Strategies for Academic Success
Effective Memorizing Strategies
Before Strategies:
- Choose specific times you will set aside for memorizing important facts and information
- Locate the information.
- Pay close attention to how this information connects to “the whole picture”—it is easier to remember things when you see how they are part of a bigger concept
- Transfer information to cards, post-its, or other creative smaller bites of information—be sure your information is accurate and easy to read and understand
- Before memorizing, check with someone else (probably your text, a lab, or the professor) if you don’t understand the material.
During Strategies:
- Sometimes placing the information where you will see and read it often can help—on the wall, under plastic on the table where you eat, etc.
- Carry cards with you so you can memorize when you have a few minutes here and there can also help.
- Don’t try to memorize too much in one sitting. Most students find shorter sessions helpful.
- Read the information carefully, think about it, and then say it out loud, write it down, share it with someone—these will all help you remember and understand.
- Review often, adding a new piece of information each time.
- Think about how this new information fits into what you already know.
- Some students find mnemonics helpful. Example: Roy G. Biv helps you remember the traditional optical spectrum—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet.
- If you are memorizing something you can visualize such as a map, picture it in your mind or draw it from memory, until you can add all the details.
- Some students find it helpful to listen to a tape they have made of the information they are memorizing.
- Don’t wait to memorize until just before an exam—begin the process as soon as class ends each day.
After Strategies:
- Review often.
- Keep adding to your remembered information.
- Use the information as often as you can.
- Repeat your new knowledge to others.
- Think about the information as you go to sleep, when you are taking a shower, and other “quiet” moments.
- Check yourself often to make sure you still know the information.
Effective Writing Strategies
Before Writing:
- Write about something you are interested in
- Get started early
- Brainstorm
- Make lists
- Think about your chosen topic
- Daydream
- Doodle
- Make a webbing
- Make an informal outline
- Talk to others
- Do some preliminary reading on the topic
- Check the internet and library for resources
- Ask for help from instructor if needed
- Nail down your main topic/thesis
- Look through your brainstorming materials and pick out the information you want to use
- Organize your material—more webbing or outlining might help
- Write your rough draft
- Revise, revise, revise
- Ask others to read your rough draft and give you feed back
- Read your rough draft out loud and listen for sentences that need revising, words that need replacing, transitions, etc.
- Make sure you have included effective examples and details
- Use strong, active verbs
- Include a strong conclusion that leaves your reader thinking
- Include any sources you used
- Make sure your paper is original—no plagiarism allowed
- You may want to visit the Writing Center [Plumb Hall 304] for helpful suggestions
During Writing:
After Writing:
- Edit your work
- Check spelling
- Check grammar
- Check punctuation
- Be sure all sentences are sentences
- Fix any typos
- Be sure to follow the manuscript format for your discipline such as MLA or APA
- Print out a final copy with a title page conforming to class assignment—don’t wait until the last minute in case you have computer/printer problems
- Hand in on time
Effective Note Taking
Before Note Taking:
- Read all assigned materials before coming to class
- Be alert and awake—don’t roll out of bed and into the classroom!
- Get to class in plenty of time
- Choose a seat where you will be least distracted and can see and hear the professor
- Bring a notebook and pens that work well for you—you may even want several colors of ink and a highlighter
- Be prepared to take notes in all classes—even those where you are in small groups or the class is discussing. Note taking isn’t just for lectures.
During Note taking:
- Listen carefully!
- Experiment to find the best method for writing the information
- Some students like to outline
- Some prefer using a concept map or webbing
- Some just try to capture the flow of the lecture and organize the material later
- Leave spaces to add extra information
- Be sure to write down all the main ideas
- Choose a way to mark the most important concepts—your professor will probably use words like “the main idea here is…” or “here is a key piece of information,” or “look for this on the next exam,” or “a good definition would be…”
- Use consistent abbreviations you will be able to decode later
- If you have problems keeping up, you might want to ask the professor for permission to tape record the lecture
- If you are confused and notice others are as well, raise your hand and ask the professor if he/she could explain that a bit more or you might ask the professor to write a word on the board if you are not sure you are hearing it correctly
After Note Taking:
- As soon as possible, try writing down as much as you can remember without looking at your notes.
