Do's and Don'ts of Studying
What to do to help you study:
Make flash cards.
Making flash cards is a really effective way of studying. Writing out the information on the cards help you remember the material, and makes it easier to remember.
Test yourself, or have other people test you.
Testing yourself or being tested is also a good study strategy. It prepares you for the actual test, and helps the information stick in your brain. To do this, people usually use flash cards.
Test other people.
Testing other people, like the first two study strategies mentioned, is very helpful with remembering the information. Reading the cards and asking the questions makes you see the information from a different angle.
Study in different locations.
Your brain makes connections with the information you take in and the background of your location. Studying in different places but learning the same material is helpful, because your brain makes more connections with the same information.
Study at your own pace.
Some students learn at a different pace than others. While some students learn fast, others may learn slower and need more time to process and understand the information. Knowing what pace you learn at can make a big difference when you are studying.
Take breaks.
Some students learn at a different pace than others. While some students learn fast, others may learn slower and need more time to process and understand the information. Knowing what pace you learn at can make a big difference when you are studying.
Focus and stay on topic.
It is very easy to get distracted while studying. Even the smallest things could get you off-topic, so it’s important to keep yourself focused. Some ways you can prevent yourself from getting distracted are having little rewards and goals for yourself. For example- have a snack by you, and each time you get some work done, eat a little bit of it. Setting small goals like this gives you motivation to concentrate and get through the work so you can have the reward.
What to avoid while studying:
Cramming.
Studying everything all at once isn’t a good study strategy. When you cram all the material in at once, the chances of you remembering and understanding it are pretty low. Instead, have a schedule and break up the information into smaller bits.
Memorizing.
While memorizing can help you for tests and quizzes, it won’t help you remember any of the information in the long run. Soon after the test or quiz, you’ll start to forget the information.
Procrastinating.
If you procrastinate, chances are you’re not going to get started on your work for a while. It is important to get started on your work as soon as you can- otherwise, you can get distracted and get little to none of it done. Having a set time to start your work allows you to know when you need to get started.