Studying tips

kilbride01

Hey i am repeating this year and need some help. I was just wondering whats your best way of studying...what way suits you the best? i would love to hear what way worked best for you?

JamesJB

Already posted some in another thread but...

Try this: http://ichi2.net/anki/
Watch the tutorial, see if you would implement it. I link to this often because I genuinely think it to be useful and I didn't discover it soon enough to really make use of it (but now, college awaits :cool:)

Do French? http://french.about.com has basically all that you could ever need. If you don't like using the internet to study, you could easily get printouts and do up notes using that site. It also has links to many useful sites.

http://studentxpress.ie/ for math. Has exam papers and solutions going back as far as 1996 IIRC.

As for general study tips, I memorise things better if I'm pacing around whilst learning them. I also find the basic explanation of the simplest concepts in mathematics to be lacking somewhat, so the internet has alternative sources. If you don't get something, chances are someone else explained it better anyway so be sure to look for as many sources of information as possible.

Take good notes, shorten them down, learn the basic concepts, then learn the stuff that's just rote. Biology, Geography, even Math (to an extent) will benefit from this approach, I found.

Listen to languages for about 10-15 minutes daily and try to speak them for about as long also. Vocabulary lists are important, along with lists of sentences, but try to learn to 'think' in the language first and foremost.

Consistency and independence: do what works, do it yourself, and erm, keep doing it! Good luck with the repeat.

Noodleworm

I used to record my self reading out history notes and listen to them on my mp3.
I used coloured chalk to draw huge biology diagrams outside, I always tried to give formulas a tune when I read them.

You have to find what works for you. I found I learn better when I talk to people about what I'm learning, On long car journeys Id read tell my little brothers storys from history, Or if try to explain what Id learned to my parents. Just kept it in my head.

QueenOfLeon

Different things for different subjects, and you just have to find ways that suit you. The recommended study tips from seminars in school never suited me, so don't just blindly go what other people say...its your exam!

Maths and Accounting was practice practice practice. And more practice. Doing methods again and again, writing notes beside difficult bits so that eventually you won't get stuck at the same thing. Closer to the exam, sitting down and doing full papers with things timed properly to avoid the panic on the day when 1 question goes wrong and messes up the rest of the paper.

For the theory based subjects, mainly biology for me, I used the book and revision book to go topic by topic through the course, making my own notes. I'd study 1 chapter/topic, say Ecology, then go and do every single exam question I could find on it and correct them off the marking scheme. You start to see the patterns easily as you're doing 1 question after another at the same time.

Besides the actual studying, theres a lot of other factors like where you study, what time, for how long. If every teacher says to get up at 6am and study when you can't keep your eyes open, don't bother! I studied late into the evening. Find out if you get the most done before school, directly after school, or later on in the evening and stick to that, get into a routine. Have an organised study desk, where no one bothers you and you're comfortable. Theres no set time on how long you should study things, if after half an hour you're falling asleep at your book its time to change to a subject that interests you. Alternate your good subjects with your bad subjects to make it more bearable, but try to give an equal amount of time over the week to each subject

JamesJB

QueenOfLeon wrote: »

If every teacher says to get up at 6am and study when you can't keep your eyes open, don't bother!

In the name of Ulysses' beard, listen to this. I tried about ten times at the beginning of the year to get up early and study and it just didn't happen. Do not let it worry you if you're not the morning type when it comes to work. I certainly can say that I'm a nocturnal type, and it worked fine for me. Just do what suits you.

kilbride01

QueenOfLeon wrote: »

Theres no set time on how long you should study things, if after half an hour you're falling asleep at your book its time to change to a subject that interests you.

What if im falling asleep for most of the subjects i study :L

**Timbuk2**

Some people study well in the mornings. Others, like myself, do not function so well in the morning so most of the information learned would not be retained. Of course we have all done it, but usually for short-term things (e.g. geography test today).

dmp07

wrote:

Lets go through some symptoms that you might be very familiar with:

-You read a chapter and don't remember most of it after five minutes; sound familiar?

-You start reading but your eyes start closing and the melatonin is increasing; sound familiar?

-You tell all your friends (no offense to those who are without) that you studied for __ hours and that you will Ace the exam/quiz only to find out you did terrible; sound familiar?

-You study vocabulary for the exam because that's what exams are made of right? Then they ask for examples that you've never seen before; sound familiar?

-You take a test thinking you know everything but the grade is Sub-Par; sound familiar?

Well if any of those seem familiar, you might be a moron. J/k. You might be doing bad/decent at your respected school/university/college.

Now I'm not here to guarantee all those who read this post an A simply and easily. No. I'm here to tell you that YOU CAN change your behaviors IF you read AND use the techniques that will follow.

Ready to get started? You ready misc or anyone that stumbles on this thread? You ready to get those grades you've always wanted (or not) and to go "

Step 1: Diagnose YOUR problem.

