How to Study 101

Let's be honest - when we say we're "studying" it's probably skimming over some notes before getting distracted.

This page will walk you through the basics of a structured study session...

There are a number of ways to study – it helps to find the one that best suits you. These techniques can be applied for exam revision or for assignments and homework.

Time

Pick a time of day when you can focus and be productive – if you’re a morning person, set aside an hour before school, if you’re more of a night owl, try after dinner.

In the end, even if you study efficiently, you simply just have to put the time in.

Duration

Some people can only focus for short chunks – if this is you, try the Pomodoro Technique. This is a timer for a study session of 25 minutes, with a 3-5 minute break between.

Check this link: http://www.tomatotimers.com

Other people may take a while to get into the flow. In this case, you’ll probably want to study for longer periods of time and take a break when you feel like you’re losing focus.

During breaks, get up and walk around, drink some water or get something to eat.

TRY NOT TO CHECK YOUR PHONE because we all know that once the phone is picked up, it’s hard to put down.

Method

If you’re doing homework, go ahead and work through what you’re given. High intensity, focused Pomodoro sets might help you get through this efficiently.

If revising for a test/internal/exam, or just doing general study:

Let’s make this clear: passively reading over your notes is NOT the best way to revise.

Summarise

After a lesson or at the end of the day, especially for content heavy subjects, skim over the notes and write a summary of the material (no more than 3 sentences). This forces your brain to process what you’ve just learnt and also you’ll thank yourself later when it comes to revision and you have nice little bite-sized summaries ready to go.

Make and use flashcards

This is perfect for content-heavy subjects and memorisation. You could share flashcards if you want, but making flashcards is actually really helpful! You’re forced to translate knowledge into questions and you train your brain to handle different question formats.

Using flashcards is a million times better than reading notes! You’ll be surprised at how much better you get at recalling knowledge.

Brainscape is a go-to option: https://www.brainscape.com

Anki is also really good - it uses a spaced repetition software: https://apps.ankiweb.net

Make concept maps

Sometimes it feels like you actually know stuff or it's just at the edge of your brain.

Making brainmaps, flowcharts, tables, or Venn diagrams forces you to organise your knowledge into chunks that MAKE SENSE FOR YOU.

Take your notes and try to group them by theme or topic.
Use lots of colour!

Some studying techniques work better for different subjects.

For English, make brainmaps, write practice essay plans, intro/body paragraphs.

For Math, focus on practice questions. Target the type of question that you struggle most with.

For Sciences, flashcards are super useful for memorising content. Then write NCEA style responses and make sure you use key words.

Page updated

Report abuse