Top 10 english study skills for college students – Part 2

September 3rd, 2010 Posted in Education
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English has earned the reputation of a discipline for which studying is either unnecessary or impossible, but neither of these assertions applies. English simply creates roadblocks to typical study skills and demands a set of its own, specifically tailored to its rigors. English proves to be a very rewarding and useful major, as the skills learned in analyzing literature help you analyze human nature and the effective use of language helps in just about any career. But you must first make it through this unusual discipline. Here are some tips to aid you in your journey.

1. Read the text before class and not the night before, mind you, because you will have retained very little information. You can get trapped in the mindset of “I’ll read it before the exam”, especially if the professor doesn’t give quizzes, but you will benefit much more if you read all, or at least most of, the text before you go to class to discuss it. Then you will understand what everyone is talking about and you will be able to contribute, which solidifies the material even more in your head. Try reading a little bit before you go to bed every night. Even just a few chapters will significantly ease up your work load, and will probably relax you so you sleep better.

Ready Tip Top Mobile Table

2. Don’t be afraid to re-read If you find a passage difficult or you’re not really sure what’s happening, read it again. This applies to poetry as well (in fact, I would recommend that you always re-read a poem they’re dense). Read it until it clicks. Then you will remember it come text time. Or you may make a stunning insight that leads to an amazing essay.

3. Highlight, underline, and annotate make marks all over your books, from things that strike you as interesting while you’re reading to comments made in class. These will prove useful when you go back later to study and look over themes you will locate the specific passages you need more quickly, plus you may notice trends or continued references that lead you into a thesis (the advantage being, you don’t have to look for proof because you already have it!).

4. Go to your professor’s office hours I don’t mean every time he or she is available, nor even every week, but once in a while, perhaps once a month, go have a chat. You may be surprised by the insight you can gain into the text simply by working one-on-one. Especially if you fail to understand a certain part or you have questions of whatever sort, your professor can illuminate the reading for

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10 study tips for college students – Part 8

August 28th, 2010 Posted in Education
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For the first eighteen years of our lives, most of us have spent a considerable amount of time playing the role of “student”. Therefore, you would think that by the time we got to college we would be old pros when it comes to study habits. However, for some people college marks the first time in their student careers that they’ve really had to apply themselves in order to succeed and for others the freedom associated with the college lifestyle simply offers to many distractions.

But not to worry. It’s never too late to learn the ABCs of good study habits. Whether you are clueless when it comes to the right way to approach studying or you just need a little refresher course, her are ten essential study tips to help ensure your success.

As Sweet As Candy Production Wall - Study in Cans

#1. Purchase a day planner and make it your new best friend. I don’t know how I would have survived college without my day planner. As my mother likes to say, “I would forget my head if it wasn’t attached!” Succeeding in college is all about properly managing your time and if you don’t know what it is that you have to do, you can’t manage your time effectively. Using a day planner allows you to keep track of all of your assignments, even the smaller ones that would otherwise slip your mind. It also helps you to organize your assignments by their due dates and can be easily referenced at any time.

#2. Just say no to procrastination. You’ve heard it a thousand times, but ask any college student what their number one academic obstacle is and you’re likely to hear the same answer: chronic procrastination. Procrastination is the number one enemy of productivity. Chronic procrastination is more than just an annoying habit. It is a complex psychological problem that can be a considerable source of stress and anxiety and can actually negatively affect your health and well-being. Most procrastinators have a debilitating fear of failure and would rather have their teachers or classmates think that they lack effort than lack ability. Other procrastinators have trouble making decisions. By avoiding making any decisions, they cannot be held responsible for the outcome of events. Carefully analyze your procrastination situation to help discover why you delay your work and write these reasons down. Then vigorously dispute them and learn to overcome them.

#3. Determine your unique learning style and make the most of it. Everyone learns in different ways. This is why some people excel in certain classroom settings or careers, while

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10 study tips for college students – Part 18

August 28th, 2010 Posted in Education
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For most students, the college experience will be remembered as one of the best times of their lives. In fact, it can be so enjoyable from a social aspect that many forget the real reason they’re there in the first place: to learn and prepare for life as a working adult.

As a result, many, if not most, college and university students need a strong plan of attack to navigate the academic portion of their experience, earn acceptable grades and gain the maturity needed to enter the workforce or continue their education. Here are ten tips that should help almost any student succeed academically in college:

1. Go to class. This is the real reason students go to college to learn from someone with detailed knowledge and experience in a given area. Actually going to class and listening is perhaps the primary way to make studying an easier process when test time comes. To really understand a concept and retain it, you need to be exposed to it numerous times, in numerous fashions. Start here.

