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Study Strategies

Certainly, studying is about gaining life-long knowledge, skills, and the ability to think critically. However, it is also about preparing for testing. As you study, always be aware of how the material may be used on a test. Try to predict how your instructor will assess your knowledge. Some tips on how to do this are offered below.

Test Preparation

Structure Your Review Time

• Daily reviews before and after class help move information from short-term to long-term memory. Before you read new material, scan over your notes and the items you underlined or highlighted.
  
  
• Weekly reviews should be more structured and a little bit longer-- about one hour per subject.
  
  
• Major reviews can be done a week before the exam to bring together concepts for a deeper understanding of the material. These reviews may be two to five hours long each session.

• Checklists can provide you with a structure for recognizing the material you need to study. Make lists of reading assignments, dates of lecture notes, problems you'll need to solve, and other to-do items. As you review each item, cross it off the list.
  
  
• Study maps can be diagrams or images of relationships among concepts. Ideas tend to be linked to each other. Draw out these relationships using lines, arrows, or categories.
  
  
• Flashcards may be created using 3"x5" or 4"x6" note cards. On each note card, write down a separate concept, definition, formula, date, problem, etc. Carry your flashcards wherever you go and review them when you have free moments such as standing in line, waiting on a friend, or before your next class begins.

• Practice runs can help you prepare for the actual test. Test yourself in a variety of ways including short answer, multiple choice, or true/false questions. Anticipate how you will be tested based on previous tests or what you know about the instructor.
  
  
• Consult the instructor about important material and how you will be tested. Let him or her know you are interested in doing well and that you would appreciate any advice about how to succeed on the exam.
  
  
• Review old exams that might be available from the instructor, previous students, the library, or department. Use these to get an idea about how and what to study. Check with your instructor about the policy on using previous tests as guides.

Adapted from: D. Ellis and D. Toft. (2002) Becoming a Master Student. Houghton Mifflin Co.

20 Strategies for Effective Studying

1. Study for the hard or "boring" classes first. If you study the interesting material first, you will likely be too tired for the more difficult material later. It's like dessert, save the best for last.
   
   
2. Study at your best time of day. Do you study and learn better in the morning? Late afternoon? Early or late evening? Learn when you are at your peak times of energy, alertness, and motivation.
   
   
3. Study while you are waiting. A few minutes reviewing notes here and there while standing in line, waiting for an appointment, or passing time between classes can really add up.
   
   
4. Study in a regular place. This will train your mind and body that when you arrive at your regular place, it's time to focus and work.
   
   
5. Study where you'll be alert. Not while sitting on your bed! Your mind and body recognize the bed as a place to sleep. Study at your desk, in the library, in a study hall, etc.
   
   
6. Study in the library. That is what it's designed for. It's quiet, and it has few distractions, appropriate lighting, large tables, and good, solid chairs that encourage students to stay awake.
   
   
7. Notice your attention. Your mind will wander now and again. That's okay. When it happens, write down your thought with the intention of addressing it later. Then, bring your focus back onto your work.
   
   
8. Agree about study time with roommates. Make explicit rules for yourselves about when study time will be, what sounds/noises are allowed, whether phone calls will be answered, etc.
   
   
9. Don't get on the phone. Let your friends know when your study time is so they won't disturb you. Let the answering machine take a message. Unplug the phone. Be assertive and cut your calls short.
   
   
10. Be assertive. Learn to say "no" courteously. Don't let others misuse YOUR time with interruptions.
    
    
11. Put a "Do Not Disturb" sign on your door. This works. People will not barge in on you while you are engaged in some quality study time.
    
    
12. Reduce distractions. Turn off the television and radio. If you like background noise, then make sure it is not something that will draw your attention from your work. People, food, room decorations, and video games are other things that should be managed if they are distracting for you.
    
    
13. Take small steps. For large projects, complex exams, or other big jobs, choose one part of it to accomplish. Then choose another part. Pretty soon, the large job is much smaller and more manageable.
    
    
14. Prioritize your tasks. Don't do what is important while ignoring what is urgent. Make a "to do" list, and prioritize each item with a 1, 2, or 3. An item should be assigned a 1 if it is urgent and must be done immediately. Assign a 2 to an item that is important, but not as important as a 1. Assign a 3 to what needs to be done, but not right away. Work on the 1's first, then the 2's, then the 3's.
    
    
15. Be honest with yourself. Notice when you give yourself "permission" not to study. Notice when something more "important" seems to come along, or when you set up a situation that is incompatible with your goal of studying.
    
    
16. Make a public commitment. Announce to your best friend your promise to study according to your plan. Allow your friend to check back with you and see if you followed through on your commitment.
    
    
17. Know your study preferences. Each of us is unique. Some people are more productive studying for short periods of time with brief breaks in between, while others prefer longer study sessions with longer breaks. Learn how you study best.
    
    
18. Challenge yourself. Be careful about setting goals that are too easy and unrewarding. When we push ourselves just a little, we can feel good about what we accomplish. Consider setting goals that are just beyond what you have accomplished in the past.
    
    
19. Make choices. There may be times when you have to make tough choices about how to prioritize your study time. For instance, it may be critical to get an 'A' or 'B' on a particular test, while you can afford to earn a lesser grade on a test for another class. Allocate study time to those classes accordingly.
    
    
20. Reward yourself. Plan ahead for a nice reward that you will give yourself when you finish studying as planned. This could be watching a favorite TV show, hanging out with friends, going out to eat, or anything else you enjoy.
    

Adapted from: D. Ellis and D. Toft. (2002) Becoming a Master Student. Houghton Mifflin Co.

Memorization Strategies

• Make it meaningful. Look at the big picture. Know what you want from your education. Make connections between your goals and what your are studying for your class, even if it seems like a stretch.
  
  
• Create associations. Relate the new information you are studying to knowledge you already have. For instance, suppose you are introduced to someone named James. Create an association between the new person and someone else you know named James, even if the person is a celebrity or someone you do not know first-hand.
  
  
• Learn it actively. Stand up, walk around the room, and gesture while reciting the material aloud. Get your whole body involved and read with energy and passion.
  
  
• Relax. Not in opposition to the active learning mentioned above, engaging in relaxation before and during reading can also be effective. This is not the same as being drowsy. Instead, it is a state of alertness, free of tension, during which our minds can take in new information. Check out the online relaxation exercises on this web site.
  
  
• Create pictures. Draw cartoons or diagrams to help connect information with visual imagery. In this way, you can "see" the information for later recall. This activity captures information in a way that is different when you simply read it in text form.
  
  
• Recite and repeat. As creating pictures helps store information in a different way than reading, so does reciting it out loud. Hearing yourself say the information is the first step, with repetition being important as well.
  
  
• Write a jingle. Using the major concepts of a topic, write a little jingle to the tune of a song you like or a popular commercial product. Sing it out loud. Don't forget to repeat it over and over.
  
  
• Use mnemonics. A mnemonic is a method of creating a word, rhyme, or phrase to remember a concept or series of information. For instance, the start letter in each word of the mnemonic, "My Very Enormous Mother Just Served Us Nine Pies," is also the start letter of each of the nine planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, etc.).
  
  
• Combine memory strategies. Use several of the suggestions listed above to memorize a concept. One technique may be helpful in remembering portions of information, with the rest being filled in with another technique.

Adapted from: D. Ellis and D. Toft. (2002) Becoming a Master Student. Houghton Mifflin Co.