Studying tips
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Have you tried the Cornell Notes system? For most subjects this can be very effective. The right column is your note taking while the left column you form questions, as if they'll be on a test. You then try to retain that information by looking over the left column and answering the questions you have formed.
One other suggestion is flashcards, which I do more often than Cornell Notes haha.
One other suggestion is flashcards, which I do more often than Cornell Notes haha.
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string555
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col (Chuckles out loud)
Separate yourself from distractions as much as possible. After studying for a while, give yourself some positive reinforcement, such as some candy or other tasty treat. This will pay off over time, oh yes. :3
Alex
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if you can somehow mix your other interests into your studying it could help. a prof once told me to play guitar while i was studying and try to write songs based off of what i was studying
i never did it but it sounded like good advice at the time
i never did it but it sounded like good advice at the time
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cursed fool!
the wealth of humankind is engraved into every pixel in the altar of pokecommunity
limiting myself from this knowledge would be akin to staring into the face of god and denying myself a question to the almighty
pkmin3033
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It may sound obvious and/or stupid, but quality over quantity. Doing 2-3 hours of focused study a day is better than doing 7-8 hours you don't really want to do. It won't stay in your head if you force it. Study when you want to, not when you feel that you should...to a point, anyway. And don't pull all nighters unless you're inclined to naturally. Cramming does not work. All it does is apply pressure to learn something that will leak right out of your head when it matters.
On a minor note, for exams, I'd recommend starting a month in advance and just doing a little bit every day, rather than 8+ hours a week before. Give yourself time to learn something rather than just expecting yourself to learn it on short notice. We all function slightly better under a little bit of pressure, but exams are not often just a little bit of pressure, and there's never just one =x
One thing I found really helpful was tiny notebooks/study cards, though. Write stuff out and read it a few times a day - before you go to bed, before/after you get out of the shower, when you're eating, travelling; whatever.
This is also incredibly vague, but find out how you learn best and base your study around that. A lot of things like mind maps etc. are worthless to some people because they can't visualise them, and people are always recommending stuff like that. If it helps you, then great, go with it. But if you learn better by writing out notes, or by listening to audio, or visualising things, then go with that and only that. Don't mix and match study techniques when some are more or less effective than others. Try it, but don't stick with it if it doesn't produce results.
...and obviously, focus on areas of a subject where you're weakest. If you know it, you know it. Check to make sure you do every once in a while, but the point is to learn new information more than it is to reinforce old. A lot of people I know spent all their time consolidating and never bothered to try and learn the things they found difficult.
On a minor note, for exams, I'd recommend starting a month in advance and just doing a little bit every day, rather than 8+ hours a week before. Give yourself time to learn something rather than just expecting yourself to learn it on short notice. We all function slightly better under a little bit of pressure, but exams are not often just a little bit of pressure, and there's never just one =x
One thing I found really helpful was tiny notebooks/study cards, though. Write stuff out and read it a few times a day - before you go to bed, before/after you get out of the shower, when you're eating, travelling; whatever.
This is also incredibly vague, but find out how you learn best and base your study around that. A lot of things like mind maps etc. are worthless to some people because they can't visualise them, and people are always recommending stuff like that. If it helps you, then great, go with it. But if you learn better by writing out notes, or by listening to audio, or visualising things, then go with that and only that. Don't mix and match study techniques when some are more or less effective than others. Try it, but don't stick with it if it doesn't produce results.
...and obviously, focus on areas of a subject where you're weakest. If you know it, you know it. Check to make sure you do every once in a while, but the point is to learn new information more than it is to reinforce old. A lot of people I know spent all their time consolidating and never bothered to try and learn the things they found difficult.
