Study Advice

Study place

One of the most important factors in studying properly is choosing where you can study more effectively. Many students sell themselves short from the very beginning by choosing to study in places such as their room or their bed.

Some of you are naturally thinking, "Well, my room is comfortable and I do not have to walk anywhere. Can I study there?" This question cannot be answered by anyone else but you. You have to measure your own personal strengths and weaknesses and evaluate if it is the best place to study for you.

• Are you easily distracted?
• Do you tend to move around a lot if you are in your room?
• Do you get a lot of visitors?
• Do you get a lot of phone calls?
• Are there many things in your room that you enjoy doing, such as spending time on your computer, watching television, playing video games or even falling asleep for an unplanned nap?

If you find yourself answering "yes" to even one of them, you really need to consider studying outside your room.

Basically, it is easiest to study in a place that literally has nothing else to do other than study. In UCC any academic would tell you the best place to study is in the library.

10 Effective Study Habits

1. Try not to do too much studying at one time.

If you try to do too much studying at one time, you will tire and your studying will not be very effective. Space the work you have to do over shorter periods of time. There is no point staring at a book for two hours, you’re better off having a half hour of productive study. Take short breaks every hour. Don’t however watch tv you need to clear your mind without getting distracted so go for a walk outside to get some fresh air or a run to the shop for a snack, but don’t let your break last more than 10 minutes.

2. Plan specific times for studying.

Study time is any time you are doing something related to college work. It can be completing assigned reading, working on a paper or project, or studying for an exam. Schedule specific times throughout the week for your study time. A helpful website to plan out your day:  http://www.studygs.net/schedule/Weekly.html

3. Try to study at the same time each day.

Studying at the same times each day establishes a routine that becomes a regular part of your life, just like sleeping and eating. When a scheduled study time comes up during the day, you will be mentally prepared to begin studying.

4. Set specific goals for their study times.

Goals will help you stay focused and monitor your progress. Simply sitting down to study has little value. You must be very clear about what you want to accomplish during your study times. Remember to have realistic goals for yourself in the time you have set aside.

5. Start studying when planned.

You may delay starting your studying because you don't like an assignment or think it is too hard. A delay in studying is called "procrastination." We all know what this feels like and it’s the worst thing when you look back at the time you had wasted. Remember that feeling you have had before of wasting time and tell yourself it’s not worth it. I know to get over this delay I make sure I set a reward aside for myself, so if I get so much done in that time I will get the reward. Another way of looking at it is that you’re wasting your social time with friends when you procrastinate. You’ll eventually have to finish that assignment or study for that exam. You don’t want to waste what time you have with friends because you were too lazy to start when you were suppose to.

6. Work on the assignment they find most difficult first.
Your most difficult assignment will require the most effort. Start with your most difficult assignment since this is when you have the most mental energy. We are drawn to the section of course work that we are most interested in but it’s always better when studying to get the toughest section done first and have the nice interesting part for the end.

7. Review their notes before beginning an assignment.

Reviewing your notes can help you make sure you are doing an assignment correctly. Also, your notes may include information that will help you complete an assignment. Often lecturers base questions on notes in class so looking over them before you answer the assignment is really helpful. You can than test your memory using the assignment without looking at the notes. If you can’t remember at least you’ll know where the answer is in the notes.

8. Tell your friends not to call during your study times.

Two study problems can occur if your friends call you during your study times. First, your work is interrupted. It is not that easy to get back to what you were doing. Second, your friends may talk about things that will distract you from what you need to do. Here's a simple idea - turn off your mobile phone during your study times. Turn it off when you’re in the library anyway so you don’t distract other students studying.

9. Call another student in your class when you have difficulty with an assignment.

This is a case where "two heads may be better than one." If you can’t figure out a question in an assignment or a past exam paper then ask one of your class mates. It’s more than likely someone will understand what the question is asking for or where in the book or notes you can find the section. Remember to never copy another student or to let a student copy you. UCC takes copying as a very serious offence.

10. Review your college over the weekend.

Yes, weekends should be fun time. But there is also time to do some review. This will help you be ready to go on Monday morning when another college week begins.