Study Tips

[Tharwen]

Turn off your computer. Just do it.

I know you don't think it's causing any problems, but just turn it off.

Don't just turn it off, think 'this isn't helping', then go back on it; keep it off. Keep it off until you've done a couple of hours, then do some gaming for a bit to 'reward yourself' (oh, how I hate it when people use that phrase).

 

[PatSilverFox]

I never ever ever study and get A's.
All I do is listen very well in class the first time around.

For my entire school life until now that strategy has worked for me.

I feel like I've reached my saturation point now though, as I'm not doing that well anymore. It's really annoying.

Yeah, you hit a point where not studying doesn't work. And unless your memory is incredibly special you can't remember everything you've heard or done the first time around. So you've got to catch yourself up at the end of the year. In college at least, in high school I didn't study either and made decent grades.

OP, the best way to study is to find some way to block yourself from your usual haunts. That means no Escapist, no Facebook, no Collegehumor, no Youtube, none of that. Also remove any game systems, books, movies, etc. from your immediate vicinity. This way, you won't have any distractions.

*shrugs*
Consider me the one with the "special memory" ;P

 

[Nickolai77]

I set myself an exam question and then write out in note form how i would answer that question and refer to my notes whilst doing so. Not only does that help you remember the information, but it also helps you learn to organise the information in such a way that you answer the question rather than just trot everything you know about the topic.

I've also started doing some striotypical spider-diagrams, which are a slightly more entertaining way to revise than practice exam answers.

 

[Neo10101]

well, flash cards are always effective, possibly just general reading through some of the important chapters, not like intense just like important words and things. Don't go on in the internet. Oh, and possibly study with others if you can actually study and not just BS the whole time.

 

[hypovolemia]

http://calnewport.com/blog/

This site is your new best friend.

Edit: Also, use an SRS program like Anki for stuff that you just have to memorize.

 

[Lukeje]

I never ever ever study and get A's.
All I do is listen very well in class the first time around.

For my entire school life until now that strategy has worked for me.

I feel like I've reached my saturation point now though, as I'm not doing that well anymore. It's really annoying.

Yeah, you hit a point where not studying doesn't work. And unless your memory is incredibly special you can't remember everything you've heard or done the first time around. So you've got to catch yourself up at the end of the year. In college at least, in high school I didn't study either and made decent grades.

Or rather you hit a point where you get a crappy lecturer who expects to be able to examine you on topics that they haven't been through properly.

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

Listen to classical music. Even if you hate it, it's certainly not my favourite. It will make your brain remember things more easily.

Mozart's music and baroque music, with a 60 beats per minute beat pattern, activate the left and right brain. This makes retention of information easier.

I tried it at uni and sixth form it really does work

 

[MisterM2402]

Anki [ankisrs.net] - Brilliant spaced repetition flashcard software. I use it for Japanese and, though I don't have any particular exams to "study" for, it works wonders for memorising stuff.

Polyphasic Sleeping [http://www.puredoxyk.com/index.php/2007/01/24/six-months-on-everyman/] - A method of sleeping less but getting better quality of sleep (done by supplementing night-time sleep with short naps through the day). If you sleep less, you have more time to do other stuff like study (or more time to have breaks from studying).

If you're going to listen to music while studying, make it Classical/Romantic/Baroque/etc., preferably 60bpm - any other type of music will just distract you (especially if it's really catchy and gets stuck in your head). While it's still not been proven that this sort of music will *improve* your studying, it seems to me to be the least likely to put you off your work.

 

[rabidmidget]

I wear a deerstalker (Sherlock Holmes hat).

 

[IndianaJonny]

Get off the escapist!

Took the words right out of my mouth. This place is a time-sink.

 

[Scarim Coral]

For most revision (depending on the subjects) this are how I revises-

Rewrite the whole course/subject but only write down in simple sentence and use a highlighter on the key words.

Memories these info but rewriting it again while not looking at the written info.

One way to memories the info's (for short key terms) is to make into a short story or a quick phases that you can remember easily.

Make a timetable and which subjects (if you have more than one subject to revives) to learn on which day and time and stick to it.

Take small break per hours and while you hate it, pratice using past papers to test yourself.

 

[Ubermetalhed]

You need to assess continuously whilst revising whether you are still gaining from it. It isn't worth striving for perfection in one area and then moving on because the more you learn the less impact on your mark any further revision will have. If you feel you can earn more marks somewhere else with less effort then stop and move onto that.

I never ever ever study and get A's.
All I do is listen very well in class the first time around.

For my entire school life until now that strategy has worked for me.

I feel like I've reached my saturation point now though, as I'm not doing that well anymore. It's really annoying.

It falls apart in the second year of uni, in my experience. Worked up to the end of my A-levels very well, though.

Tell me about it. I'm in second year of uni now and I feel like work has finally started.

University is a completely different ball game to school/highschool etc. Basically everything you learn at A level is usually bullshit and the way you write essays is usually completely wrong. It was quite a shock in my first year.

About to do finals (history) now and what I am doing is getting a study group with coursemates together and just discussing questions and talking about what we know/learnt. In essay based subjects being able to talk out ideas or teach another person reinforces everything you've already learnt and usually makes you think about the questions/topics in a wider sense.

 

[zhoominator]

*shrugs*
Consider me the one with the "special memory" ;P

Trust me, I'm in 3rd year at Uni and that won't help you. Especially when memory will only get you so far. After that, it's a crazy amount of work. Unless you do Art History of course! Ha!

I tend to get printed versions of notes (either the lecturer provides them or I make my own) and come study time I whip out the highlighter and spend hours and hours going over each module to understand everything (understanding allows you to deduce some things you'd otherwise need to remember, and I've got quite enough to cram in there as it is).

I tend also to read over solutions or go over past papers to get an idea of what style they go for and how to tackle the questions. This is especially useful if the same lecturer wrote the exams in the years before (different lecturers are likely to ask different types of things).

When you set yourself breaks, STICK TO THEM!!!

And get enough sleep.

 

[PatSilverFox]

*shrugs*
Consider me the one with the "special memory" ;P

Trust me, I'm in 3rd year at Uni and that won't help you. Especially when memory will only get you so far. After that, it's a crazy amount of work. Unless you do Art History of course! Ha!

>.>

 

[meticadpa]

Ahh, a fellow Scot sitting his exams soon! I've got my English exam on Friday, rather nervous for it.

The best revision method by far is past papers, as long as you can get the marking scheme for them. A few of them are available on the SQA's website, with the official marking instructions, too.

Another good method is to get together with some friends and teach the things you know to them - that really solidifies your knowledge, in my experience. If you don't understand something, try getting someone who does understand it to explain it to you; sometimes just having a different perspective can make all the difference. I noticed this especially in chemistry, where I missed quite a few periods.

What subjects are you sitting this year?

*shrugs*
Consider me the one with the "special memory" ;P

You're too young for highschool to even present anything close to a challenge. Plus, from what I hear, American public education is HORRIBLE, and there's lots of grade inflation, that sort of thing, unlike the UK where everything is assessed by an external exam board and set at a higher level. Our final year of school is essentially the first year of university courses in the subjects, if you're good enough to study them.

My memory is pretty exceptional, but even still, some things need practice, especially various things in mathematics, from my experiences.