As Sweet As Candy Production Wall - Study in Cans

2. Take notes. Once you’re in class, pay attention. Find the note taking method that works best for you, and use it. If you work best with an outline, use one. If you prefer writing key points, and adding your own thoughts in the margin, do that. Just use a method that helps you recall the material when you go back to review it.

3. Buy the book. Open it. Read it. Supplement what you hear in class by reading the assigned material in the text. Mark the areas your professor stressed in class so that when test time comes, you can refer back. Compare the text to your notes from class. When you find discrepancies, stop by the professor’s office and ask for clarification.

4. Use new study tools. Technology has provided college students with more ways that ever to study and grasp course material. Visit professors’ Web sites. Many now record lecture audio and make it available for ipod download. Others provide additional reading material, post PowerPoint slides, blog about class discussions and provide additional insight on their sites.

5. Do the assignments. Of course everyone hates homework, but it exists for a reason. It reinforces that day’s lesson and helps students commit key points to memory. Keep up on assignments, and if you have trouble completing them, seek out other students from the class for discussion and assistance. Talking about the work with another student who gets it is a great way to expand your understanding.

6. Follow the

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DU’s Study Tip 4: ENGAGE IN ACTIVE LEARNING

August 21st, 2010 Posted in Uncategorized
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DU’s Study Tip 4: ENGAGE IN ACTIVE LEARNING

How are your study preparations going? Daily-Update genuinely wants you to do well, so feel free to send us any queries or comments you may have about studying effectively. Here now is our fourth tip:

TIP FOUR: NEVER JUST READ OR JUST LISTEN.
Reading textbooks, notes or even novels is passive. You are taking in information with little effort and therefore you are hardly processing the data. It is akin to watching TV – it may be relaxing and enjoyable, but it may also be a trance-like activity. The same goes with listening. A person who writes while listening has been found in tests to retain much more than the person who just listens. This is partly because the former person is using the brain more actively and partly because the brain is receiving both heard and visual stimuli. An extra advantage is that you end up with a set of notes for later revision. In general, use as many of your senses as you can in your learning. Write, listen, draw pictures, record summaries onto a Dictaphone or recorder… if you possibly can engage your senses of smell, touch and taste too!

Q-Tip Study Brooch I

By the way, on the subject of recorded summaries, there is currently no real evidence that subliminal or sleep learning works so don’t waste your time on this. Get a good night’s sleep instead and listen to your recordings when awake (perhaps when on the bus or train).
In summary, never just read or just listen, unless your objective is just to “veg out.” Instead take notes at the same time or ask yourself questions about the material so that you can achieve active learning.

Until next time when we stress the importance of pre-reading.

Cameron Russell

DU Publishers for reasonably priced English e-books (www.dupublishers.com)
DU English Club for learners and teachers of English (www.ducourses.com)
Online English College for guaranteed results in English (www.onlineenglishcollege.com)

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Effective study habits for college students

August 15th, 2010 Posted in Education
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With many habits, the sooner you start practicing and developing good habits, the better chance you will have that you will continue with them. We all know that good study habits are essential to educational success. Good study habits are an important part of any student’s success. We probably can diminish the academic dishonesty by promoting good study habits with students, and letting the students know that good study habits are very important when it comes to school. Still, even procrastination can be overcome with proper study habits, and improving your study habits is the key to better studying. Good study habits are a great tool to have in the toolbox of life.

Many of the tips for success for online students are the same as those for students in an onsite classroom. Consider asking your school’s student council to take on a study tips project. Following a few simple study tips can help students effectively learn new concepts and theories. There have been numerous published tips students can use as a guide for good study habits.

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A good way to stay organized is to use folders so you child can keep his/her assignments until needed and it is a great way of staying organized. Once children reach the grades where homework and tests are part of the curriculum, there are many things parents can do to encourage good study habits. An effective way to study is to study before and while you do the homework. A little amount of homework may help elementary school students build study habits. Being organized and having homework routines are the most important things in helping your child develop good study habits for life.

All learning, however, is a process which settles into certain steps. Students with learning problems, however, may still have generally inefficient and ineffective study habits and skills. Becoming aware of your learning style will help you to understand why you sometimes get frustrated with common study methods.

Effective study habits are a very import part of the learning process. Good study habits are all about keeping to a daily routine and giving all subjects equal treatment. If your study habits are weak, take a “study skills” course or have someone show you good study habits. The problem is that those high school study habits are hard to shake. Hard work and good study habits are assets that should be nurtured. Motivation and study habits are obviously crucial as well. Good habits are important for all students to protect investments of time and money and to achieve educational goals. After that experience your study habits are permanently altered, this will help your own preparation as you start teaching and last a lifetime. The main priorities are class attendance, time management, and great studying habits are necessary workings for an academic success

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Where to study to make the most of it – Part 2

August 11th, 2010 Posted in Education
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Finding the best place for you to study is important because you need to find a place where you can concentrate and focus on your homework. If you are in a place with a lot of distractions, it is hard to focus on what you need to be doing. Here are some tips on places where you can study and make the most out of your time. College is a very important time in your life and though you may be having a lot of fun with it, you need to stick with your studies.