Honest
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I believe this is very subjective, but listen to music without lyrics. Personally highly recommend 8 Bit Universe. It keeps me focused while not distracted.
pkmin3033
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On the subject of music, this playlist might be of interest to you too?
smocks
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These are my study tips from a honors student who could manage time but doesn't:
-ALWAYS TAKE NOTES AND HIGHLIGHT, you never could go wrong in taking notes, it'll not only save you a lot of time when you study up for your finals but it'll be somewhat registered in your mind if you take those damn notes. BUT if you aren't in a position (or in the mood) to take notes, highlight the key elements in that section to make studying and reviewing a lot easier. Bonus points if you highlight your notes (this really helps)
-Don't do everything the night before. Studying, finishing assignments, etc. Always want to review the assignment or the focus of the exam the day of it's announcement. You don't have to necessarily finish studying/the assignment the day it's announced but just reviewing what you have to know is really helpful so you have in mind how long it's going to take you to study and what sections you'll need more time on to review. Also along with that, if you don't look over everything the day it's announced, do it at least two days before the actual due date so it gives you elbow room on whatever you need.
-Turn off your phone or notifications before studying. This is probably a given but if you don't already do this and you tend to find yourself drifting to your phone or etc, you should really turn it off and put it in another room if you have too.
-TAKE A NAP. If you're pulling an all-nighter while studying, don't force yourself to study until 4am and be all groggy within the time period you'd studied. Being very tired while studying isn't an advantage at all since you are more likely to not remember the information and you will come to a point where you're just "looking at words" and not actually reading them. It's always better to take a nap at 10pm and wake up at like midnight or whatever to study so you get at least SOME asleep in you. Plus when you're done studying you have some time to sleep and if you do wake up feeling tired af, just take a shower and you're off!
Kinda went off topic in some parts so forgive me if I did and I hope this helps to an extent !
-ALWAYS TAKE NOTES AND HIGHLIGHT, you never could go wrong in taking notes, it'll not only save you a lot of time when you study up for your finals but it'll be somewhat registered in your mind if you take those damn notes. BUT if you aren't in a position (or in the mood) to take notes, highlight the key elements in that section to make studying and reviewing a lot easier. Bonus points if you highlight your notes (this really helps)
-Don't do everything the night before. Studying, finishing assignments, etc. Always want to review the assignment or the focus of the exam the day of it's announcement. You don't have to necessarily finish studying/the assignment the day it's announced but just reviewing what you have to know is really helpful so you have in mind how long it's going to take you to study and what sections you'll need more time on to review. Also along with that, if you don't look over everything the day it's announced, do it at least two days before the actual due date so it gives you elbow room on whatever you need.
-Turn off your phone or notifications before studying. This is probably a given but if you don't already do this and you tend to find yourself drifting to your phone or etc, you should really turn it off and put it in another room if you have too.
-TAKE A NAP. If you're pulling an all-nighter while studying, don't force yourself to study until 4am and be all groggy within the time period you'd studied. Being very tired while studying isn't an advantage at all since you are more likely to not remember the information and you will come to a point where you're just "looking at words" and not actually reading them. It's always better to take a nap at 10pm and wake up at like midnight or whatever to study so you get at least SOME asleep in you. Plus when you're done studying you have some time to sleep and if you do wake up feeling tired af, just take a shower and you're off!
Kinda went off topic in some parts so forgive me if I did and I hope this helps to an extent !
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Repeat.
If you use textbooks, skim through the chapter before lectures, so that you recognize stuff when the lecturer talks. During lectures, highlight stuff and add scribblings in the book when you think of things. After lectures - the same day - review all your notes and read through the chapter more carefully. You can also do a total review weekly or monthly for all your subjects if you're ambitious. Repetition is key. To not be surprised by exam questions or forget facts or problem solving, because you've repeated it so much that it's easy to recall.
I bet Alex' idea is pretty good too. Personally I didn't write songs on things, but I always listened to a particular playlist when studying for a particular subject, so those songs made me recall things I had read or drawn during them. Doesn't work on exams ofc as we weren't allowed to listen to music but...