- Next, rewrite your notes, organizing them, filling in missing parts, and marking or highlighting important information
- Get together with someone else from class and go through your notes together so that each of you can fill in missing parts. This will also be good review
- Begin memorizing any information you will need to know on future exams—some students like to make note cards with this information so that they can pull out a card and review in short sessions.
- If you are missing information or do not understand something, make an appointment to visit your professor during his/her office hours.
- If you miss class, make an appointment to visit your professor during his/her office hours.
Effective Study Strategies
Before Strategies:
- Find a place to study that works well for you—avoid distractions.
- Make a study schedule so that you set aside time for consistent studying. You should study about 2 hours outside of class for every hour in class.
- In your Student Planner write down all assignments, deadlines, and exam dates.
- Plan on studying alone but also schedule some time to study with a group or study buddy.
- Gather all materials you will need including texts, lecture notes, class materials, laptop, dictionary, etc.
- Plan to study the most difficult materials first.
- Divide your studying into smaller amounts so that you do not feel overwhelmed.
- Plan to “reward” yourself for job well done.
During Strategies:
- Read ALL assigned materials.
- Highlight key concepts and major ideas.
- Think often about how the new information you are studying links to what you already know.
- Think critically—does the new material make sense to you?
- Go to available study labs/tutoring (math, reading, writing, biology, etc.) as needed.
- Rewrite lecture notes after class, organizing the information.
- Put important information on cards to memorize.
- Design rhymes, acronyms or images to remember material.
- Briefly review past material before looking at new material
- At end of study session, mentally review what you have just studied.
- Don’t get behind!
After Strategies:
- From memory, write a summary of what you have studied. Then compare your summary to the material to see if you have remembered well.
- Talk about what you are learning with someone else.
- Get together in a study group to review.
- Help someone else who is having troubles with the material—this is a great way to review!
- Go for help if you are still unsure of material.
- Reward yourself with a break!
Effective Test Taking Strategies
Before Strategies:
- Hopefully, you will have been learning information each day since the last exam in preparation for this new exam
- Be sure you have all information needed
- Make sure you know the format of the test ahead of time—essay, true/false, fill in blanks, etc.
- Schedule extra study time if needed
- Think about the questions you predict might be asked
- DON’T wait until the last minute (or day) to study!
- Get plenty of sleep
During Strategies:
- Arrive in plenty of time
- Bring any needed materials
- Look through the exam before you begin
- Read all directions carefully
- Some students like to answer all the easier questions first
- If the test is multiple choice, here are some hints:
- Read the question and come up with your own answer before looking at the choices.
- Be wary of words like always, never, all, none, every.
- Sometimes another question may give away the answer to the question you are looking at.
- Always look at the questions before reading a passage which contains the answers.
- If the test is true/false, here are some hints:
- If any part of the question isn’t true, the answer will be false.
- Words like always, never, all, none, every usually mean the answer will be false.
- But words like sometimes, few, most, some usually mean the answer will be true.
- If the test is fill-in-the-blank here are some hints:
- Make sure the sentence when completed sounds grammatically correct.
- Sometimes another question may give away the answer to the question you are looking at.
- Make a mental check of the terms you studied to remember the term that best fits.
- If the test is short-answer, here are some hints:
- Begin your answer with the main point of the exam question
- Keep to the point—don’t add unnecessary details.
- If the test is matching, always answer the ones you know first and cross out all the terms you have used.
- If the test is an essay exam, here are some hints:
- Read through question carefully, noting the major issues or key words.
- Make some quick notes and get organized.
- Include good supporting details.
- Write a conclusion.
- Reread your essay quickly and edit if needed.
- Watch the time—be sure you leave time for each question.
- You will need to know the material very well so that you won’t have to spend the time trying to recall what you need.
- If the test is a math exam, here are some hints:
- Always estimate the answer before figuring it.
- Write out all steps.
- Check your work
- Check over whole test before handing in
- Make sure you have answered all the questions.
After Strategies:
- Go through exam carefully, learning from your mistakes
- Make any corrections in your study notes in case you need the material again
- Make an appointment to meet with the professor to request help if you did poorly
- Notice any clues to weaknesses in your preparation—learn from your mistakes!