One Summer Night

I often find that the library is one of the best places to study for several reasons. First of all, it is quiet. There is nothing harder to do than to try to study when you have a lot of distractions around you. If you are at the library you can focus on your homework and get the job done a lot faster. Plus, you have all the resources you may need for a report or paper, right at your fingertips. Many libraries now a days have internet access, or you can bring your laptop with you and can tap into the internet at the library wireless. You can find almost anything you are looking for on the internet.

At the library you do not have distractions like roommates, Tv, and other things you may have in your dorm or apartment. You need to stay focused on your studies so that you can get it done and enjoy your college life. College is one of the most important things that you will do in your life, and you need to make the most out of it.

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Study tips for students studying foreign languages – Part 1

August 6th, 2010 Posted in Education
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YOUR NEW TONGUE

If you have a choice which foreign language to study, the best tip is to move amongst these people. Get involved. Their whole lifestyle and culture, will no doubt be very different to what you are accustomed to. Everything about their language can also be, very foreign. Confusion can come about once the technicalities come into play. A beautiful example of this is…

If you are speaking English, why doesn’t a Kurd say please when asking for something to be passed, at the table, when eating? The answer is, respect. A great word in any language. But! The difference is even more respect here. Using English, it would be said, “Will you pass the salt please?” The ‘please’ does not come into this question in the Kurdish mind, because, with respect, the way they would ask, it is automatic respect included, and received.

Getting ready for a day of outdoor learning - 2009 Duke TIP field study

To be thrown into the deep end of learning to study a foreign language, if you are not a gifted linguist, is to mix and learn. Don’t be afraid to ask, “Say it again. Say it slower.” Repeat, repeat ,repeat. No baby learns the grammar of their own language first before learning to speak. The communication will teach all that’s required, after.

Learning from each other can be both fun and daunting. Hilarious and confusing. All that matters is that you are learning quicker, if you have this opportunity. To study your foreign language this way, is better than if there is no-one to really speak with. Language is custom, and if all you know is English, be aware. Their language can also have, double meaning words.

Another tip is, learn the phonetics, (sound,) of their given letters of their language, which is usually called an alphabet. These also can vary considerably. They are not automatically a given number, for every language. These can give their word a totally opposite meaning, if you don’t know what their word is, but have learned something of their sound. You try to compensate, to say what you hope to mean.

Oh no… you never meant that! Learn never to be shy or ashamed for trying. Most of all, laugh at your own mistakes. One thing you can be sure of, they will enjoy a good laugh with your mistake! Imagine if the shoe was on the other foot. Patience goes a long way, but tears will never fall if you can laugh. That is one universal common language.

Come away having made new friends you can speak to in their own tongue, which is foreign to you, no longer. The more time you spend in each other’s company, the more it will be absorbed. See this as a vital must ‘tip’ of studying a foreign language. If we were all the same, it would be a very boring world. No-one’s language is lesser than the other’s.

Respect their language as you want them to respect yours. Despite all differences, you are learning, and studying, as well as making new friends. If you really want to study something, you go out of your way, no matter where it takes you. Do the same with studying this foreign language. You will never regret the experience. Enjoy your new tongue!

Last word… If is is more pictographs, or a hieroglyphic language, the same applies to mixing. Enjoy.

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Ways to improve study habits – Part 3

August 1st, 2010 Posted in Education
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Now you are a grown up and what you had been doing when you were younger couldn’t be tolerated anymore lest you fail and goodbye college days, you will be back to your home and chances are you will not be given a chance anymore to back to college. Remember, college is a serious stage where you must abide by the rules, do some research work and have a good study habit. But if you are someone who doesn’t want to take a glimpse at your book and notebooks then here are some tips for you to consider.

First, ask yourself what is your purpose in life. If you are honest you know the right answer to your question. Everyone wants a good life in the future and you can only attain a good life by studying well and finishing college so that you could find a good paying job in the future,

Fuji FinePix S5800.Super Macro. Study Of A Small Chocolate Tip Moth (Rare).June 2nd 2010.

Second, you just have to talk to yourself and teach yourself to read your books so that you can have knowledge about your subjects. If you are interested in what you are doing then you will have interest in reading something about it. Make yourself read because it is the only way you can learn something.

Third, tell yourself that if you will not study your lessons then you will have nothing to yourself in the future. Try and always try even if sometimes things seem not to register in your mind because you are thinking of the video games you wanted so much to play. Remember, you are not a child anymore and you need to be more responsible.

