Study Tips?

I once posted this as a journal because I wasn't aware of the forum section back then, but now I'm posting this up not only for my benefit, but for everyone else who decides to read this forum. Well, to put it bluntly, can you please share some unique or unheard of strategies to get better marks?

Well, when I was taking Anatomy 101, I found making flashcards of my vocab useful. I also used this in German and Spanish. If you don't want to use flashcards, you can take a piece of paper and fold it in half and write the vocab words on one side and the definition on the other, and keep it so that you can see the definitions.

I have no idea how to study for math. With science and history classes, I only highlight the important parts and then go back and read them over and over. But that is definitely easier when you are given a study guide.
In college, you're lucky if you get a list of the chapters the exam will be covering. My Women and gender class killed me because the teacher just wrote down a list of every article we did in those past 8 weeks, and kind of left us to figure out what was important and what wasn't. Nobody did very good in that class.

I realise that I study better if I do last minute studying. It's not a good thing to do, especially if you have too many things to study for. For me, I start studying maybe 5 days prior to the exams and 2 nights before I'll probably stay up until, say, 4am to try and cram as much as I can.

I also do a list of topics for subjects that I'm studying for so that I can tick them off after I've completed studying them.

I also like to be completely all alone in a quiet room when I study. I like to read my notes out loud too so that I can remember. I also tend to re-write my notes; so that I read and write it at the same time. Makes it easier to remember.

What I need during my study session is my laptop (to play music, low volume), coffee and cigarettes.

But I suppose everyone has their own way of studying, this is mine. I remember I was really sick the day before my finals, but I stayed up till 7am cramming even if I was having bad flu. But I managed to ace it, phew.

For me studying was never a serious thing, neither do i do lot of planning for it. I just prioritize everything, and follow a daily routine. I used to take notes in class and copy them again nicely at home. So that gives me the revision of whatever I studied in the class. Paying attention in the class and studying everything with interest are also two important things. Clear up misunderstandings in class is better than thinking about it for the whole year. Study regularly, may be little, but keep in touch with the books and notes. I think these few things are enough for succeeding in exams with good grades.

Always do your homework. My freshman and sophomore year, I didn't do shit, and it's caught up with me. My weighted GPA is 2.3, and I'm struggling now. I'm taking 2 A classes and I'm doing Duel enrollment and online classes to makeup for the credits that I'm missing.

I was so stupid. Homework isn't that hard to do, and it's a lot easier than having to basically re-take two years.

Mind maps! And colour, worked for me :) x

Pulling all nighters do not work as well as everyone seems to think. They make it worse so try to avoid it.

Simple: don't type your notes, write them, and whenever anyone gives you their notes, make sure you write them down word for word, too.

Also, look at what's on the syllabus for whatever subjects you do and make sure you've actually learnt what's there (and the syllabuses are as easy as anything to find, or at leas they are here in Australia, because they put them all online).

Don't just know what's in the textbooks and what you've had to do for assignments and whatever work you did in class. Go out and learn some more stuff relevant to the topic, because referencing non-textbook stuff looks really good in exams and sets you out from the crowd.

Be able to analyse what you've learnt. This is probably more relevant in English and History-related subjects, but possibly relevant to Art theory and photographic theory and whatever. Also be able to debate an issue from both sides, but if it comes up in an exam, only argue the side you agree with--but be sure to reference the opposing arguments just for safe measure.

Be able to quote from experts. This ties in to not just reading the textbook. But, yeah, definitely be able to quote from historians and people who were around at the time for History, and reference scientific theories in the sciences, and quote your texts in English.

Also, if you can get a copy of past exam papers and see what's on them, you definitely should. You'll be able to pick up what questions they'll ask. This is probably the most important bit, except for checking the syllabus.

Because you've theoretically got your past exam papers, theoretically you should also be able to come up with some prepared responses. Now, by prepared responses, I don't mean taking them from the internet; I mean actually writing your own. And get a teacher to mark them so you know how good they are.

This is the kind of stuff your teachers should have already told you. If they haven't, you've either a) not been listening or b) your teacher's honestly crap.

For memorizing lists use mnemonics.

For Math, there is no shortcut unless you know a technique. Practice makes perfect like they say. Know the basics and try solving many problems as much as you can. (you may also do this while listening to music)

For History, write down the important names and events. If you have a study partner the better because you can share what you know.

If you are creative enough, make a song, a poem or a joke to remember your lectures.

Compare notes with your classmates and see what you missed.

Summarize your notes if you can. Make a reviewer easy for you to understand.

Record your lecture in voice and play it in your ipod/mp4/mplayer.

Give yourself enough time to rest and study. Take a break when you needed to.

If you're cramming, I prefer you have vitamins and energy drinks by your side.

I don't know if this works for everybody, but it does the trick for me. I basically read and memorize almost all written texts and notes down to the very last detail. Of course, you have to understand everything too. This kind of method consumes a lot of time though, but I guarantee that if everything you've read glues into your head, you're bound to ace (or even perfect) the exam.

