Study Skills Tips

How is Your Concentration?

A major problem for students is the inability to concentrate and retain
information in memory. Below are some ways to combat this problem.
1. Find a good place to study. This doesn't have to be the library. Find
a place that suits your needs.
2. Set up a time limit in order to help you define your studying.
Studying without a limit may become overwhelming.
3. Read with a pencil in hand. This is not only for noteta!ing" but also
for mar!ing the margin whenever your mind wanders. This ma!es you
more aware of when your mind is wandering" and this" gives you more
control.
4. #ive yourself little rewards" li!e a fiveminute brea!" to help get you
through tough studying periods.
5. $se numbers to organi%e and remember important information.
6. Find ways to help relieve tension and fatigue. &oing some physical
'study e(ercises' li!e touching your toes" can help !eep you awa!e
and alert.
Study Strategies
ink w!at you are learning in class to your long"range goals#
Try to apply what you are learning in class to practical situations or
your daily life.
$ake learning to write your %ost i%portant goal as a college
student#
#ood writing s!ills are the basis of success in many college courses
and will prove e(tremely useful in a career.
&denti'y your learning style#
Try to identify your learning style. )f you don't !now how you learn the
best" you can benefit some online surveys to help you discover your
learning s!ills. *nce you !now it" use it as much as possible in your
studying process.
(se %any study %et!ods#
+e learn through repetition" but that doesn't mean that the
information has to be repeated in the same way. $se a variety of
strategies li!e reviewing notes" ma!ing flashcards" outlining chapters
or studying in groups.
)udget Your Ti%e#
Set aside specific hours each day for concentrated study. Stic! to it
closely. $se personali%ed rewards to help you establish this study
habit.
*li%inate +istraction#
,ou will learn more when there is little or nothing to divert your
attention. #et rid of all visual and auditory distractions such as the T-
or radio.
)e an acti,e learner#
This re.uires you to actually process what you are hearing or reading.
/ut things in your own words. As! .uestions.
+e,elop a reading strategy#
/01R is practical. )t stands for2 /review" 0uestion" Read" +rite" Recall
and Review.
Strategies 'or i%pro,ing test per'or%ance#
3. Ta!e good notes
4. Review notes after each class
5. Begin reviewing at least a wee! before you ta!e your test
1. Ta!e control of your time
6. Test yourself
Classroo% -ssess%ent Tec!ni.ues
/or Teac!ers#
$se these classroom assessment techni.ues to test the learning that's
happening in class and in your study groups" and to figure out what's
wor!ing and what's not. That way" you can be sure the students are
getting the most out of your supplemental instructions. These are just
a few of the many 7AT's out there.
1. $inute 0aper
As! students to ta!e one or two minutes at the very end of study
group to respond to the following .uestions2 '+hat was the most
important thing you learned during today's session8' and '+hat
important .uestion remains unanswered8'
2. $uddiest 0oint
As! students to ta!e one minute to e(press what they found to
be the 'muddiest' or most unclear point of the session. 9,ou can
also as! them what they found to be the clearest point:.
3. *%pty 1utlines
/rovide a s!eleton outline of the class lecture;discussion and
have students in study group use their notes" te(tboo!" etc to
complete the outline. This can be a great small group activity.
4. 1ne Sentence Su%%ary
As! students to synthesi%e an entire discussion;<ecture into one
informative" grammatical" and long summary sentence. Again"
this is great in small groups.
5. 2ord 3ournal
First" as! students to summari%e a short te(t in a single word.
Then have them write a paragraph or two e(plaining why they
chose that word. This helps students write highly condensed
abstracts and to 'chun!' large amounts of information for more
effective storage in ling termmemory.
6. Concept $aps
=ave students draw or diagram the mental connections between
a major discussion;<ecture concept and other concepts they
already !now. ,ou can now assess how well they're
comprehending and connecting ideas.
4. Student 5enerated Test .uestions
As! students to generate possible test or discussion .uestions.
This lets you see what they consider to be the most important
content and how well they are able to manage this content" )t
also empowers students to believe they can predict and study for
e(ams in a proactive manner rather than believing e(ams are
random events.
-nnotation Tips
Annotation is the systematic mar!ing of a te(t. )t allows you to absorb
more information from reading and reviewing in less time. +hen
properly used" annotation can ma!e any boo! more understandable. )t
doesn't matter if it's about calculus or Sha!espeare.
To properly annotate a boo! you need to have a plan. The last thing
that you want to do is start highlighting everything on the page. After
all" the point of mar!ing your boo! is so that you can review a chapter
without having to reread the whole thing.
Annotation will ma!e your boo! li!e an easy to read road map. )t will
tell you what the important attractions are and how to get there.
5etting Started
These are the tools you will need.
> =ighlighting pens 9three or more colors preferable:
> A pen
> ,our active reading s!ills
Hig!lig!ting
> =ighlight important passages" but remember to highlight as little as
possible.
> &o not highlight a paragraph when a sentence will do.
> &o not highlight an entire sentence when a couple of words will do.
> ,ou goal is to simplify the ideas of the te(t. This will help you to
review at a glance.
> Try using different colored highlighters for different purposes. Try
these ideas2
#reen for definitions
,ellow for the paragraph's main idea
/in! for possible e(am .uestions
*range for e.uations 9if it is a math or science:
+hich color you use for which purpose doesn't matter. ?ust remember
to be consistent.
2riting 6uestions or 7otes
> $se your pen for writing .uestions. )f you are reading your boo! and
find that you are wondering what is going on" write yourself a
.uestion. @any times .uestions will be answered later in the boo! or
your instructor can answer them. )t is important that you write down
your .uestions so that you can be sure that you get them answered.
> Before a .ui% or test you can go bac! through your te(t and test
yourself" especially if you went bac! and wrote down the answers to
your .uestions.
> $se your pen for writing paragraph summaries. )n the margins of the
te(t write a note to yourself about the meaning of the paragraph. The
note will be short and in your own words. This will allow you .uic!
comprehension during a review session.
(sing Sy%8ols
,ou can use your pen to jot down symbols in your te(t. Symbols are
used instead of words or phrases because they can be recogni%ed at a
glance and ta!e up a lot less space. Aeep in mind that these are only
e(amples. Bffective annotation mar!s are uni.ue to the user. @ar!ings
will also vary depending on the type of te(t.
1 for noting the author's opinion
) for noting the author's bias
T for noting the author's tone
99 for noting a passage to reread later
1: 2: 3:... for noting a series of connected ideas and their logical
progression
C and * for noting a cause and effect relationship
;...; for mar!ing a useful .uotation
The most important thing to remember about annotation is that it gets
its meaning from you. The more thought you put into your annotation"
the clearer your readings will become to you. 7hoose your owns styleC
pic! colors and symbols that mean something to you. +hen you have
applied these techni.ues to any of your readings" you will learn more
information faster. ?ust remember to !eep it simple.
,ou are here2 DD =ome DD Study S!ills DD Annotation