What works for me! (How to study effectively?)

Name: HelenW

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Product:	How to study effectively?
Date:	14/03/08 (104 review reads)
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Advantages: Essays - planning it out first makes writing go faster!

Disadvantages: Distractions from revision when on the internet

I have finally found an effective way to study (for me). Clearly everyone differs in their studying/revision techniques, and for that matter, their motivation to study as well! I have friends who have taken exams recently with the attitude "I'll feel worse about failing if I don't work than if I do". Personally I don't see the point in being at university with this attitude.

(By the way, my studying methods are biased towards essay subjects).

Anyway, I have found what works for me, and it varies on the work. If I am revising:
1. I have to have quiet, and find the library the best place.

2. Make a list of all the possible topics that can occur on your exam. I tend to ask my lecturers or eammail them just to clarify content for example, checking they mean only semester two work.

3. I make notes drawing on a mixture of sources: lecture notes, set textbooks, other textbooks, journal articles etc. Reading around your topic is a necessity, because you will often find ongoing debate/different points of view/takes on theories.

4. If doing a theory based evaluation (i.e. in sociology, criminology, psychology etc etc), I tend to actively search for critique written by academic authors, you will often find sources titled "........ - a critique" or "an anaylsis of......". This is useful because it allows me to think of other points of critique (I am referring to both positive and negative critique here) that I would have previously thought of from just reading the core assumptions of the theory.

5. I break notes down, into major points and put onto flashcards. I find I am usually quite good with cuewords. Then, I learn the order of the flashcards, although obviously with an exam you need to tailor it to the question, however it means I don't panic as much in the exam because I can easily picture the cueword and what comes before and after. This gives the advantage that your answer flows well.

6. After this, I write practice answers/essays which really helps, because you can practice your timings, as previously I have had the situation where nearing the end of the exam I haven't written important points and a conclusion.

7. Try not to panic. Easier said than done I know...

With essays:
1. When I'm planning and doing relevant research and reading, I don't listen to music, because it distracts me. Again, I find the university libraries better to work in. For obvious reasons: quiet, close to relevant books, but also wifi access, so I can access internet journals, which are much more convenient than going searching in the archives in the basement at uni.

2. Detailed essay plan
I write very detailed plans, in bullet points and sub bullet points! It helps me to see the flow of it better, rather than writing the essay out and then finding it a huge job to proof read and edit etc.

3. The actual writing of it
I generally do this at home rather than in the library. I generally listen to loud upbeat music on my iPod while I'm typing it out. It doesn't require major concentration because due to my essay plan, I already have the details about each point, and I only have to put it into a cohesive manner! The upbeat music makes me type faster! (A bit weird I know, but it works for me).

Summary: Clearly everyone is different, but this is what works for me.