Effective Study Skills

If you are to make the most of the work you do, how you learn is as important as what you learn. People who have developed advanced study skills can learn more, at a deeper level in less time than those with poorer study skills. Taking the time to learn and practise study skills will save you time and effort over the long term.

Study environment

Some people prefer to work alone in quiet. Others prefer to work with others. You must find out what is right for you. Be honest with yourself. Very few people actually work well with the TV or loud music on!

Your study environment should be free of all distractions. Switch your phone off. Be disciplined if you are using your computer for work purposes. A couple of minutes on MSN Messenger or Facebook can easily turn into an hour or more, and then before you know it, your evening has been wasted! Please speak to your Class Tutor or Department Coordinator if you think this is a problem for you. They will be able to help.

Starting Out

When you are set a piece of work, make sure you are clear about exactly what you need to do. Where possible break the work down into small tasks. Allocate a certain amount of time to each of these. This will mean that the piece of work does not look so big and you will get satisfaction as you complete each part.

Some people like to work in short periods such as half an hour at a time whilst others prefer to work for longer periods, perhaps for one or even two hours. Choose the method which is best for you. Having a timetable pinned up in your room is a helpful way of making sure that you do the work at the correct time.

Reading

• Use the contents and index of a book, instead of leafing through it looking for what you want.
• Learn to skim read before reading in detail.
• Learn to scan, to look for specific things in a book or newspaper.
• Add a dictionary and an encyclopaedia website to your browser favourites.

Making notes

• List only the main ideas.
• Abbreviate to save time. For example, ‘possible’ could become ‘poss’.
• Write clearly in ink.
• Use key words, phrases and sentences.
• Use a highlighter pen to pick out key words.
• Use colour to distinguish sections.
• Use quotation marks to identify quotes.
• Consider using flow charts as another useful method.
• Consider using spider diagrams / mind maps.

Writing up projects and experiments

• Write down the headings for each section.
• Make sure that these are in a logical order.
• Write clearly and carefully using your own words.
• Check your spelling and punctuation.
• Label any drawings clearly and accurately.

Revision

• Start early! Less revision per day over a long period of time works much better than 'cramming'.
• Don't just read! Reading alone is an extremely inefficient way of learning. Instead, revise actively by making notes, drawing diagrams and using lists.
• Try making postcard-sized study cards or sticky labels.
• Work with your family or friends to check your knowledge and understanding of such things as vocabulary, facts and scientific and mathematical formulae
• Try to fit all you know about a topic on just one side of paper. The process of selecting what's truly important and expressing it in short form will really help to cement it in your understanding.