How to Study

Good study habits will produce better test scores, and give you advantage over other students competing for spots in the top high schools and colleges. Follow these steps to enhance your studying skills.

Things You'll Need

• Quiet area
• Highlighter
• Pen or pencil
• Paper

Instructions

1. Prepare to study. Pick a place that is quiet and free from distraction. If you like to listen to music, have it turned down low. Be comfortable. Keep textbooks, paper, pen, pencil, highlighter and notepaper handy.

2. Have reference material on hand for anything you don't understand. A dictionary is imperative, while a thesaurus and encyclopedia are helpful. If you have access to the internet, you have access to all three--and more. Be familiar with a textbook's glossary and index to answer questions when reading text.

3. Determine your learning style. Auditory people learn best by listening; visual people learn best with pictures, charts and graphs; and tactile people learn best by doing. Try to incorporate your learning style into your subject matter. Read out loud if that helps you, or use study tapes. Rewrite notes at home, and use a highlighter to go over text. If you are a tactile learner, try to take subjects with a lab or with practical tests.

4. Join a study group if you feel you are lagging behind in a subject. Sometimes it is easier to ask questions and participate with your peers.

5. Make up flash cards to help you study prior to a test.

6. Take time to review your notes and the text every day so that a subject is already very familiar when test time rolls around.

Tips & Warnings

• If you can't remember what you just read, sometimes writing it out can reinforce the material and help you to remember.

• Use acronyms when studying lists. Use the first letter of each object on the list to form a word or saying th at is easy to remember.

• Sometimes studying with friends becomes another word for socializing. Try not to mix socializing with studying unless you and your friends have a genuine interest in the subject.