My Top Study Tips
Before I share my top study tips, you should keep in mind that everyone’s brain works differently; what works for me, may not work for you. The best way to find your perfect study method is by experimenting. I do a variety of study methods depending on the type of test and how confident I feel about the topic. Here’s a brief description of my tips, and what they encompass.
1. Reading Over My Notes
I begin to read my notes once a day, preferably at night, a few days before a test because this helps me reaffirm my retained knowledge. I also have textbook questions, including the answer in my notes. Reading these over helps me because I’m essentially quizzing myself. I read the question first, and state my answer aloud. Then, I check the answer written below it to see if I’m correct.
2. Creating a Study Sheet Summarizing all the Information
In some classes, you’ll be lucky to have a teacher who provides you with a study sheet summarizing all of the topics that will be on the test. If you don’t receive one, I find it extremely helpful to make my own. As I read over my notes, I put asterisks wherever I think there is critical information, then I combine them on one sheet of paper. I read through all of my information before deciding what’s important enough to be on the sheet; the more concise it is, the better. Most of the time, you won’t have to memorize random facts, but understand the topic.
3. Making/Finding a Quizlet
Quizlet is a website for students, designed to help you learn and study through interactive games and tools. One such tool is the ability to make, or use already created digital flashcards. Making flashcards or using ones previously created by others helps a lot. Making them yourself is like making a test, and helps you revise all the information you need to know. Using previously made flashcards helps you see what other students know about the topic, and may help you remember a note you accidentally forgot to copy! There are also games and quizzes on Quizlet.
4. Playing Kahoot!
Kahoot is an app and website where you can make your own, or play previously created multiple choice tests on any topic. This is similar to completing Quizlets, as you’re quizzing yourself for both of them. However, the differences here are that when you play Kahoot!, you must answer the question and I find it to be much more fun! However, Kahoots aren’t always the best way to assess your knowledge, as you have a time limit to answer each question, and may accidentally click the wrong answer, especially if you have a small phone screen. This is why I recommend my next old-fashioned tip.
5. Answering Textbook Questions
Textbook questions are great practice if your teacher teaches right from the textbook. In grades nine and ten, both of my science teachers taught exactly from the textbook. As a result, when I practiced textbook questions, I felt super prepared for the test. Sure enough, some of them were even on there! Practice does make perfect, or at least close to it!
6. Making Yourself a Test
Creating a test is the same concept as completing a Kahoot!, Quizlet, and textbook questions, but the difference is that you should be replicating a test-taking environment. Try to put all your devices in a different room, clear off your desk, make sure you’re in a quiet space, and use a timer to keep track of how long you have to complete your test..
7. Explaining the Topic to Someone Else
Explaining the topic to someone is great because it will let you know if you actually understand it. If you use lots of filler words like ‘um’ and ‘ah’ or pause too often and for too long, it tells you that you don’t understand the topic. However, if you can explain to someone who doesn’t know the topic and they understand, or you can explain it without stumbling, it shows that you understand the topic. Simply knowing specific facts or statistics about a topic is all well and good, but until you have a full understanding of what you’re learning, you won’t be prepared for a test. There are many ways you can practice this method. You can take turns explaining the topic with your classmates, or even tell your friends all about it. If your parents ask you how your day went, you can take the opportunity to teach it to them. The chances are that they’ve either forgotten all about it, or can help you when you’re stuck. Another option is to record yourself explaining the topic and play it back to see what you missed.
8. Drawing pictures/diagrams
Drawing pictures or diagrams explaining concepts can majorly help if you are a visual learner like me. I know that when I understand the reasoning behind why something works, or is considered fact, I am more likely to remember it on a test. As a visual learner, pictures help me understand better than text. It can be helpful to include these diagrams on your study sheet.
9. Researching More About the Topic or Making Connections
Researching more about the topic or making connections helps because it provides a further understanding, similarly to drawing pictures/diagrams. When you are interested in a topic, you are more likely to remember information about it. On a test, I find that it feels like all the information I learned disappears. Connecting what you’re learning to what you already know, can help you on a test. When you know how a simple thing connects to your topic, it furthers your understanding and gives your mind a link to the disappeared information. The simple thing you know is like the end piece of a ball of yarn, you follow that unspooled yarn back to the ball, and back to the information you forgot.
In conclusion, understanding is so much more important than memorizing, and if you understand that, you are guaranteed to be a successful studier! Understanding information provides a deeper understanding of the topic. It furthers your interest, and you become more knowledgeable in it. On tests, teachers often ask questions which relate what you’re learning to a real world situation. These are questions you have never seen before. The only way you can be successful in answering these questions is by understanding why and how. Why you write a certain letter in a formula, or how we know a certain thing. Understanding is knowledge, and knowledge is power.
Edited by Ally Chan
Nyla is a grade 10 student. She enjoys playing sports and reading. She hopes that people can use these tips to improve their studying.
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