-Look. I don't know what your issue is. Maybe you procrastinate too much or maybe you party too much (jk this is the misc). Maybe you are just plain stupid (we can change this; no offense). Maybe you are intelligent but feel as if you don't put enough effort.

-Have you ever said to yourself "Oh man I wish I put in more effort like Timmy did and got an A. I'm not stupid I know that.!

-Did you ever try to change that? If yes, please keep on reading as there are some valuable tips below. If no, keep reading also please.

-Lets go through this diagnosis together. Here are some problem areas that I want you to either mentally or physically note down. Most of you will probably mentally note it, some of you physically, and some will say this is a waste of time and skip the diagnosis. To each their own.

These are problems and you must check which apply to you:
-Reading the text

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>(understanding the material, concentrating, recalling what you read, distracted really easily)
-Time Management

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>(not planning your time, no time to study, not using time to study, sticking to study schedule)
-Getting the Most out of Class

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>(paying attention in class, not going to classes, not understanding the important stuff)
-Taking Notes

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>(notes aren't helpful, notes aren't organized)
-Taking Tests

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>(Trouble recalling info, text anxiety, trouble with multiple choice, trouble with fill in the blank, trouble with essays, trouble knowing what will be on the test, switching from definitions to examples)


I know that may have been a lot and you may have had many problems listed above. Remember we are here to fix those and YOU will do it. Remember to just jot down what problems you need to focus on and improve; you can do it.

Step 2: LEARN
-You know that you weren't born knowing how to type (ib4 matrix jokes and ib4 i was OP)

-You learned all the things you do today and in fact I bet that you were terrible at something when you first started it. Like take racquetball for example, I started playing a month ago. And oh my gods was I bad, never ran to the ball and expected it to come to me. Now I am much more improved and getting better daily.

-When you first start something, you might go "this isn't working or this is too hard." Perhaps this is why most of your "bros" quit going to the gym after a month or two when starting lifting.

-You MUST stop thinking about that garbage. Remember practice DOES make perfect. Don't be retarded (no offense) and stop before you even begin.



Short-Term Memory (STM) (some of the good stuff)
-Did you know that your STM can hold 7 pieces of information for about 30 seconds or less? Now you know.

-You can extend that time from 30 seconds to whatever by repeating it over and over. This is called maintenance rehearsal.

-BUT, once you stop repeating it, that info quickly leaves. Sound familiar? I know that I've experienced that when studying the Animal kingdom.

-MOST of you study in ways that gets the information into short-term memory (like studying hours before the test or even minutes in some retired cases) and not in ways that get the information into long term memory.

Long-Term Memory (LTM)(the BEST stuff)
-As I write this thread listening to the soundtrack from Harry Potter, I seem to remember the names quite well from the movies and even can picture the faces of Harry, Ron, and Hermione in my mind. Can you? If you've seen the movies, you probably can.

-Did you know that long-term memory can hold an INFINITE amount of information for an UNLIMITED AMOUNT OF TIME? Probably not. Well now you know.

-At this point, people are getting sick and many will probably skip to the end to see what exactly they need to do for study habits. Go ahead people, I don't have a problem, just know that a miscer that reads the entire thing might be making more money than you in the future.

-The main thing is transferring memory from STM to LTM. You do that by using "elaborative rehearsal."

-It's not the same thing as maintenance rehearsal because it actually involves you making the information meaningful to YOU. You can be a phaggot and say "This has deep meaning to me" or you can be wise and interact with the material in an ACTIVE way.

-Oh boy or girl, here he goes with the active stuff (for the first time; fail sentence is fail).

-Some examples of elaborative rehearsal are listed below:
--->Putting info into a story (Like the bicep went to the store to buy some protein to increase muscle mass)
--->Putting info into a rhyme (Miscers are pissers because pee contains water)
--->Forming visual images of the information or forming associations with people/things you are familiar with.
--->Organizing it into categories or putting it into your own words (most common thing teachers say when asking you to paraphrase paragraphs that you end up plagiarizing anyway, u mad?)

-Being ACTIVE with the information and aim for UNDERSTANDING and not simply repeating words "blah blah blah by Ke$ha" are the keys. Repetition only gets you size and a "toned body." Ya u mad.

Getting more information into STM and LTM
-Remember (or not) that info has to go from STM to get into LTM and that STM holds 7 pieces of info (give or take a few). You must be going WTF OP textbooks have thousands of words,

-STM holds UNITS or chunks of information and a strategy to increase the amont of information being held in STM is to include more information in each chunk.

-Whenever you use the world "alphabet" you are chunking. You took 26 letters A-Z and combined them into one word that allows you to recognize all 26 of them. Mind=blown? Maybe.

-Making outlines is a good way to chunk information (here come the groans). You gotta do work to be doing work son.

-Main ideas to get out of this subsection:
--->STM

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>LTM

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>Outlines/Chunking/Active Rehearsal

Some of you may be wondering when and where the F do I study to get that A


Step 3: When and WHERE to study.

