Study Skills 101

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Study Skills 101
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Get Organized

• Organize Your Work Space and Maintain It
  Everyday!
• Designate places to keep textbooks, folders and
  notebooks.
• Obtain materials and supplies for class and store
  them in easy to access areas.

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Stay Organized

• Set Up a System for Keeping School Work Organized
  and Stick to It!
• Examples
• Use a color-code system with a different folder
  for each subject. Use your favorite color for
  your least favorite subject.
• Use a planner or monthly calendar to log all of
  your long term deadlines.
• Use an assignment book to record assignments.
• Take 5 to 10 minutes each day to maintain these
  systems.

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Set SMART Goals

• Set Specific, Measurable, Attainable/Affirmative,
  Realistic, Trackable Goals (SMART Goals)
• SMART Goals should be both short term (achieved
  in the near future) and long term (achieved over
  a long period of time.

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Stay Motivated

• Think Positively!
• Accept responsibility for motivating yourself!
• Accept the fact that success results from effort!
• Reward yourself after completing a goal, task,
  etc.

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Lecture Notes Tips

• Have a specific notebook for every class.
• Read the assignment before going to class.
• Sit in the front of the classroom.
• Write the date and title of the lecture at the
  top of the page.
• Write down the main idea of the lecture near the
  top of the lecture.
• Make an effort to organize your notes.
• Use abbreviations.
• Use your own words, except for technical
  vocabulary.
• Leave a blank if you missed something so youll
  know to go back and fill in the information.
• Correlate what you are hearing to what you have
  read and your own experience.
• Learn when not to write.
• Learn to distinguish facts from opinions.
• Ask questions.
• Only write on the front side of the paper.
• Reconstruct/recopy your notes as soon after class
  as possible.

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Effective Reading
Survey The material, book or chapter first, to
get an idea of what parts you will need to study
in detail. Scan the table of contents and see how
topics are inter-connected. Make a mental note of
all sub-headings or emphasized sections.
Question Yourself as to the purpose of your
study, e.g. What are the main themes, what
message do I get from them, how will they be
useful to me, what is the sequence of thought or
paragraphs? etc. Read The chapter from
beginning to end. At this stage, do not slow down
and concentrate, but finish off the entire
material in one sitting. Recall/Recite What you
have read, if necessary make brief notes of main
ideas and important details. Try to recall the
sequence of sections in your mind. Reciting to
someone else helps you put it in your own words.
(However, reading aloud does not suit
everyone). Review What you have read and test
the accuracy of your memory. Then concentrate on
those passages that seem to elude your memory,
and read them slowly and carefully. Test After
a gap of few days, test yourself on what you had
read. Give yourself mock exams of the same
standard and duration as the actual annual or
semester exam you are going to face.
http//www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/jul202006
/dheducation1029462006719.asp
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• Effective Listening
• Be interested.
• Ignore Speakers Faults in Delivery Ignore the
  speakers mannerism, clothes, voice, and delivery.
  Focus on the message.
• Wait to Disagree or Challenge. Listen to the
  entire idea and get all the facts straight.
• Listen to the Concepts Relate small facts to
  the central themes and principles.
• Take Brief Notes Dont write down everything
  the speaker says or make detailed outlines.
• Stop Distractions Stop distractions caused by
  classmates by asking them to be quiet or ask the
  speaker to speak louder.
• See Difficult Material as a Challenge and Dont
  Tune Out.
• Control Your Emotions Focus on the literal
  meaning of words, Dont let your emotions block
  your concentration.
• Use Your Spare Time Since talking speed is
  slower than listening speed use that time to
  summarize ideas, identify central themes, and
  anticipate what will come next.

http//www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/jul202006
/dheducation1029462006719.asp
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In a Nutshell

• Set Up a Schedule
• Start Studying for 10 15 Minutes at a Time and
  Then Build Up to Longer Periods
• Take Breaks
• Reward Yourself
• Find a Good Location
• Use the Same Place for Studying
• Read and Listen Effectively

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• This information was complied by Ihudiya Ogburu,
  a first year RA at Rochester Institute of
  Technology.
• Information brought to you by
• The Academic Accommodations Office at Rochester
  Institute of Technology
• Please be creative and add festive pictures.