Step 5

Studying & Revising

So, we come to the most widely asked question of all: How do I study?

The answer isn’t straightforward. Everyone has their own style and you will have to find what works best for you.

Studying & Revising

A lot of it comes down to four things:•Doing homework effectively•Reading effectively•Note-taking effectively•Memorising the material

Memorising will be dealt with in another section, but we will go through the other components now.

Studying & Revising

Doing Homework

A few obvious basics have to be emphasised:•DO your homework! (Don’t let a big build-up of work get on top of you. Being lazy one night puts you under a lot of pressure later) •Use your Homework Journal to write down ALL assignments. Don’t be lazy at the end of class.•Understand that homework is used by the teachers to reinforce learning – not just to make your life worse!•Written work is far easier to get into than reading/ learning, but these are just as important!

Doing Homework

1) Start with your strongest/favourite subject, so that you can get it ticked off quickly. (Ticking off subjects as you go is a great motivator)

2) Then tackle your hardest/least favourite home-work (while you’re still fresh)

3) Saving your second strongest/easiest subject till last, complete the other assignments due for the next day.

4) If you have time, try to get ahead by doing a couple of extra homeworks due for later in the week.

Prioritising Homework

Get into good habits when it comes to homework – it just makes your life so much easier!Think back to what the class was about as you work – try to understand what the assignment is about.Read the instructions carefully before starting.Tick off each assignment completed.Take breaks and reward your progress.Put completed work back into your bag so you won’t forget it!

Homework Habits

The most important habit of all!

Set yourself a standard of producing excellent work, and don’t settle for less than this. Use clear readable handwriting or type.Use good English and complete sentences.Make your answers thorough, using examples and details.Double check your work. Don’t settle for work that is anything less than perfect.

The most important habit of all!

How to read!

Okay, by the time you get to TCG we assume that you ARE able to read.

However, what very many Irish secondary students AREN’T able to do is to read effectively. It’s not effective reading if you’re not understanding or taking in the material.

How to read!

Plus, as you get older, textbooks get heavy and boring. The words can swim around on the page as you try to take it in – concentration becomes harder and harder.

And if you think your textbooks are bad now, wait till you get to college – reading becomes an even more important factor in your coursework. And the text becomes even denser and more complex.

How to read!

Therefore, adopting a simple step-by-step reading strategy can be really effective.

One such strategy is known around the world as the SQ3R method. It’s by no means the only strategy you could try, but it works well for many people, so we include it here. It has been proven to help students get a lot more from reading a textbook than they otherwise would, and a lot of college students use it.

The SQ3R Method

SQ3R stands for:SurveyQuestionReadReciteReview

The SQ3R Method

Take a few minutes to locate the core ideas from the chapter you are reading:oHave a quick flick through the chapter. Pick out the title headings, words in bold, illustrations.oRead the introduction very briefly.oSkip to the end and read the summary.

After this process, you should have a reasonable idea of the information the chapter is going to tell you.

SQ3R - Survey

Obviously, if you’re only reading a short passage, say from a Junior Cert textbook, the survey process can be undertaken very quickly.

But before you begin the main reading, it’s still worth taking a few seconds to consider what the passage might be going to tell you.

SQ3R - Survey

It’s very common to reach the bottom of a page of reading and not be able to remember what you’ve read. Asking questions as you go along breaks that rhythm and helps you remember.

So:OAs you go along, ask yourself questions about what you are reading.

SQ3R - Question

O At the end of each page, and the end of each section, stop and ask yourself:

1)What did I just read?2)What are they going to say next?

SQ3R - Question

Read the text.

As they go along, many students like to highlight or underline the parts of the text that is most important/ relevant.

Other students like to make notes in the margin.

Read to answer the questions you developed in the last step.

SQ3R - Read

This is the crucial step to transfer the material into your memory – remember how much more we remember when we say things out loud. (see Learning to Learn section)

I find, the best approach is to pretend you are explaining the material to somebody else – like a teacher, or a news reporter.

This sounds a bit daft, but it really works so do it!

SQ3R - Recite

Finally, review what you have learned. Did you understand it? Did you expect it? Or was it surprising? How does it fit in with the rest of the course?

Useful Tip!If you can review it a second time 24 hours later it has been proven that you will remember 80% more than otherwise. So why not use a post-it note to flag really important bits that could be reviewed one more time tomorrow?

SQ3R - Review

Note-taking

As with other aspects of study, there are many ways of taking notes, and you need to determine what suits your own style.

Ring-binder or copybook?All classes together, or stored separately?Hard copy or on a computer?

Whatever you decide, keep your notes well.

Note-taking

How do you keep them well?

Make sure your notes are clear and legible.Try to keep them in an organised, systematic order.Review your notes regularly to make sure they’re intact and in order.

Note-taking

You need to find what works for YOU!

As we’ve already said, everyone is slightly different. Some people find reading really easy, but recalling information difficult. For others, it’s the other way round.

You need to take these suggestions, practise them, and see what works best with you.

Finally…