Fourth, you can play music as you study to make your concentration work better. Music is the language of the soul and by having music playing softly around, you could better concentrate and comprehend what you are reading. Choose songs that are mellow and make the sound as soft as you want it to be.

Fifth, if you enjoy studying with your friends, call them to your place and have a group study. Studying with your friends is sometimes advantageous and fun because you could exchange views and opinions over some matters. You could also learn from your friends some things that you have no knowledge about.

Sixth, don’t cram. Do not open your book or your notebook only when there is an examination the next day. Always read your books and what notes you have taken. By doing this, you will be stacking your brain with all the subject matters that you have taken. when examination comes, the only thing you should do is read a little because you have already stored the informations in your brain.

And last, be serious in your studies. If you are a serious student, then you will always try your best to study. Think about what you could gain for studying and don’t let laziness rule your college life.

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Where to study for the best results – Part 8

July 26th, 2010 Posted in Education
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The best place to study is different for different students and you may have to experiment a little to find what works for you. While experimenting however, keep the following points in mind.

Most of us work best somewhere comfortable and well-lit, with space to spread out learning materials. It helps to have reference books and other material you may need to hand.

Where you study best may depend on your learning style. Some people need complete silence. Others actually work better with some background noise or music playing nearby. In “Seven Pathways to Learning” Lazear identifies a model of “multiple intelligences” which will affect where you find the most productive study space to be. For example, if you have a predominantly naturalistic intelligence you will actually study more effectively in a natural outdoor setting. While this is not always possible, it is certainly something that can be incorporated into your study schedule.

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Different types of studying are suited to different places. You may find the peace and quiet of the library is ideal for reading assignments but meeting with a study group for coffee helps you to review class notes. When you are writing a complicated essay or assignment you may like to study at the kitchen table where you can spread out notes and research materials. Even within the library setting you may find sometimes you prefer a quiet cubicle style desk and other times a large table in a more open plan area.

Bear in mind that studying in your bedroom, while often very convenient for college students, is not always a good idea. People who study (or indeed do anything other than sleep) in their bedrooms can find it difficult to wind down and get to sleep at night. If you must study in the same space as you sleep try to create a boundary. Eg study at a desk in the corner, not actually sitting/lying on your bed. Also take a break from study and have a bit of a wind down routine before you attempt to go to sleep.

Use college resources. Most college have more than one area set up to provide a good study atmosphere. You may like to study in the library, in an empty classroom, or in a communal area like a student lounge or common room. Some students like to turn up early and study in an empty classroom or lecture theater while waiting for a class to start. Experiment to find your own favorite place.

Have some flexibility. It’s great to have a perfect study place that you routinely use but the most productive students are often the ones who carry notes, books or flashcards everywhere with them and snatch short study periods on public transport, at the gym, or in the dentist’s waiting room. Identify a great place to study but be prepared to study anywhere and everywhere.

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How to make the most of your time when studying – Part 6

July 19th, 2010 Posted in Education
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It’s important not to feel that you’re up against the clock when you’re studying. If you’re thinking about how much you’ve got to learn and what a little time is left to learn it, then you are unlikely to take in and retain the knowledge that you are meant to be learning. The first way to maximise your study time is therefore to be in a relaxed state of mind.

Your brain also has to be alert so choose a study time that fits in with your body’s biorhythms. For example, I am a night person so get much more value from study that is done in the evening rather than the morning.

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Cut out distractions. Make sure you have a study location where you won’t be disturbed and that the TV is switched off. You’ll also probably want to be in a room by yourself.

Having selected an appropriate time and venue, and having mitigated against distractions, you are now ready to sit down and study. I say ‘sit down’ because I think the brain tends to be more active when we are seated than if we are lounging on a bed! A good posture is also important if you are going to be studying for a length of time, so that you don’t end up with back pains.

In the study that I have done (law degree, plus banking and marketing qualifications), study has always been about reading textbooks or previously compiled lecture notes and then testing that I have retained the knowledge. My process, for a typical session, would be something like this:

– Read study material and take brief notes for circa 45 minutes.

– Take a short minute break – i.e. make a cup of tea – but don’t start watching TV as I still want to be in study mode

– Spend 15 minutes (or so) testing my knowledge of the topics that I’ve just learned. For example, I might have a list of study headings such as ‘SWOT analysis’, ‘PEST analysis’, ’4Ps’, etc. Without looking at the textbook, I will start to relate to myself what I know about these topics. If I find a gap, I refer to my notes.

I find that this approach works for me, but everyone’s learning style is different so experiment and work out what is best for you. I do think, however, that whatever your learning style the key elements are not to allow yourself to panic, be calm and alert, and restrict distractions.

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