Study Tips: What works for you?

zoom!

There's so many of these threads I thought it would be nice if there was just one big one where people just wrote down some general tips that help them study for exams.

Here's some of mine:

Make a timetable: Most people don't really bother with this, but often when I sit down to study I find myself thinking 'hmm what topics should I do' and then I end up not doing anything. My advice is every sunday night make a timetable out for the week ahead which covers a wide range of topics in each subject. Remember to give equal time to each subject as they are all important.

Write when your studying: This it the most crucial thing I find when studying. Sitting in front reading a book doesn't do anything, well for most people anyway. You have to have a refil pad and just write and write and write everything you see thats relevant so it stays in your head. It doesn't matter if the writing is messy or the page is in bits, I usually just throw out the things I write while I study. Also it helps to pass the time and keep your attention away from looking at the clock and getting distracted,

Rewards: For me this is just taking a 5 minute break every hour. It's important to reward yourself for your hard work, it keeps you motivated. The biggest reward for all of us thought is that this will be our last few months in school, if you put it a good bit of work know, you won't have to repeat.

General Tips:
-Get up early on the weekend, this way you can get your study over with enjoy your weekend without the thought of study in the back of your mind
-Eat Healthy, get up and have a nice bowl of porridge for breakfast and some OJ. Take some vitamins if your feeling tired.
-Don't be lazy. After all that is our biggest enemy for the next 3 months. Excercise and feel good.

Ronan Keating

Christ. Another One.

It's the same "tips" which are being repeated over and over. These study threads are popping up vastly in the recent months.

**Timbuk2**

^ Good tips!

Test yourself: You can read, write and rewrite all you like but I find that you will only effectively learn by closing the book, testing yourself (with the timing you would get in the exam!) and learning from your mistakes

For Accounting: Test yourself by doing a question out in full. Time yourself, but don't stop when you exceed the time allowed. Do out the question in full. Only by doing the question a few times will you be able to do it in the time allowed. If you make a mistake, it is usually an adjustment that you did wrong. After the question, do out the adjustment again, and make sure you understand why are you doing, rather than just 'accepting' it.

Also, when making a study timetable, try not to pack everything in together. When making a timetable, it may seem really effecient to say '1 hour accounting, 1 hour geography, 30 mins maths, 30 mins physics' etc. But often (very often), it won't actually go as plan, and you won't get a full hour for accounting etc. What I usually do is leave 30 mins 'Blank Study Time' at the end of the day, for any extra study that I didn't get done. For example, if I start Accounting 20 mins later than I thought, I would stop when the timetable says to stop, move onto Geography, Maths, Physics and then do the 20 mins of Accounting that I missed in the Blank Study section (does this make any sense?)

Take breaks! Not boards breaks, not TV breaks, but go for a walk outside or something. No longer than 15 minutes, otherwise you won't feel like returning to study.

Don't listen to music while you study - some people swear by it, but it will hamper your ability to recall information on the day (there'll be no music to jog your memory in the real LC).

Make a list of all topics, and tick them off as you revise them. E.g. Geoecology, Plate Tectonics, GDA, BMW, Mezzogiorno etc.

Don't cram. I'd say a lot of people crammed for their mocks. Study what you learned for the mocks over the next few weeks, as material that is crammed will not stay in your mind for long, but people might get a false sense of security because they 'knew it perfectly for the mocks'.

Alternate between homework and study. If you do all your homework first, you might not be inclined to do the study, as a teacher isn't going to give out to you for not studying, whereas they will for lack of homework. Don't do all your study first either, as you might be forced to stay up late in order to complete homework that is taking longer than you expected.

Do your homework without the book. It takes longer, but taking the time to do it means that you can do homework and study at once!.

Avoid energy drinks. It's tempting - we've all done it, I know I have. But in the long run, energy drinks just make you crash later and has the opposite effect than you'd think. Water is much more refreshing, and cheaper (i.e. free if your tap water is safe to drink).

I'll probably think of more in a while!

Ronan Keating

Great Tips

Sleep,
eat,
drink water,
don't be listenng to the music,
turn the tv off,
take a few breaks.

Lawliet

Keep asking yourself questions. Rather than blankly reading over walls of text, make sure you have a question in mind, it helps you focus. Especially helpful in subjects like chemistry, instead of just learning off things, keep asking yourself why such a thing happens and how does that work.

Moshimoshi

It's more practical to make a list of stuff you need to get done in a week than to make a timetable IMO

Ronan Keating

'tis right.