How To Study

A. Tips on taking notes:

1. You learn better by taking notes actively than by tape-recording a lecture passively. Besides, reviewing written notes takes less time than does listening to a taped lecture.

2. Attend all lectures. Borrowed notes or posted outlines are no substitute for attending every lecture

3. Keep a separate notebook for each course. Date, number and label your notes from each class period.

4. Complete the reading assignment for each day's lecture before you come to the lecture. The material will make a lot more sense. You don't have to read it in detail; just skim the material, paying particular attention to paragraph headings, important terms (usually given in bold), figures and figure captions.

5. If possible, sit near the front towards the center of the lecture theatre. You can see the board or screen better, hear the lecture better, and avoid distractions more easily.

6. Arrive early enough so that you can review your notes from the previous class and from the readings assigned for that topic.

7. Take note of what you don't completely understand from the last class and the assigned readings, and plan to ask for clarification as early in the class period as possible.

8. Avoid cramming your notes into a small space or writing them too small. You want them to be easily readable. Leave a generous margin on the left or right so that you can later fill in gaps, write in key terms, or add notes from your readings.

9. Organize your lecture notes according to the instructor's introductory , transitional and concluding words and phrases, such as "the following three factors", "the most important consideration", "on the other hand" and "in conclusion". These signal the structure of the lecture: cause and effect, relationships among important points, comparisons and contrasts, exceptions, examples, and general conclusions.

10. Identify the most important points. Sometimes the instructor will specifically point these out; other times you will need to watch for cues from the instructor: deliberate repetitions, pausing, slowing down in speaking pace, writing down certain terms. Pay attention to the instructor's body language, facial expressions and gestures, as well as changes in pace, tone and intonation; all of these add meaning to the substance of the lecture.

11. Whenever possible, draw a picture or a diagram to organize and abbreviate the relationships in the lecture material. It will help you recall the information.

12. Avoid writing complete sentences, unless the specific wording is critical (e.g. a quotation). Develop your own shorthand, such as abbreviations for common and/or key words: e.g. "b/c" for because, "+" for and, "rel." for relationships "b/w" for between, a delta triangle for change.

13. Take notes sparingly. Drop all unnecessary words from your notes. Write down only the words and symbols that are essential to help you recall the idea for which they stand.

14. Take notes quickly and at opportune times. Use the instructor's pauses, extended examples and repetitions to record notes. You can't afford to be writing one thing when you need to be listening to another. Find a pen that allows you to write smoothly and rapidly.

15. If the instructor tends to speak or move from point to point too quickly, politely ask the instructor to slow down. You are not the only student who is having trouble keeping up. If you don't feel comfortable doing this in class, speak to the instructor before or after class.

16. Practice keeping your mind on the lecture. Try to understand the value of the content.

17. If you lose focus or otherwise miss part of a lecture, leave some space in your notes. As soon as possible, ask a classmate or the instructor to help you fill in the gap.

18. If, on the other hand, you habitually come into lecture late, leave early or spend time in lecture having a conversation with your friend, you don't deserve sympathy or back-up assistance. The University community regards such behaviour as extremely discourteous. It is distracting and disruptive to both the instructor and your fellow classmates.

19. Separate your lecture notes from your own comments and thoughts on the material. Write your thoughts in the margin that you've left, or make them stand out from the lecture material by using a different colour of ink, putting a box around them, etc.

20. Review, edit, clarify and elaborate your notes as soon as possible after the lecture (preferably right away, but definitely within 24 hours). What to do when you review,: recite, extract and rewrite the key concepts and relationships; highlight or underline key terms; note gaps in notes; write a brief summary in the space at the end of the lecture notes. With enough review, the knowledge will be yours forever.

21. When your attention or motivation sags, remember that this course is designed to serve some goal related to your longer-term educational, career and/or personal aspirations. Flow with it for your own sake. Try to think of ways the material you're learning may be useful, or ask your instructor for insight.

B. Reading the textbook: the S+ Q + 3R + P" approach:

a) Before lecture:

S= skim

* terms in bold

* headings

* summary

* figure captions, body

* list terms

b) After class

Q = questions

* generate questions from lecture notes

* skim chapter again, generating questions

* In particular, if you do not understand a concept, write down specific questions about it and then work to find the answers (from notes, text, instructor).

R1= read

* slowly, for details

* underline, highlight, mark in margins

* cross-reference with lecture notes

* find answers to questions!

