Early in the semester, some students may feel overwhelmed with the level of work from this course. Some may only need a few study strategies to achieve success. Others may have to do more than the suggestions below. More often, though, you will need to find out which strategies work well for you. Know yourself, push yourself, & you will find you have grown more than you would have imagined.

Reading

Since you cannot highlight your book, buy the Post-It tabs and write on them. There is far more information in this book than you need to remember, this helps sort out what is important.

Read a section completely, then go back an take note of what was important.Look for big ideas! This will help those students who tend to highlight all the information on the page and then become overwhelmed.

Read in chunks. Do not sit down and try to read the entire chapter in one sitting. It is too much information and will not stick with you. Read for 20-30 minutes, then change what you are doing.

Read in the same place every time. Find a comfortable place that becomes your reading area. This helps your brain get into "reading mode" and helps eliminate other distractions.

Turn the TV off. I know it is hard to miss your favorite shows, but studying with the TV on is almost impossible. Also, leave your cellphone alone. It is hard to concentrate on reading when you are having a text-message conversation.

Note-Taking

Print out the notes and bring them with you to class. We go over them quickly and sometimes we get too stuck on writing down every word that is on the board.

Note the BIG IDEAS. We often write down every word we see on the slides. Figure out what is a NEED TO KNOW and what is NICE TO KNOW. Only take notes on the need to know information.

Develop your own shorthand. Figure out abbreviations and symbols that are quicker than writing down all the words.

Studying

Read the chapter. It is amazing how much you can learn when you actually read the chapter!

Take notes when you read! It will help, I promise.

Rewrite your notes. Go through all of your notes, highlight what you feel is important. Rewrite that information down. The more times you see, the more it sticks in your brain.

Start studying early. It has been proven that cramming does not work as well as studying over time. You know the dates of tests far enough in advance to spread out the studying over a few nights. Don't wait until the end to fill your brain.