Study Tips

1. Don’t just hurry up and finish your work.   Slow down and learn from it.   Too obvious?  Maybe.  But some students are so eager to get to the end of their assignments and close their books that they miss out on the ultimate goal: learning from them.  If you’re one of these students, it’s time for a change.  What you need is an all-new approach to studying, an all-new attitude.  What’s the point of racing through a textbook if you don’t get anything out of it?   How much sense does it make to speed-read through a passage and then forget what you’ve read as soon as you’ve read it?   What have you accomplished?  What good has it done you?  So discipline yourself to slow down, pay closer attention, and really learn.  Don’t forget: speed isn’t everything.  Quality beats quantity every time.
2. Review, review, and review again.  Neuroscientists tell us that to safely store away a new fact or figure in our long-term memory—to really learn it—we need to input that new information into our brains as often as we can over a period of several weeks.   So why not follow their advice and incorporate regular reviews into your study schedule?   Set aside a few minutes each day to go over all the new material you’ve encountered.  And make one day a week a Total Review Day.   Got a big test coming up?  Give yourself at least two weeks to get ready for it—slowly but surely.   There’s not much point, for example, in trying to cram in thirty or forty new vocabulary words in the last couple of days before a big challenge like the TOEFL or SAT.  You’d be much better off reviewing the words you have already studied and permanently embedding them in your memory.   
3. Honestly, objectively assess your current level of progress.  Then devise the study plan that will best help you move beyond it.   Ask yourself how much you know and how well you know it.  What are your strengths and weaknesses?  In what areas are you most confident and where are you falling behind?   What do you still need to learn?  How much time do you have before the next big exam?  Once you have answered these questions—again, honestly and objectively--sit down, make a list of everything you have to do, and then draw up the study schedule that will carry you through to your goal.  And one more thing: stick to it!
4. Have a goal for each study session.   Every time you sit down at your desk to study, you should have clear goals in mind.  What skill or skills are you going to work on?  What new words do you need to learn?  How many pages do you have to read?   What famous quotations should you memorize?  Take some time to write each goal down.   And be specific.  Put down exactly what you have to do.  Then glue yourself to your desk and stay there until you’re able to cross all your goals off your list.  Then, and only then, do you deserve to give yourself a little reward—a little pat on the back.
5. Make sure your study tools are right where you need them so there are no distractions or interruptions.  When you sit down to study, your computer should be turned on and ready to do as you command.  All the websites you need should be up and running.  Your pencils, pens, notebooks, paper, and electronic dictionaries should be right at your fingertips.  Or are they scattered all over the place?  Are you going to have to waste a lot of time and energy getting in and out of your seat looking for everything you need?  The fewer distractions and interruptions you have, the better you’ll be able to focus your mind on the task at hand.  And the quicker you’ll reach your goals.
6. Don’t forget to sharpen the saw from time to time.  The saw, by the way, is you.  You are your most important study tool.  If you wear yourself out, if you push yourself too hard, if you try to accomplish too much at once, you’ll dull your blade and lose your edge.   So get plenty of rest.   Do some exercise and get some fresh air.  Eat the right foods.  Smile and think happy thoughts.  We all know that studying for exams is long, hard work.  To stay nice and sharp, to make sure you get the job done, now and then you need give yourself a break .   Remember: a dull saw just can’t cut it.