how?? ~to study

Outline:

1. Manage your time
2. How not to study
3. Make a study outline
4. Write sample essays & do sample problems
5. Make "flash cards"
6. Stop studying when you feel confident

DAY	PART OF DAY	WHAT TO DO
Day 1	morning	study for exam #1
	afternoon	study for exam #2
	evening	study for exam #3
Day 2	morning	study for exam #1
	afternoon	study for exam #2 or #3 (or both)
	evening	study for exam #1
Day 3	morning	study for exam #1
	afternoon	take exam #1
	evening	study for exam #2
Day 4	morning	study for exam #3
	afternoon	study for exam #2
	evening	study for exam #3
Day 5	morning	study for exam #2
	afternoon	take exam #2
	evening	study for exam #3
Day 6		take exam #3

Believe it or not, re-reading your textbook has "little or no benefit" when you are studying for a test. (Callender & McDaniel 2009).

Most students don't realize this, because they have an "illusion of competence" (that is, you think you know the material better than you really do) when they re-read notes and textbooks (Karpicke et al. 2009), especially when re-reading passively instead of actively.

One method of studying that is better than passive re-reading is the "read-recite-review" ("3R") method: "Read the text, set the text aside and recite out loud all that [you can] remember, and then read the text a second time" (McDaniel et al. 2009).

More importantly, you learn better and remember more from repeated testing (from both in-class quizzes and from self-testing at home) than from repeated reading (Karpicke et al. 2009). (So when your instructor gives you lots of quizzes or tells you to memorize basic facts, don't complain! That's the best way to learn and to remember what you learn.)

The next few sections give you some suggestions on how to do this.

Stop Studying When You Feel Confident

How do you know when you've studied enough? It's not when you're tired of studying! And it's not when you've gone through the material one time! You should stop only when you get to the point that you feel confident and ready for whatever will be on the exam—when you're actually eager to see the exam to find out if you guessed its contents correctly.

Do Research & Write Essays.

Outline:

1. Choose topic carefully
2. Do research
3. Make an outline
4. Write, using your outline
5. Edit
6. Manage your time
7. Some Interesting Online Articles on Writing

Do I Really Have to Do All This?

Right about now, you're probably asking yourself whether you really have to do all of this. It seems like an awful lot of work.

Well, of course, you don't have to do all of it at once. Try various of these suggestions to see what works for you. Try some variations that may better fit your learning style or personal circumstances. But, in the long run, there's no quick and easy road to studying. It is hard work and should take a lot of time.

So, do you really have to do all of this? Yes (or things very much like them)—if you want to really learn the material (and get good grades).

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