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Helpful Study Tips

A few study tips I found helpful in my first two years of college

By magdalena brockPublished 4 years ago 4 min read
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Lets face it, college is hard. Between a new environment as a freshman or the prospect of a graduating senior, to buying textbooks, trying to fit in, and just survive the social aspects, it can be hard to fully focus on your studies. Of course you should take breaks as needed, the best study-break combination is to work for 25 minutes, break for 5. After four rounds of 25 minutes, take a 25 minute break. I've found its best to walk around and stretch for those few minutes. Here are some more tips that I've found helpful and still use today.

Flashcards

Flashcards are almost an essential for learning a new language. They can improve your memory and keep the vocabulary at the forefront of your mind. Set aside 15-20 minutes each day and just review vocabulary. Identify the words you struggle with and focus on those. The key is consistency, especially if you’re in a 203 or 204 level language course, you may not remember some of the basic words from 101 or 102. Consistent studying is also very important for 100 level language courses to familiarize yourself with the language. Word association is another way that can help when doing flash cards, for example, if a word looks like an English word and has a similar meaning, try to make a connection or little association that you’ll remember when you see the word.

Drill endings

Learning a new language can be difficult if you don’t know the verb endings or noun endings. As a Latin student, I have to memorize verb, noun, adjective, and pronoun endings. I’ve found that consistent drilling helps. Drilling is just writing out the endings or whatever it is you need to study multiple times. Like flashcards, set aside 15-20 minutes everyday and focus on drilling. Drill, drill, drill until you can repeat the endings without looking at the page. Even try saying them aloud and backwards and even out of order so you know what all the endings are.

Consistent studying

As I’ve mentioned before, being consistent with your studying will help tremendously. For college, it is recommended that you do 3 hours of studying per each hour of class. Say your class is one hour Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. That’s nine hours a week of studying. In total, it seems like a lot, but when broken down into smaller chunks it seems more manageable. Before class, re-read what you need to in the textbook for the day, that way it’s fresh in your mind and you’ll be prepared for class, immediately after class review your class notes or review the textbook on the material you covered in class, set aside 30 minutes to an hour to study every day. Find things that you didn’t understand that week or day in class and focus on that material first. Once you think you’ve got that down, move on to some older material to refresh your brain.

Do the homework

Doing the homework and reading for each class is extremely beneficial, not only will you be caught up in the course you will (hopefully) have a better understanding of the course material. When doing readings, try to read it once and really focus on the material. Read it a second time, not as in depth, and make any notes, mark any passages you found interesting or confusing, and write down any questions you may have. The same can go for the homework, homework will help you identify what you have trouble with and need to focus on the most. Don’t be afraid to write down any questions you may have and ask them in class, talk to your professor, or go to your professors office hours.

Connect with your professors

Talking with your professors on the first day of class is definitely intimidating, but it works wonders for later on in the semester when you have any questions. Establishing that relationship with your professor is important, it allows them to put a face to the name and creates that personal relationship so that you’re not just another name on the roster or a blank face sitting in the lecture hall.

Use professors office hours

Professors are there to help you, believe it or not. They don’t want their students to fail their course and are more than willing to meet with their students either after class or during office hours. Office hours are there for you, the student. Write down any questions or comments you have, even as simple as ‘How can I study better?’ or ‘How can I do well in this course?’. One of the best things I’ve done is meeting my Latin professor during her office hours and just asking questions like the two above. She helped me so much throughout Latin 101 and 102, giving me advice and even sitting down with me and doing practice problems for sometimes up to an hour. Don’t be shy around your professors, they really do want to help you succeed.

The main takeaway I want you to have from this is consistency. Spend 30 minutes to an hour everyday studying, reviewing new and old material. Utilize the resources that you have such as your professor, classmates, and any tutor options your school may offer

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