Sam's Study Hints
      These are things which have worked for me over the years.  
     However, at the end of the page, I have added some good sites for study hints which might work better for you.

Studying


     How Much?  Most experts suggest that you study an hour or two for each hour you are in class.  The average person's attention span has been conditioned by TV to be about 12 minutes.  There appears to be a conflict from the get go.  So if you cannot study for two hours at first, study until you begin to wander.  Stop, take a break and come back to it.  As you get used to studying your time span for concentration will grow also.  If you sit there and let your mind wander, you will not accomplish anything but some good dreams.

     Distractions. A lot of people like to study with music or the TV on.  If you can really shut out the distractions, I guess it would be OK.  However, if you are really going to study for a test, study under the conditions of the test.  You do not want your memorization to be tied to music or TV programs which will not be at the test site.  So it is best to study in the quiet without distractions.  You can, and should, study with a study partner for tests, maybe for about 30 minutes to an hour to make sure you are covering all of the material.  However, studying with someone all of the time is hard, your study partner's attention span and your attention span probably will not coincide, and study breaks will not be at the same time.  Therefore, the game or program last night will often become the topic instead of the study material.  It is generally better to study alone.

     Study Space.  Set up a place where you only study.  Get a desk or small table and put only study material on it.  When you sit there, study.  When you do anything else, get up and go somewhere else.  Talk on the phone on the sofa, not at your study area.  It also is not a snack area or an area to put together models.  It is a place to study and when you sit there study, or study not (Yoda paraphrased).  Don't try to do other things in your study area.
     If you must multitask an area, remove all but study material when you study.  Don't let hobbies, food, etc. creep into the area when you study.

     Time Smart.  If you have several things to do for one class finish them one at a time.  Dividing your attention between several tasks is hard to do.  Trying to do a lot of things at once usually means that you do not do any of them well.  Concentrate on one task/class at a time and break between study assignments from different classes.

Drinking and Studying. Drinkers make bad drivers.  They try to do too many things at once while impaired.  Which also means that alcohol use before or while studying may make you think you will be relaxed to study, but alcohol will not help you learn anything except how to drink irresponsibly.  You may think a drink or two will relax you to study.  In reality drinking lowers your ability to think and the quality of your driving, or studying.


    Enough time.  Cramming six hours of studying into one night is not as good as studying six hours over several days.  Your mind, when given time, will go over material.  Reviews bring back or reinforce memory if you give your brain time to do so.  Cramming is not an effective method of studying.  Cramming does not produce as good a result as studying over a long period of time.
      You also should get a calendar or planner and put down when things (tests and papers, etc.) are due.  Also give yourself a reminder a couple of weeks before the material has to be learned for tests or before papers are due.  That gives you time to boil down your notes and reading to get ready to study.  If you get things done early, you won't always be in crisis mode.

 

      Time management is one of the hardest things to learn.  Here are some tips that may help.

 

1. Things always take more time than you think they will.  Things that can happen include:  the book you need is checked out; your computer crashes;  your printer runs out of ink; you get a phone call; you have to proofread and retype the paper; a test or quiz gets moved; or numerous other things.  If you get things done early, the worst that will happen is that the professor may look at it and offer comments or you can get those notes you don't seem to have.

 

2.  You lose things.  You need a portable file carton to get organized.  Files for each class will help.  The use of three ring binders to keep information also are good.  If you are working on a paper or studying for a test read, outline and highlight.  You will save time in going over and over the material.  Use note cards for studying for tests and for citation material.  You can put them in order to make the studying, writing and citing easier.

 

3.  If you can afford it, get an electronic organizer.  It will allow you to put in class assignments and appointments and it will alarm to tell you to do something or to go somewhere.  It is worth the money if you will use it and not loose or forget it.

 

4.  You can't do everything.  Don't over-extend yourself by joining everything.  Pick one or two activities that you really enjoy and concentrate spare time (make sure it is spare) on them. 

 

5.  Get on a regular schedule.  Don't sleep too late or stay up too late.  Try to go to bed and get up at the same time during the week.  It will help you get up and not be tired.  You will develop a rhythm and function better.  Also get on an exercise schedule also.  It is the first thing which seems to go when you get to college.   


