Every one of us, most students find it very difficult to study, and when there are exams it’s almost a war! The study is the only way for one to succeed in life. It’s almost a cinch of your life that we won’t.
There is nothing to fret about when we come to such situations. There are many methods that one uses to study. This article gives a variety of methods that every student must follow to study better. They are :
1. Good habits to be cultivated :
I] Pray Before and after study
II] Have a fixed place for study
III] Avoid Noise
IV] Allot a timetable. Make sure you study all the subjects and give more time to the subjects you are weak in.
V] Get Sufficient sleep. “One goes late to bed and is late to rise if not blessed by God”.
VI] Eat moderately. Neither too much nor too little. Have a balanced diet.
VII] Have a positive attitude towards study. Not to take study as something burdensome.
VIII] Do physical exercise regularly.
VIIII] Have all classroom articles readily available (dictionary, eraser, pencil, scale, pen, papers, etc. )
2. Inculcate the characteristics of a successful student:
I] Have a love for teachers
II] Exquisite of good studying methodology
III] Hard Work
IV] Punctuality
V] Healthy competitive Spirit
VI] Fair Play in Examinations
VII] Mastery in Language
VIII] More reading and less television viewing.
3. A Scientific Method of Study – SQ3R :
S – Survey
Q – Question
R – Read
R – Recite
R – Revise
Now let’s see what each method signifies:
Survey – Survey is the first step. Select a lesson that you gonna study and have a look at the headings and subheadings. Now try to correlate yourself with those. This will give us the framework or the structure of the matter that we are going to study.
Question – Having read the titles, try to ask yourself some questions regarding the heading and subheadings. You may use words like – what, how, when, etc.
Read – Having finished all the above steps, read the lesson fast from the beginning till the end. Reread it more than once if you’ve not understood the concepts clearly.
Recite – Now close the book and try to reproduce the matter in your mind what you have so far studied. If you can’t remember some points, refer back to the book.
Revise – Having understood the lesson, revise the notes, and question answers given by your teachers. It’s better when you do it by writing on a slate or paper.
4. Other methods to use –
I] Foreseeing, Questioning, Speaking out, Repetition
II] Group Discussion ( the best way to study )
These study methods require time but it makes your learning more interesting for you and helps you to play a fair role in exams. These methods may also not require time if you study not just by byhearting the subjects but by doing it with your own interest and especially in the subjects that you are weak in.
5. Note Making :
There are mainly three types of sources that a student is helped with. Namely-
1. Guidebooks
2. Classwork books
3. Textbooks.
One should not depend completely on guidebooks. Though they contain answers in a detailed form, they are only for reference. You should try to form your own points and write or refer to the textbooks. Textbooks are the best source of study.
6. Note Taking :
At the school level and college level, students are required to take notes for better study. But, at most times students are unable to take the notes due to writing speed. In such cases, a student must take up shorthand forms.
For example –
// = Therefore
b/w = between
-ve = negative
+ve = positive
stm = someimes
sth = something
sb = somebody
() = theology
{} – philosophy
/_\ = God
> = greater than, etc.
< = smaller than
pt. = point
+ = and
impt = important
OR
Listen attentively and write down the main points.
7. Memory skills :
I] Card Method – Take a drawing sheet and cut it down well within the size of a playing card. Now write down the main points on it and pin it together so that you can carry it with you for learning whenever and wherever possible. It even saves time!
II] Acronym Method – If you have difficulty in remembering the name of people or some other quite difficult words linked together, this is the method that you have to take up.
Example 1 –
GEN = Gallileo, Einstein, Newton
(Here, you can remember the names of the three scientists).
Example 2 –
Let me cite an example of how we can memorize the positions and symbols of various elements in the periodic table by a simple acronym. For instance, the five elements f period IV :
1. Potassium – K 19
2. Calcium – Ca 20
3. Scandium Sc 21
4. Titanium Ti 22
5. vanadium V 23
The memory sentence should be:
Potatoes (K) from Calcutta (Ca) are sent (Sc) by Trucks (Ti) and Vans (V).
By Rebecca Peter Dsouza, St. Ursula School
