A poor test result after many hours of faithful studying could be a real confidence booster.
If this happens to you, your current study habits may be failing you. But worry no more, as the following five tips can turn them around if carefully utilized.
- Taking Linear Notes
When students try to write down every word of a lecture, they are taking what is known as linear notes. Linear notes are when a student tries to write every word a professor says in order, much like writing a long essay without any paragraphs.
Why would it be terrible to record every word of a lecture, you might be asking.
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It is not a bad idea to take down every word that is said in a lecture, but it is not a good idea to believe that you are studying efficiently if you don’t supplement your linear notes in some way. You must go over your linear notes again and establish connections between the various sections. You should create a lot of notes and examples in the margins, draw arrows connecting similar words or concepts, and make a lot of notes. Now the solutions.
- Solution
You must also replicate all of your class notes in another format to help the knowledge stick and be reinforced. The information must be reviewed and organized into a chart or shrinking outline.
You should go over your old notes right before each new lecture to anticipate the topics that will be covered. Before starting a new lecture, you should think things through and connect the important ideas.
You should prepare for your exams by creating a fill-in-the-blank test from your notes.
- Highlighting the Book
Are you using highlighters improperly? Many poor test scores are the result of careless highlighting!
Highlighting can be misleading since bright colors have a strong visual impact when used on a page. It may appear that you are learning effectively if you underline a lot as you read, but this is not the case.
While highlighting does help crucial information stand out on a page, it is useless if you don’t use that knowledge to engage in meaningful active learning. Repeatedly reading the highlighted words is not enough of an activity.
- Solution
Create a practice test with the knowledge you have highlighted. Until you are familiar with all terms and concepts, practice by writing highlighted words on flashcards. Choose important ideas, then use them to develop sample essay questions.
Create a color-coded highlighting scheme as well. For instance, use a different hue to highlight new concepts and new words. For greater emphasis, you might additionally highlight various issues by a color scheme.
Rewriting Notes
Under the belief that repetition helps with memorization, students frequently rewrite their notes. Repetition is useful as a starting step, but it’s ineffective by itself.
Rewrite your notes using the decreasing outline technique, and then use self-testing techniques to check your work.
- Solution
Utilizing the decreasing outline method, rewrite your notes, and then utilize self-testing strategies to review your work.
- Rereading the Chapter
To solidify their understanding the night before an exam, teachers frequently advise students to reread a chapter. Rereading is a good last strategy.
Rereading is merely one piece of the puzzle, much like the other study techniques discussed above.
- Solution
Use active strategies, like charts, smaller outlines, and practice exams, and then read the chapter again.
- Memorizing Definitions
Flashcards are frequently used by students to help them memorize definitions. As long as it’s the first step in the learning process, this study technique is effective. It is expected of children as they advance through the grade levels that their cognitive abilities will improve.
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You cannot expect to succeed on an exam once you have graduated from middle school by knowing the definitions of terms. You must develop the ability to memorize definitions followed by definitions of the importance of new vocabulary terms you come across. If you’re in high school or college, you should be ready to describe the terms’ relationship to the topic, contrast them with related ideas, and explain why they are important at all.
- Solution
Give yourself a brief essay practice test when you have learned the definitions of your terms. Verify that you can define a phrase and explain its importance. Have the ability to contrast and compare your phrase to something or someone of equal importance.
Self-testing and self-retesting somehow help the information stick.
Hope after knowing these five bad reading habits and their solutions you will stay far away from that unethical reading attitude you always exhibit. Good luck and I hope to see you improve academically afterward.
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