Study Tips?

JupiterPluto35

Any study Tips for someone who isn't great at it?

Reply 1

Anonymous #1

Original post

by JupiterPluto35

Any study Tips for someone who isn't great at it?

(sorry this is a bit long) when you say "not great" wdym?

if it's a matter of getting distracted easily: take breaks !! super important so that you're actively reading the material and you actually understand the content. do you listen to music whilst studying?? bc that's fine -- but only if it's the right music (lofi, ambient noise etc). if you think it doesn't help, don't listen to it. a good way to combine these two is going on spotify/similar and looking for pomodoro playlists (or make one), they're great for timekeeping and make studying somewhat enjoyable.

sometimes your brain is just. not going to be able to focus. and that's okay!! don't try and force something that isn't there, bc then you have to relearn the content and its even more miserable. in order to prepare for potential days like this, make sure you start your studying EARLY, so you arent in a situation where you have an exam in 2 days and can't study.

get accountability. text ur siblings/friends/whatever "if i don't do 2hrs or finish this chapter and send proof you can post an embarrassing picture of me on ur story" or something idk. if your phone is distracting you literally give it to someone and ask them to not give it back until you've studied. trust you lock in SO HARD. just make sure that's not at the expense of actually learning the content.

if it's a matter of not understanding the content: you need to change ur study methods. idk what you do, but active recall is super important. and that means doing a LOT of testing yourself. making flashcards isn't studying. looking at notes isn't studying. reading the textbook isn't studying. these function as prerequisites *to* studying, but they're very passive and you won't actually understand the content in the long term.

let's say you want to revise flame tests in chemistry. WITHOUT LOOKING AT YOUR NOTES, take 5 minutes to write down everything that comes to mind when you think of flame tests. the elements, the colours, the method. if it's been a while since you've done this topic, you'll probably won't be able to do a lot. but very likely, you'll have written down something. and now you know that you know that, you don't have to waste time revising it and just focus on the important things. by filling in the gaps in your knowledge, rather than starting from a blank slate, you spend less time studying, and spend more time actually improving your knowledge.

another key thing is spaced repetition. you can look it up there are a bunch of graphs but essentially the more time you leave between revisiting topics, the longer you eventually remember it for. so rather than revising flame tests every single day, leave a week (or a day, depending on how time pressured you are) before going back to it. that makes sure you remember it better for tests. a good app for this is anki, you make flashcards on it, it tests you, and depending on how hard you find the question, the time between revisiting it changes.

in general, but especially if you're revising multiple subjects at once, you need a schedule. to start, you can base it depending on how far your exams are and how much help you need with this topic. you should try and follow it as regularly as possible, and eventually you'll get into a rhythm without thinking you're bad at it.

most important thing is if you still don't understand, ASK YOUR TEACHERS. they are there for a reason. if you don't want to ask in class then stay back at the end of the lesson to ask. this way you can actually study without major misconceptions you'll have to deal with later, with the added benefit of showing your teachers you "care about the subject" and have a "desire to learn" (which helps with refs ;D)

hope this helps!! i'd love more information on what you consider "not great" if you want. have a nice day xx

Reply 2

EdgeHillStudents

Official Rep

Original post

by JupiterPluto35

Any study Tips for someone who isn't great at it?

Hi @JupiterPluto35 !

It can be difficult to study, especially if you're lacking motivation. My advice would be to list the topics you need to cover or things you need to do. Break each one into smaller sections that you can tick through. It's also best to study in small, short bursts. Take regular breaks so you do not get burnt out!

Depending on what you need to study, I find that watching relevant videos or listening to relevant podcasts, audiobooks etc. helps to build motivation.

I hope this helps, good luck!

Emily
Third Year Creative Writing Student