Studying is one of those funny things: you think you should know how to study because you're told to study, but nobody's told you how to study, so you don't talk about how to do it because you don't want to look dumb. The result often is that your marks suffer and you get frustrated.
HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR TEXT
Use your text
The text can make the course easier for you. It can add to the knowledge you get in the classroom. It can prepare you for class work. Maybe it can even become a resource to use for other courses.
Texts are written the way you build houses: on a frame or structure. If you can find the structure you can understand the house - its style, how it was built, who it was built for, the number of rooms/chapters and what each room/chapter contains, etc.
The following six steps have proven successful in using textbooks and can easily be applied to any assignment.
- Survey the entire book.
- Read each assignment carefully.
- Question yourself on what you've read.
- Underline important points in the text and take notes.
- Use study guides, outlines, supplements.
- Review.
SURVEY
Before you start to read your text, skim over the text to see what the author's method is so that you can see how the material has been set out.
Read the preface carefully to get a sense of the author's major purpose in writing the book, how he's using the materials in the book, and the structure he's following.
Scan the table of contents to see what's in the book - its scope and how it's organized. Later, while you're reading the book, refer back to the table of contents to remind yourself of the larger context the author has in mind.
Read the last chapter or final paragraphs. That's often where the author summarizes the major points he's been making.
Glance at the book as a whole. This is the structure that supports the text: chapter headings, summaries, reading suggestions, quizzes, chronologies, discussion questions, graphs, pictures, diagrams. This will help you to get more out of the book when you start reading.
Before you read a chapter:
Survey the author's main ideas.
Read any heading notes or summaries. They'll give you a clue to all the main concepts the author stresses and serve as a handy outline.
Examine the headings and sub-headings of the chapter to get a sense of the main ideas, the organization, and the direction it's going. How the headings are arranged often tells you which topics are most important and which are secondary.
READ
Read for the main idea.
Every chapter contains a central idea or concept. If you find it and focus on it, remembering the facts should be easier.
Co-ordinate class notes with reading.
Read your assignment before class discussion.
Don't wait until after the discussion to read the assignment. If you join in the discussion, you're reinforcing what you've read and expanding your ideas and understanding.
Summarize what you've read.
After finishing a page, re-state the main ideas in your mind, and then glance back to see if you are correct.
Before you close the text, repeat the major points of the material you've read. See if you can jot down the central ideas in the section you've completed. If you can, you'll find that most of the supporting details will come to you rather easily. Also, when you start reading the next day, do a brief review.
QUESTION
Question yourself as you move from paragraph to paragraph. Convert statements into questions. This will challenge assumptions, opinions, and generalizations, and keep you aware of the author's ideas.
As you read, ask yourself What, Why, How, Who, When, Where.
What is the meaning of the title of this chapter? What's the sense of the headings and sub-headings, the topic sentence and concluding remarks? What do the words mean, especially the important words in Italics. What's the purpose of a photograph, a table, a diagram, a graph?
Why has the author chosen this sequence of ideas? Why does he/she focus so much on a particular point?
How does the author achieve his effects? Does he/she exaggerate, understate the point? What examples are used? Are the graphs and pictures effective? If this is literature you're reading, what's the significance of the title, the point of view, the historical period, the tone, mood, language and symbolism of the work?
For whom is the author writing? If this is a history text, is the author biased? If dealing with psychology, does the author belong to a special school of thinking, and does this thinking shape the ideas in the book?
When was the book written? Have recent developments made the author's opinion obsolete?
Ask questions in class. If you're actively involved, you'll stay awake and pay attention . . . and learn!
UNDERLINE AND TAKE NOTES
- If the book belongs to you, mark it freely and underline key sentences. If it doesn't belong to you, use pencil and maybe mark key words or put check marks in the margins.
- If you underline carefully, and stick to the main ideas, it will make studying easier because you'll find the main points quickly.
- If you write brief comments in the margins or key points to remember, reviewing will be faster and easier.
- Make your class notes brief. After all, you're the only one who'll be studying them, so they have to fit in with your thinking patterns.
- Focus on key words that will remind you later. There's nothing more frustrating than having to read a lot of sentences that could have been summarized.
- Keeping a journal or reading log can help. After you've read a section you can record your thoughts. Transcribing your thoughts to paper will really help when you review or have to write papers on the topic.
USE STUDY GUIDES, OUTLINES, SUPPLEMENTS
These guides are very helpful in sorting out the main points and giving you new perspectives on the subject. Many authors give lists of suggested readings or bibliography to consult.
Or, check the Internet for articles about the subject.
REVIEW
Reviewing should become a study habit.
- You can review a phrase or sentence by underlining it.
- You can review a page by simply recalling the major points.
- You can re-assess the meaning of a chapter by writing down some of the main points.
- You re-evaluate the material when you participate in class discussion.
- You record different points of view and interpretations in your notebook as you listen in class.
- You make your final review before the test by looking over your underlining, your notes in the margins, class material and notebooks.
Even though it's tempting to put off assignments or wait until the night before the test, this creates needless tension that might affect your memory.
The easiest way to review:
- Collect your summary notes of each chapter you've read.
- Convert these statements into questions.
- Answer the questions.
- Check the chapters to see if you're answering the questions fully and accurately (your questions in the margins and your understanding will help you recall the details).
- Look at your reading journal, if you've kept one.
- Look over your class notes.
WHERE CAN I GET HELP?
Talk to your teachers.
Since they went through this when they were students maybe they'll tell you what worked for them.
They can refer you to people who can help. Maybe your school has a resource centre where you can get help.
