5 steps to study smarter: Homework and Test Prep done more effectively with or with out a tutor

By: Kevin Cloudt | Posted: 06th December 2006

When you have a class or subject that you need to master for school or for work, there are several ways to go about learning the material. Some ways are more effective than others. Most of the time a book of some sort is involved. Below are five sure steps that will help you retain the knowledge in the book. Not only will you do a better job of retaining the knowledge, but you'll lower your stress and raise your confidence simultaneously.

Step 1: (5 min or less) Go through the chapter quickly, getting familiar with section headings and key subject matter phrases. This step is important, it prepares your mind for the task at hand.

Step 2: (15 min) Make a second pass through the material creating relevant questions on each section. You don't know the answers yet, so just create questions and write them down in your note book. Leave space after each question for the answer.

Step 3: (30 min to 2 hours+) Now attack the chapter by digesting a section at a time. As you read, underline or highlight key phrases in the text. If you are not allowed to write in the text book because it belongs to the school, then copy key phrases or lines of text to your note book. While you are doing this, answer the questions that you created in step 2. It is very important that you follow through with this. When you're answering the questions, you are actively participating. You're actually learning! You'll be pleasantly surprised also when you find that some of the questions that you came up with will be on the exam! (I'm not trying to scare you with the 2 hours+ for this step. The time to do this step depends on how thick and dense the chapter is. For most high school text books, this should be about one hour or less.)

Step 4: (20 min to 1 hour) Transfer key statements, phrases and notes to index cards. You'll need to do this for two reasons. Reason number one: As you're copying this info, you are exposing yourself to it again, increasing your ability of retaining it. Reason number two: You'll need to do this for Step 5 (see below).

Step 5: (ongoing) Review highlighted material daily and/or index cards daily. You may have to review the notes on a chapter 2 or 3 times a day for the first 3 to 5 days. After that you should be able to do it twice a week. This review time should be anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes.

When studying, it is extremely important to keep a clear focused mindset. Don't get distracted! Try to study in a quiet place with as little interruptions as possible. You may find it more beneficial to take a break every 20 minutes or so. That's fine as long as the break is not too long and that you get back on it!

Keep in mind, it probably won't be easy to do these 5 steps at first. Yes they look simple just reading through them, but they require some serious effort on your part. If you're not used to doing this, you're going to have to practice, and by practicing I mean taking the time to try and execute these steps. It has to become a habit for you. Some have said that in order for something to become a habit, you have to work at it every day for 21 days. If you have a tutor, you'll find that your time with the tutor will be more productive if you're already following these steps as you'll have a better grasp of the subject matter. Also a tutor would be good person to keep you accountable to following these steps.

Kevin Cloudt
MyLocalTutor.com
info@MyLocalTutor.com This article is free for republishing
Printed From: http://www.articlealley.com/article_110270_28.html
Back to the original article

Tags: phrases, step 1, step 2, several ways, job, subject matter, confidence, step 3, stress, index cards, reason number, note book, relevant questions