STUDY STRATEGIES  

Learning Problems & Solutions | The "A" Student | Success factors |  General Study Habits

 

General Study Hints

"I studied, but nothing that was on the exam!  Don't try to out-guess what the professor will or will not put on the test. Based on the type of information covered in class, in the text and the material which the professor told you the test would cover, you should have a pretty good idea of what to study. Now study everything in those areas. "I knew the answer, but I just couldn't think of it."  Study for recall instead of recognition, even for multiple-choice tests. Memorizing the information allows you not only the ability to answer questions correctly, but faster. When you immediately know the answer you don't waste time trying to think of the answer. I don't know why I didn't do better on the test. I studied all night for it."  Cramming the night before does not allow the information to enter your long term memory. Therefore, you have not had enough time for associations and relationships between information to become strong enough to apply information in answering a variety of questions. Study in one hour segments over several days instead of cramming 8 hours the night before. "There is just so much material to cover. I don't know where to begin to study!"  Try to predict test questions. Turn textbook headings into questions by asking what, when, where, why, and how. Predict questions by thinking, "What does the professor want me to learn from this chapter?" Take advantage of study questions at the end of textbook chapters and study questions made available by the professor and use the course syllabus as a guide. "I learn better if I am 'doing' something."  Write out summaries of major ideas, findings, and conclusions. Be sure to have plenty of details and examples ready to support the generalities. By writing out the information you are "actively" studying; the information is becoming a part of your long term memory. "I knew all sorts of details, but when I read the essay questions I couldn't think of what to say."  Memorize and learn the information in clumps and by association. When you go into a test situation and think of one word, many more words come to mind because you have associated them together. You just need to connect them in a logical and clear way to form your essay. 

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