     Syllabus. Get a copy of your class syllabus from the instructor or the web.  If you get one from the web, you can save it to a disk and add things you need to do for the class.  If you have a color printer, make your notes a different color so as not to confuse them with the professor's.  If you don't have a color printer, highlight your additions.  Make sure to mark major due dates on the syllabus in a highlighter (different from the one for your notes).  Then, put a copy in each of your texts and in your notebook.  That way you will never be without one.

     When to Study? If you were thinking: only when necessary, you would be wrong.  You should study when you are the most awake and the least tired and hungry.  If you are an early morning person, which most students seem not to be, study in the morning.  If an afternoon is your perky time, study then.  If night is your alert time, study at night.  Remember to get enough sleep and food to be comfortable when studying.
       Remember not to study during your fun time.  If you are an Oprah, soap or Far Scape Fan, don't try to study during that time.  You will wonder what's on your program, or like me, try to watch it while you study.  Remember that divided attention is not good attention.  So don't set up the temptation to fail at studying.

Studying Before Going to Sleep.  If you study before going to sleep, study and then go to sleep.  Don't watch TV, talk to a friend or listen to music.  Study and go to sleep.  Your mind will work on the material while you are going to sleep and may retain more.

      Notes. Take Some.  The first key to success in college is notes.  You may say to yourself that you remember everything you hear, and you may for a few minutes, but as time passes you will forget.  You also must remember that professors bring in information from outside the text.  You may not be able to access this information from the original source, or it would take a long time to do so.  Rarely, does a professor bring in outside information just for fun.  If they give you information outside the book, it is probably important to note and remember. So, write it down.  Your notes do not have to be complete, neat or like anyone else's.  Once you take notes, review them as soon as possible.  While reviewing the notes, add anything which you may have overlooked in your class notes.  Looking at the book for missing information is also good.  If you are a visual or kinesthetic learner, writing and rewriting notes is an excellent way to learn.

For example, I use a > to set out major points.  I then indent things below that mark.  If the professor tells me there are three learning Styles, my notes might look something like this.

> 3 types of learning
       1. Auditory  (Learn by Hearing)
       2. Visual (Learn by Seeing)
       3. Kinesthetic (Learn by Doing)
 > If you are one of these types of learners, you may need to increase this type of learning.
> Auditory by recording and re-listening
> Visual by reading and rereading
 > kinesthetic by flash cards, sample tests, rewriting notes.
(All are good strategies that may work for you.)


Reading


Highlighting.  To highlight or not to highlight...that is the question (Hamlet paraphrased).
      If you highlight, only highlight the important points.  An entirely yellow book is only brighter to read.  It is not useful.
      In deciding what to highlight, use the introduction to the chapter or keywords from the front or back of the chapter as a guide.  Key words are what the author thinks are important.  When you get to know your professor better, you may be able to tell her style and pick what is important based upon your teacher's emphasis.
       Everyone seems to highlight, but that may not be best for you.  You may be an underliner or marker.  If so, underline the important points or do margin marking.

Notes in the Margins. Whether you use a highlighter, marker, or pen or pencil, underline important information in your book and make notes in the margin, especially if you have questions you want to ask the professor.  You can copy questions or connections later to your notebook and leave room for answers when you ask the questions in class.
      You can add notes about what you were reminded while reading the passage.  You also can add notes from lecture later in the margin and note anything new or updated.
     While on the subject, put your name in your book.  Place it on the inside of the cover.  Use your phone name.  Also, put your name on a page (a special number) so that if the book is taken you will be able to recognize it.  A lot of students think that not writing or highlighting in a book makes it get a higher sell back price--not true.  In fact, some students want pre-highlighted texts to see if what they think is important seems important to others.  You just need a different color highlighter or pen to underline and make notes to make use of others' pioneering.


Other Tips 

      There is always help, tutoring, and study advise available at the Marshall Tutoring Services and myMU

      Each of the below Web Pages also has good study tips.  I recommend that you look at them to see what else you might learn about studying.  The better you study, the less you have to study, and the better you do in college.

Norris, N. (2001, July 25)   Study skills.  Retrieved August 29, 2007 from the World Wide Web:
      http://instruct.westvalley.edu/norris/studyskills.html
      


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Updated August 29, 2007 by Sam Dameron, CJ and LA Web Master