Don't procrastinate on mibba instead of studying. xD

I was never the one for studying, I never saw a point (I was never the most motivated student but passed in the top 10 of my school).

But one thing I do remember doing was when I was taking my French classes, we had vocabulary tests almost everyday (the chapter was broken up into 10-12 sections), and I wrote all the words down at least 10 times. And the last second, I made sure which way the accent marks were going (if there were any) and any last minute details.

Other then that, I don't have anything else but do your homework, take notes, ask your teacher for any clarification on something, and try not to procrastinate so much

1. If you know what is going on in one class, say that you covered a lot of the material in another class or earlier, don't complain, just take the easy A and focus on another course that is giving you trouble.
2. You can usually tell within a few weeks how much studying a course deserves, unless you only have two tests in a class, you can usually do sort of bad on the first test and still pass the class with a decent grade (more than likely even an amazing grade). Don't give up if the first test is a killer, because sometimes it is. It just gives you a chance to see how the test are laid out, and then come back with a killer attack strategy for all the other test.
3. In the beginning of a semester, don't be afraid to try out different study techniques. I notice I don't study well with flash cards, but I still try for certain classes just in case it does help for that class. Don't be afraid to go back to failing techniques for a bit just to make sure it won't help you this time.
4. Don't call skimming your notes once studying. You can't expect to pass a test if you don't at least put a little effort into it, my roommate did that once and wondered why she got a bad grade on a test we took. Studying requires getting involved with the material, answering the questions on a study guide, and actually trying for longer than 30 minutes.
5. If you have a big test worth lots of points, don't put off studying until the last minute. You will regret it. Break it up into smaller studying sessions, you will remember more usually, and you will thank yourself because you will get more sleep the night before the test. If stress studying is your calling, cool, but make sure it actually is. Make sure you are getting results from this last minute studying, not just saying you are to justify not wanting to study throughout the week instead.

One technique that hasn't been mentioned that much here, is explaining what you've learnt to other people. If you can teach them the concepts that you've been taught, then not only can articulate the subject content comprehensively - you understand it. I know this methods works quite well with auditory learners, though I use it a lot too, as visual learner.

A couple weeks ago I had a huge Civil War test for US History. The teacher, Mr. Key, told everyone that it would be the hardest test of the year besides finals, and I got a C on it. At first I was pretty upset until I saw other people's grades, and i made the top ten of the Junior class. So, what I did was:

-Reviewed my notes like it was nobodies buisness

-Reread the chapter. Yeah, it took a lot of time, but it was sooo worth it, especially going after the first section because it had been so long since I'd reviewed

-NOTECARDS!! A huge part of the test was over vocab. We had about sixty vocab words, so it was really good to review them, and it helped with notecards

-I stayed after school and got help from my teacher. I find that it's better to actually get help if you aren't understanding something. They will help no matter what.

-Sometimes the teacher even has 'study parties'. I've found that that really helps to. It's a great way to get extra extra help after school. And they're usually tons of fun, so maybe you could request a study party after school.

So, that's pretty much all I have. Hope I helped!

What I find helpful is making a poster with the key vocabulary words on it and then covering the words with sticky noted. Written on the sticky notes would be the question.

For example, I am an A Level English Language student. On the poster I would write "morpheme" and then cover that word with a sticky note.
On the sticky note I would write "The smallest unit of meaning"

This helps because it tests you, which psychologically is good to improve your memory.

Hope this helps you! :)

Im a cram studier (is that even a word.. xD) myself.

I read through all the notes ive taken over the set period of time (or for the year if its a final exam) and then I rewrite out the ones im not too certain on or I cant understand. If really stuck on notes, etc I look through any essential textbooks I have for the subject.

This year im going to look at exam papers for the previous years and use them as a revision point (I did this for one of my exams like year and it felt like a heaven-send!)

Apart from that I really adore @ My_Lovexox 's idea. I was an Alevel English Language study and I felt it horrible by the end.. xD All those words, meanings- we had a chart of words, then definiton, then example. Those were useful and most people had them on the exam day (before the exam started obviously- and then in their bags, etc after).

He also used to try and related so of our key points during rough times to a small Yoda doll, and whilst I sat that exam it was in the study hall. THAT was hilariously amazing. xD

I'm writing finals now and I've realised that if I learn a section and then step away for five minutes to think about it, I retain the information better than if I simply learn block upon block of work. It's not really a tip, but I think it lets the work settle in your brain before you start on something completely different.

One of my math proffessors told me to do my math homework THREE TIMES. You do it once to turn in and then two more times. When he said this I thought he was crazy but it really works, for math classes at least.

By the third time you DEFINITELY understand the material. That's how I study for math classes, but it can take up A LOT of time, so you have to start at least a week in advance.

Normally i try to spend one hour per section and i both review the section and then do the homework. Normally i use my previously done homework for help if i really need it, but by the third time I can normally go without using it.

So, I think you should try it out and see how it works for you. Most math tests do tend to follow the homework pretty closely, and by the third time around on the homework you're basically a pro on the material.