If you use textbooks, skim through the chapter before lectures, so that you recognize stuff when the lecturer talks. During lectures, highlight stuff and add scribblings in the book when you think of things. After lectures - the same day - review all your notes and read through the chapter more carefully. You can also do a total review weekly or monthly for all your subjects if you're ambitious. Repetition is key. To not be surprised by exam questions or forget facts or problem solving, because you've repeated it so much that it's easy to recall.
I bet Alex' idea is pretty good too. Personally I didn't write songs on things, but I always listened to a particular playlist when studying for a particular subject, so those songs made me recall things I had read or drawn during them. Doesn't work on exams ofc as we weren't allowed to listen to music but...
BlazingCobaltX
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Summarise. Both what's in the book and what the notes you took - as long as you get what you need to study. I found this to be the best tip for me, because you are actively engaging with the stuff you need to learn the entire time: just for writing it down, the information has to get in your head, be processed and be put out in adequate sentences/notes for you to understand. Dare I say it's more useful than making a mock exam.
Since I've adapted this strategy of summarising and then studying from my notes, both my grades and my actual understanding of what I was studying improved greatly. 10/10 do recommend.
Since I've adapted this strategy of summarising and then studying from my notes, both my grades and my actual understanding of what I was studying improved greatly. 10/10 do recommend.
Somewhere_
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Listen to music. If you want, loudly too. If you can manage to focus on studying and forget about the music, you will actually be focusing more than if you were without any music AND it helps to remember the information.
I can both speak from personal experience and the advice was actually given to me by my AP Gov teacher, so teachers recommend this too.
Ive also found that music helps me to math because I find the subject somewhat boring and now I enjoy doing the homework because I'm rocking out while doing it lol.
Aside from music, I try to write down and re-write my notes. In my opinion, re-writing stuff helps you remember it better.
I can both speak from personal experience and the advice was actually given to me by my AP Gov teacher, so teachers recommend this too.
Ive also found that music helps me to math because I find the subject somewhat boring and now I enjoy doing the homework because I'm rocking out while doing it lol.
Aside from music, I try to write down and re-write my notes. In my opinion, re-writing stuff helps you remember it better.
I could definitely see this working, but some institutions prohibit this (including the one I work at), sadly.
For me, I'd say that it's best to stay well-rested, and take breaks every so often to feel refreshed (one 15-minute break for every 45-60 minutes). Having something to drink by your side may help as well, or even a quick snack if you're good with multitasking.
Don't study at your computer/laptop, even if you have it turned off. For me, it was always tempting to come onto PC and have a look even if I was going to do so for just a minute--it wound up turning into 15 minutes, and that was happening like every 5 minutes.
Other than that, I can't say much. My study habits were rather poor, too.
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The instructors themselves could be a little strict on this, but... nobody has to know, haha. Throughout undergrad years, I've always kept my phone in my purse while recording.
LegendChu
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- Instead of wasting time on Facebook, put face in book.
- Study everyday instead of last minute cramming.
- Don't just memorize, but understand.
- Studying early in the morning, is better than late at night.
Spoiler:
Pika Pika :chu:
MechaMoth
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Take lots of notes, and, as above, quality over quantity. Whenever I forced myself to study back in the day, I tried to do it over time rather than the night before. Keeping yourself well-rested will also greatly affect the quality of your work. This includes drinking enough water and getting enough sleep. I also found that moving to different places to work every few hours helped me because I wasn't always in the same place with my butt getting sore.
Lastly, as someone who taught college courses at a university: Always ask your teachers questions, whether in class or through email (be respectful of email times, so no 4 in the morning). I hate to say it, but I gave preferential treatment to students who asked questions, participated in discussions, and were more involved in their learning. It's the sort of thing that could change a grade from a B+ to an A-. It really helps!
Lastly, as someone who taught college courses at a university: Always ask your teachers questions, whether in class or through email (be respectful of email times, so no 4 in the morning). I hate to say it, but I gave preferential treatment to students who asked questions, participated in discussions, and were more involved in their learning. It's the sort of thing that could change a grade from a B+ to an A-. It really helps!
