STUDY SKILLS

Successful study requires you to:  Concentrate while studying  Remain focussed on an assignment until it is completed  Resist distractions in classes and while studying in Study Periods or at home

How can I improve my concentration? In pairs or small groups decide on three or four rules which students should make for themselves to improve their concentration. 1. Don’t study in front of the TV or in a room where other people are having a conversation 2. Decide in advance how long you will study for and stick to the plan 3. Sit down at a table with everything you need to hand 4. Focus on the teacher’s instructions and follow them as closely as possible, ignoring irrelevant issues raised by other students

How can I stay focussed on an assignment, even if I am not enjoying doing it? Which of the following will help and which will make it more difficult? Get in the habit of working for a set period of time (say 30 minutes) and then have a short break (say 10 minutes) to have a drink, snack or just to walk about 

How can I stay focussed on an assignment, even if I am not enjoying doing it? Which of the following will help and which will make it more difficult? Play really loud music or do the work while watching a favourite TV programme or film 

How can I stay focussed on an assignment, even if I am not enjoying doing it? Which of the following will help and which will make it more difficult? Get in the habit of having regular study times (possibly a timetable of study times which fits in with other commitments like part-time work or sports training) 

Good note-taking in classes is important for:  Staying focussed on the work going on in the class  Revision for tests and examinations  Completing homework assignments based on the work of several lessons

Which of the following do YOU do to make sure you have good notes? 1. I always arrive at classes with a pad of paper that I can file in a ring-binder 2. I put dates on my class notes so I keep them in order 3. I make sure I write down the main points raised in a class 4. I keep handouts with the notes taken in the class 5. I review my notes as soon as possible after the class and sometimes rewrite them 6. I copy up notes taken by a classmate if I miss a lesson 7. I file my notes in a ring-binder so they are complete, in order and easy to refer to

A suggestion about keeping notes  Have a ring-binder that you bring with you to College which has sections for each of your subjects  Keep your most recent notes in this ring-binder so you are always prepared for classes  Also have a separate ring-binder for each subject which you keep at home and never bring to College  When you move onto a new topic in one of your subjects, file your notes for that subject in its own ring- binder and start building up more current notes in your portable ring-binder

For some subjects you need to be a good reader.  You need to be able to read quite large sections of a chapter and recall the main points of what you have read  You might need to be able to summarise the contents of a large part of a book or the whole book  You might need to be able to pick out the main points raised in a section of a book or in an article from a newspaper etc.

How can I improve my skills as a reader? Which of the following are good reading techniques and which are not? Force yourself to read through the whole of the text without a break even if you don’t really understand what you are reading. 

How can I improve my skills as a reader? Which of the following are good reading techniques and which are not? Read a small part of the text and write a brief note about it. Then read a bit more and make another note, and so on. In this way you build up notes, perhaps as bullet points, covering the whole text. 

Good revision is essential to doing well in tests and examinations. Identify the good and bad revision techniques? TechniqueGood or bad? Make sure you have a long period of time on the day before the test or exam to sit down with your notes and read through them several times Write a timetable of revision with sensible study periods and short breaks which is over an extended period not just one day Make sure you read through all sections of your notes several times on different days Have a supply of scrap paper so you can jot things down because this helps to make facts ‘stick’ BAD GOOD

A few suggestions to help your revision  Try to use as many of your senses as possible when you are revising (jot down notes on scrap paper, read your notes out loud, record yourself reading the notes and play back the recording when you are on the bus, put notes on Post-It notes and stick them around your home)  Use software to make lists and mind-maps (ask your tutor to show you software to produce mind- maps such as MindGenius which is on College computers)

Writing essays or completing problem sheets can be daunting. What helps to get you started? How do you get started on a long essay?  Don’t leave it to the last minute  Write an essay plan (headings for the introduction, main paragraphs and conclusion, and then list the points to be made in each)  Return to your plan the next day and revise it having given it some thought  Gather all the notes, articles, books, etc., that you need  Start writing the sections of the essay in the most sensible order (sometimes it is sensible to write the introduction and conclusion last) using a word-processor so you can easily make changes  Make sure you have time to read the final essay several times and make changes to it

Writing essays or completing problem sheets can be daunting. What helps to get you started? Getting started on a problem sheet or past exam paper.  Don’t leave it to the last minute  Read through the whole problem sheet to get an idea of which problems you can answer easily and which will be difficult  If it is possible to answer the problems in any order, start with the easy ones to give yourself a sense of achievement  Gather what you need to help you with the harder problems (class notes, textbook and possibly advice from your teacher)  Return to the problem sheet to answer the harder questions  Make sure you have time to read the complete problem sheet several times and make changes to it (some people use a pencil when they are uncertain about their answer so they can easily change it)

GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR STUDIES!!!