Organization Tips

• Begin reviewing early—this will give your brain time to get comfortable with the information.

• Conduct short daily review sessions—you can ease into more intense review sessions prior to major exams.

• Read assignments before lectures—this will help you identify concepts that the professor considers important and that are already somewhat familiar.

• Review notes immediately after lectures—this will help you identify information that you do not understand while the lecture is still fresh in your and other students’ memories as well. When you review immediately, you’ll have time to clarify information with your classmates.

• Review with a group—this will enable you to cover important material that you may overlook on your own.

• Conduct a major review early enough to allow for a visit to the instructor during their office hours if necessary.

• Break up the study tasks into manageable chunks, especially during major reviews prior to exams. Studying three hours in the morning and three in the evening will be more effective that studying at a six hour stretch. Studying while you are mentally fatigued is usually a waste of time.

·   Study the most difficult material when you are most alert.

• Begin early—it is never too early to start. By starting early you have more time to finish the project and you guarantee yourself adequate time to do a good job.

·   Determine the time commitment. Find out:

o   How long the presentation or paper should be

o   How hard the material is to research

o   How much time you have to complete the project

·   Break the project down into manageable sections—the table of tasks on the following page includes a “done by” column to help you organize yourself and the project.