-Clearly you don't have exams everyday and if you do you are probably in a lucid dream so pls go.

-You are probably wondering if its good to study very hard the night before or to spread out your studying time. Most of you have skipped this part or left the thread way above. Some of you are skipping ahead to read the next good parts. Be my guest. Again, it is YOUR behavior, not mine.

-As far as studying goes, the best time to study is RIGHT AFTER CLASS (serious).

-Before going to class, just glance at the material so you know what the teacher is talking about. This takes a matter of 5 min.


-The process of studying in small chunks over a period of time (maybe 15 minutes each day? You decide.) will help you to not say "OMG test in 10 min, did not study el oh el." Thats just plain stupidity. Come at me Frat brahs.

-Most of your professors and or teachers lecture the course so that the material builds upon itself.

-You SHOULD set apart a specific time everyday to study. It's worth it.

-Oh and if you are studying with the TV on, Facebook open, music on (ehh), roommate talking, then you are studying WRONG.

-Here are some places that I recommend you study in:
--->Library
---->A desk or your own special widdle pwace.

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>In classroom itself after class is over and there isn't another class coming in.

-State dependent learning is proven and it does work. Basically says that you do better on examinations if you take them in the same environment you studied in. So find a place that resembles a quiet classroom and get to work.


-Please don't have distractions like the TV, phone or friends

-Remember, specific place, specific time, specific duration of study.

Good luck :pac:

angelxx

Try to keep your notes as neat as possible throughout the school year. It makes revising so much easier.

fauxshow

I think that the best thing to do is to try and get into a pattern as soon as possible, like you come home from school, relax for 45 minutes and have a snack and cup of tea and then knuckle down for X amount of time, schedule in twenty minutes of Facebook once or twice, a walk with the dog, half hour of tv etc. and try to go to bed at a reasonable enough hour. It'll take a while but if you can get a routine down pat by mid term it'll stand to you!

The month of September should be spent FILING. Having everything in its right place with a folder per subject and laid out well will also make a huge difference come May, when you won't waste half an hour rooting around for one sheet of notes that will turn up eventually tattered and coffee-stained.

Finally, I don't understand the concept of studying for ''ten hours a day on weekends'' or whatever. I did four hours a day MAXIMUM in the week coming up to the Leaving Cert; most days only somewhere between one and three hours. But this study was actual productive time in which I was concentrating 100%. What really worked for me was stopwatching myself... so when you sit down on Saturday morning and have everything open in front of you ready to go, start the stopwatch. When you feel your concentration waning, stop the stopwatch and take a short break. It really makes a difference to be aware of how much time you can potentially waste... if I sat down to my desk at eleven and finally called it a day at five I had probably only done three and a half hours of study. But that amount of time is PLENTY if you were focused enough. Study is about quality, not quantity. And homework and any kind of written work counts as studying... doing past papers is much more beneficial than staring at a sheet of vocabulary.

I also highly recommend studying marking schemes online and reading the Chief Examiners Reports on examinations.ie. Fair play to you for having the guts to go back and repeat, best of luck to you in June 2011!

jumpguy

Study tips? I dunno, there's a lot of things people say you can do/buy etc to improve your study, but tbh, I've found getting the most basic things right helps the most.

Firstly, just sitting on your arse and doing it. Sheer force of will. Starting is the hardest bit.

Secondly, being a bit proactive. Write all your notes in class nice and neatly, and lay them out well. There's nothing more nightmarish than going over illegible notes just because you were too lazy in class to write them up properly.

Finally, set realistic, small, and sustainable goals for each study session. To use a cliché, a journey of 1000 miles begins with one step. If you set the bar too high for yourself, you're gonna struggle to get over it. This will take a lot out of you and is not sustainable. Or you'll fall under it and that'll dash your confidence. Instead of, for example, in biology "cover all the human systems" put down "cover digestive system".

BONUS TIP: Lots of cups of tea/coffee are a study must imo.

frser32

For me, i found that typing out my answers was really effective in run up to the exams, i would type them a couple of times by memory before an exam, especially for rote learning subjects. I found it really useful for English essays and Irish work. It worked for me as i found that typing was far quicker than writing. I think it's a very productive method of study. For Business as, i used to read a page or topic, then i would type out all i know about that topic. Obviously all of your study should be exam orientated, you should time yourself well, place yourself in an environment similar to an exam. The time when you are studying should be pure study and concentration, spend your time well. I used to do 30 minute slots, i thought this was good, as it got you focused.

In addition i found that music really helped me study. However, this does not work for some people, as it could affect their focus. But, i had stereo headphones, and they blocked out all outside noise so I was in "the zone" I listened mostly to Sigur Ros, and contemporary classical eg Philip glass, Steve Reich, Max Richter

HxGH

Most important tip = Start now.