18
Maranda Galliher
Studying Tips
Introduction
College can be super scary! College tests can be super scary! And if you don’t know a good studying method then it could make college even scarier. So, this article is going to give you some studying methods that hopefully will help you. I have done online research to see what the best studying method is and the best studying tips. I have also interviewed students to get their personal say on what the best and worst studying methods are and studying tips. I will also share personal thoughts on what works best for me when I study.
Online Research
I have done some online research to see what the best studying tips are scientifically. According to the website, The Best Colleges, one of the best ways to study is with a paper copy of the material. It explains that if you study with a digital copy then it will take longer for the information to stay in your mind for the test. So, the first tip is, that if you can, study with a paper copy.
Another tip to help your studying is to exercise before you study. This has been proven to help you study more efficiently. If you do any exercise for about 20-30 minutes that can get your heart rate up before you study, then when you study it will be faster and more efficient. According to the article 9 Scientifically Proven Ways to Get the Most Out of Study Time, exercising before you study releases hormones that will help your mind maintain information. Getting your heart rate up for about 20-30 minutes can release serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. These hormones help boost your mood, make you more attentive, and concentrate more. So, if you take about 20 minutes to exercise before you study then you will get more out of it.
A method of studying that has been proven to be effective is to be very thorough with the material. The website My Degree Guide gives 5 steps to being thorough in studying. First you need to skim through your material, focusing on headings, bold words, and diagrams. While you are skimming you need to be asking yourself questions about the material. Then the third step is to read the material while looking for answers to the questions you asked. The fourth step is to go back over your questions and answers and anything that stuck out to you in the material. The last step is to reread the material and take notes on anything that stands out to you.
Another method of studying according to My Degree Guide is to make your own study sheets. It has been proven that a good way to study is to condense your most important notes onto a single page and rereading them. You can do this for each test or each chapter, just depending on how much material is there. You should reread them whether it is in your head or out loud.
Interviews
I have done interviews with a few different students to get their opinion on what is the best ways to study.
The first person I interviewed was Gabriel Torres. He is a freshman and an international student. He is a business major that plans to go to graduate school for his MBA. He had to make the transition from his homework not being included in his grade to all the homework being a portion of his grade. So, before he would use the homework to study since he could do it on his own term. Now he must find time to do his homework, study, and do tests. So now to help prepare him to study he gets all his homework done as fast as he can. To study he takes notes and highlights things that are important. Then to maintain the information he looks back over his notes and things he has highlighted.
The second person I interviewed is Josh Smith. He is a commuter freshman with a major in film and media arts. After graduation he plans to find employment in directing and screenwriting films and tv shows. He explains that to study he needs a quiet room with no distractions. He uses anything that is repetitive like flash cards. He will also reread any material that needs to be remembered. He also uses study guides and if the teacher doesn’t already provide one, he asks for one. This makes sure that he studies the right things for the upcoming tests.
The last person I interviewed is Andrea Hurtado. She is a senoir majoring in Criminal Justice and Communication. Over the time that she has been at Upike she has learned what studying tips are the most benefical. Her studying tip that she suggests to all the incoming freshman, is to not wait till the last minute. She advises everyone to get ahead has much as possible. She has also said that a bad way to study is to do it while sitting in bed. Even though you are super comfortable, you are training your mind that you don’t have to work super hard since your bed is where you sleep.
References
Writers, S. (2020, May 19). 17 Scientifically Proven Ways to Study Better This Year. Retrieved October 01, 2020, from https://www.thebestcolleges.org/17-scientifically-proven-ways-to-study-better-this-year/
Young, K., Harrier October 17th, Hey Sigmund October 17th, Jess Hodgson October 17th, Kylie Butler December 1st, Hey Sigmund December 1st, . . . *, N. (2020, August 17). 9 Scientifically Proven Ways to Get the Most Out of Study Time. Retrieved October 01, 2020, from https://www.heysigmund.com/studying-9-scientifically-proven-ways-to-supercharge-your-learning/
Cromwelle, J. (2020, August 21). 25 Scientifically Proven Tips for Effective Studying [2020 Edition]. Retrieved October 01, 2020, from https://www.mydegreeguide.com/how-to-study-tips/