Study Strategies
"You will have to study a reasonable amount of time to know a great deal."
- Make routine blocks of time of day, every day to study
- Study when you are at your best
- Consider your sleep habits
- Study when you can
- Consider the complexity of the assignment when allocating time
Determine your most effective study space(s)
- Library
- Home
- At a friend's, neighbor's, or relatives
- In an empty classroom
- At your job site (when not working)
Examine your study space
- Create a work environment in which you are comfortable
- Adequate lighting
- Set rules with friends/family
- Take breaks when YOU need them
Fighting tiredness & boredom
- Take a nap
- Drink something with some caffeine
- Turn down the heat
- Exercise/move
- Change your study schedule
Pyramid Theory of studying
- Gather all the material you have for the course
- Select what you need to study for this test
- Use handout to mark off when done
- Spend time reviewing difficult material
- Ready for the test!
Don't read it all again
- Skimming = reading fast for an overview
- Scanning = reading fast for the details
- Review only what youíve highlighted, boldfaced or italicized words,
- subheadings, captions, questions
- Make notes from your notes
Flash cards
- A great way to test yourself!
Study groups
- Study with those at or slightly above your level
- Organize the group so everyone has a section/chapter/lecture to master
- Make meeting times and assignments formal and rigorous so no one takes advantage of YOUR hard work (if someone isnít contributing ask them to leave your group and find another!)
Learn from your mistakes
- Locate a past student
- Study your tests
All teachers are not equal (or fair or nice or . . . )
- "Professor-ology" - get to know your professor's lecture and testing style.
- Ask when the test will be, what the test will cover, what the format of the test will be, and what percentage of the test will be which type of format. Keep asking until you get an answer to each issue!
Based on: Fry, R. (1996). "Ace" any test (3rd ed.). Career Press: Franklin Lakes, NJ.