R2= recite

* recite or paraphrase each paragraph in own words

* envision figures

R3= review

* at end of several sections or chapter, review

* make outlines, checklists, concept maps (see below)

* work through study guide

* re-create figures & explain relationships in them (or try to complete figures in study guide)

P = Practice

* try to apply what you've learned to world around you

* read articles in papers, magazines

* explain information to friends, parents

* work through study guide questions

C. Time management:

All this reviewing and reading takes time! Be prepared to spend at least 2 hours of studying per lecture during the course. You need to schedule your study time (use weekly planner)

* write down exactly when you will read/study

* plan blocks of 40-50 min., with 5-10 min. breaks between.

* plan more time at the beginning of the week

* set goals for each session

* use time between classes

* reward yourself after studying

What to do in this study time?

* Practice explaining processes or describing mechanisms.

* Be sure all concepts are clear

* Know the facts. This may mean you need to memorize material. There's nothing undignified about memorization. Often, it is the most efficient way to learn facts, especially if they are organized conceptually. No matter what the subject and no matter what the level, there will always be some things that simply must be committed to memory, especially in the beginning.

* Do not study topics in isolation, but think about how one topic connects to another. Exams will not only test your knowledge of the material, but also your ability to apply that knowledge. e.g., how does photosynthesis relate to respiration? How are they similar and how are they different?

* make concept maps:

* write main subject in centre of piece of paper. Write related subjects on lines branching out from the main subject; indicate relationships by drawing arrows between related ideas, or enclosing them in circles, boxes, etc., or by colour coding them. Try creating maps from memory: they will help you see associations between concepts, terms used in the course.

D. Forming a study group

* work with partner or in groups of 3-6;

* meet for 2 hours per week

* go through class notes as a group

* take turns explaining figures

* help each other answer questions

* take turns teaching a topic (best way to learn is to teach someone else)

E. Preparing for an exam:

Start reviewing your notes and readings well in advance of the midterm (at least 7 days before the exam)! Create study tools (outlines, summaries, concept maps, flashcards) and use them daily and weekly

Daily reviews:

* pre- and post-lecture reviews of notes

* about 15 min. - half hour

Weekly:

* at least 2h/lecture, in 40-50 min blocks

Week before exam:

* work on integrating concepts

* longer study periods, in 40-50 min blocks

Recipes for disaster

The following are the most common reasons for doing poorly on an exam. Avoid these practices and approaches to studying:

1. Being overconfident.

Do you really understand the subject matter? It might look easy BUT do you really understand the material and will you be able to recall the necessary detail to answer questions on the exam?

2. Skipping lectures.

3. Cramming at the last minute.

4. Ignoring the course outline and assigned/recommended readings.

5. Relying on passive reading of your notes.

Reading over your notes a few times is not enough to get a good grade. You need to work actively with the material, as described above, and be sure to use the textbook: see how it explains a topic, review the diagrams, etc.

6. Just reading through the study guide or end-of-chapter questions.

Don't just read study guide questions, and then look up answers. This can be very misleading, as you start to think, "Oh yeah, I would have picked that answer, so I know the material." Be sure you work through the questions on your own before looking up the answer.

7. Memorizing old exams.

It is very unlikely that old exam questions will be recycled, so spend your study time on the material rather than on old exams. Old exams can be a curse. Use them wisely as an additional study aid only. Be particularly careful if the exam is more than a couple of years old or if it is by someone other than your lecturer: different lecturers will ask very different questions, and course material changes over time.

8. Studying only certain topics.

Many questions will force you to synthesize concepts from various components of the course, so lack of knowledge from one section of the course can cost you dearly.

About multiple choice exams:

Multiple choice exams have standard formats. Typically, the question has a "root" which poses a problem, followed by a series of alternatives, which are the answer and related alternatives.

1. READ all directions on the first page of the exam

2. READ through exam once. Answer all the questions you know. Don't dwell on the tough ones at this point; take advantage of the time you have to think through the question.

3. READ each question fully, underlining key terms

4. After reading each question, try to think of the answer WITHOUT looking at the alternative answers given.

5. Then read all choices to find the correct one (DON'T stop after the one you think is right, without reading the others. There could be a better answer. The directions on the exam usually state that you are to "Select the BEST answer"

6. Cross out the alternatives that are obviously wrong.

7. Correct answers will read as a true statement when you match the question and the answer.

8. When you have answered all the questions that you could do readily, go through exam again and work on the remaining questions. Spend a reasonable amount of time on each question, but move on if you get stuck.

9. Don't just guess at the answer for any of which you are unsure. Try to at least narrow down your options by eliminating one or two of the alternatives.

10. Save time at the end to double-check your answers (check that your answers are the ones you think are correct, and that you haven't filled in the wrong circles by mistake) and try the tough questions again.

http://web.archive.org/web/20030405134342/www.ucalgary.ca/~biolcore/biol231/notesstudytutorial.html