guide, but needs practice and other guidance along the way.
One goal is to help yourself become aware of how you use your time as one resource in organizing, prioritizing, and succeeding in your studies in the context of competing activities of friends, work, family, etc.
Strategies on using time:
These applications of time management have proven to be effective as good study habits.
As we go through each strategy, jot down an idea of what each will look like for you:
§ Blocks of study time and breaks
As your school term begins and your course schedule is set, develop and plan for, blocks of study time in a typical week. Blocks ideally are around 50 minutes, but perhaps you become restless after only 30 minutes? Some difficult material may require more frequent breaks. Shorten your study blocks if necessary-but don't forget to return to the task at hand! What you do during your break should give you an opportunity to have a snack, relax, or otherwise refresh or re-energize yourself. For example, place blocks of time when you are most productive: are you a morning person or a night owl?
Jot down one best time block you can study. How long is it? What makes for a good break for you? Can you control the activity and return to your studies
Developing time management skills is a journey
that may begin with this Guide, but needs practice and other guidance along the way.
One goal is to help yourself become aware of how you use your time as one resource in organizing, prioritizing, and succeeding in your studies in the context of competing activities of friends, work, family, etc.
Strategies on using time:
These applications of time management have proven to be effective as good study habits.
As we go through each strategy, jot down an idea of what each will look like for you:
§ Blocks of study time and breaks
As your school term begins and your course schedule is set, develop and plan for, blocks of study time in a typical week. Blocks ideally are around 50 minutes, but perhaps you become restless after only 30 minutes? Some difficult material may require more frequent breaks. Shorten your study blocks if necessary-but don't forget to return to the task at hand! What you do during your break should give you an opportunity to have a snack, relax, or otherwise refresh or re-energize yourself. For example, place blocks of time when you are most productive: are you a morning person or a night owl?
Jot down one best time block you can study. How long is it? What makes for a good break for you? Can you control the activity and return to your studies
Tips for Effective Studying
In order to excel in college, you must first learn how to study properly. Contrary to historical opinion, there are many effective ways to learn information; it is a question of figuring out what works for you. What type of studying best suits you? What time of day are you most efficient? What is the proper environment for you to study in? Before you can answer these questions, you have to do a little research. It takes an effort but the rewards are more than worth it.
Memory
When we first learn something, information is processed into the brain to form a neural trace. This trace first enters your sensory memory, and then, if you're paying attention, to your Short Term Memory, or STM. If you keep working to process the information and adapt it correctly it then moves to your Long Term Memory, or LTM. The information processed into your LTM is more or less permanent; with occasional reviewing you will not forget it. The trick is to adapt the information you really need into your LTM as quickly as possible. Your STM has a small capacity and a short duration; you may learn something very quickly, but in 24 hours you will lose 80% of that information. The STM is fast and easily accessed, the LTM is slower but larger.
In order to excel in college, you must first learn how to study properly. Contrary to historical opinion, there are many effective ways to learn information; it is a question of figuring out what works for you. What type of studying best suits you? What time of day are you most efficient? What is the proper environment for you to study in? Before you can answer these questions, you have to do a little research. It takes an effort but the rewards are more than worth it.
Memory
When we first learn something, information is processed into the brain to form a neural trace. This trace first enters your sensory memory, and then, if you're paying attention, to your Short Term Memory, or STM. If you keep working to process the information and adapt it correctly it then moves to your Long Term Memory, or LTM. The information processed into your LTM is more or less permanent; with occasional reviewing you will not forget it. The trick is to adapt the information you really need into your LTM as quickly as possible. Your STM has a small capacity and a short duration; you may learn something very quickly, but in 24 hours you will lose 80% of that information. The STM is fast and easily accessed, the LTM is slower but larger.