Overview

Students can remember large amounts of information when they employ appropriate study techniques or strategies. Note-taking is an effective method for retaining important information: it requires you to think about and rephrase what you hear or read and allows you to review salient material easily. Notes in outline form summarize main ideas and supporting details of a lecture. When note-taking, listen or look for signal words like first, most importantly, or finally. These words indicate important information or point out relationships among ideas.

When studying outside of class, make the most of your time. Recognize your learning style; in other words, identify how you learn best: people learn in a variety of ways—discussing, writing, drawing, or reading, for example—so adapt your study skills to make your study time more effective. Update your list of assignments and due dates at least weekly. Study at the same time and place, and set objectives for each study session. Start with your most difficult assignment. Recognize that you may need to break certain assignments into stages. Don't study one subject for too long. While reading, take notes or create graphics to aid your understanding and recall. Finally, summarize what you've learned at the end of each study session.

Use various reading styles for specific purposes. For example, skimming is handy for previewing material, whereas scanning is helpful for reviewing or identifying key terms, main ideas, or specific information. In-depth reading is useful when you're reading for the first time or you're evaluating the information. You will use these reading styles when employing SQ3R: survey, question, read, record, and review. Applying the SQ3R method helps you remember what you have read. Mnemonic devices (rhymes, sayings, or words) can also help you recall basic information and remember what you have studied. By looking for patterns in what you have studied, you can develop your own mnemonic devices.

Critical reading is another important study skill. Recognize the difference between fact and opinion. A fact is a statement that can be verified or proved true. The proof of a statement may come from direct experience or from an authoritative source like a reference book. An opinion is a personal judgment and cannot be proved either true or false. Also recognize the difference between figurative language (similes, metaphors, or idioms) and literal language when reading critically.

Finally, graphic images communicate information in ways that are sometimes clearer than words alone. You can identify relationships, categorize the information, and connect ideas with graphics. Common graphs or diagrams include pie charts, line graphs, or tree diagrams.