College “Study” Survival Guide



College “Study” Survival Guide

Effective Home “STUDY” Habits

Question: What exactly is studying?

* Studying is not memorization.

* Studying is not staring at notes or a textbook—which students frequently do.

* Studying is not “logging time”.

* Studying is not something that is done the night before a test or exam.

* Effective studying is any activity that reinforces material learned in school.

Question: What are effective ways to study at home?

This depends on the student, but some effective study habits are any of the following:

 

1. "Reading to understand” the textbook

Reading to understand is different from normal reading. You do not read a textbook like you read a novel or a magazine. When reading a textbook, you must "read to understand” meaning that if you don t completely understand the paragraph you just read, go back and read it again. This may mean that you read a paragraph multiple times before you completely understand it. Reading a textbook in this way is very time consuming--but is the only way to properly understand the material presented in the book.

2. Reading notes

This study technique is only valuable if you take good notes. See #3 on how to make notes a valuable study tool.

3. Rewriting and reorganizing notes from class that day

When you take notes in a college class it is not possible to write everything the teacher is saying, instead you try to record the main idea. The problem is that you forget the message of the main idea almost immediately. Each night, you should take out your notes and make sure that they make sense. Rewrite the notes using the textbook or any other class material to provide clarification to the main ideas in your notes. Organize the notes in a meaningful way. Type them in your computer or rewrite them in a separate copybook. This will make the notes more valuable as a test/exam preparation tool.

4. Answering questions in writing at the back of the chapter

Answer all of the questions in writing. Use the recopied notes copybook as a good place to put your answers. If you can t answer a question, see the Professor/TA for assistance.

5. Solving problems in writing at the back of the chapter

Solve all of the problems in writing. Use the recopied notes copybook as a good place to put your answers. If you can’t answer a problem, see the Professor/TA for assistance.

6. Explaining the material in the chapter to someone else**

**Perhaps the most effective way to study. If you can explain it to someone else--you know the material. Get a study partner so you can work together explaining concepts.

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