The school year is coming to a close, but for many students just entering college, or for those who are opting to continue their education over summer, now is the time for learning better study habits. While many students opt for summer classes because they’re “easy,” the reality is that at most schools, sixteen or more weeks worth of lectures and topics need to be covered in less than half the time. That means that the workload on students can be intense, particularly if your coursework is challenging.
Fortunately, there are answers. Learning these simple tips will not only make you a better student and note-taker, but also a better student overall. What you need to do is adopt a different, and more intense, reading strategy.
There are two basic strategies that I want to introduce to you. The first is called SQ3R, and the second is called the Cornell Method.
When you read using SQ3R, you are doing 5 distinct steps: Scanning the text, writing questions based on headings, subheadings, and vocabulary words, reading in detail, “reciting” them via oral review with friends or classmates, and then reviewing the answers before your test.
Here’s what you’d have to do: first, quickly speed read or scan the text you’re responsible for. You want to look for the types of information that are contained in the textbook, and to get a feel for where the text is going. While doing this, take every subheading or vocabulary word and write it out on a separate piece of paper in the form of a question (leave plenty of room for the answers). For instance, if a subheading says “Effects of the American Civil War on the Southern United States,” then you would write a question that asks “What were the effects of the American Civil War on the Southern United States?” Yes, it’s that easy. Once you have all the questions written down, read through each separate section, and answer all of those questions in paragraph form, in your own words. When you finish a chapter, look it over, either alone, or with friends or classmates, and then review it again before the test.
This is a lot more work than what most students would be doing, but it’s worthwhile because when you do this, you’re practically guaranteed to learn the information so well that you hardly need to study at all come the final exam.
The second method of studying is called the Cornell Method, named after Cornell University where it was first used. In this method, you divide your paper into two columns, leaving a few lines blank near the end of the page. Take notes as normal in the right hand column, and write a summary of each section at the bottom of the page. The left hand side is to be used to write practice questions based on the information that is directly opposite of it in your notes. When practicing, you can flip your notes over and then practice answering the questions. If you need clarification, you can simply turn over the page, and the answer will be right there!
Both of these methods will help you for one major reason: you’re effectively creating your own study guide while you work. Most students would do the reading throughout the semester and create a study guide only at the end, but as you work, you’re developing a list of the questions that you are likely to be asked, and practicing answering them along the way. This makes for a tremendously effective method of studying.
Both of these methods will make you spend more time reading the material, but if you learn how to increase your reading speed, then the difference will be negligible.
Now, it should be noted that these methods are not only useful for college students, or summer school students. Anyone can make use of this method of studying and reading. If you’re a parent, then teaching this to your children could significantly help their achievement in school. While many will be reluctant to do this at first, particularly because the methods seem like more work, if they use it, you should notice that they know the information much better, and will hardly have to study at all for tests and quizzes.