How to Study

How to Study
● Textbook Study
● Reading Difficulties
● Problem Solving
● Study Groups
● Exercises

Most freshmen think about studying often. They talk about it, complain about it, procrastinate about it.
They religiously take their books home on the weekend, or to the park, or to a friend's place. They
promise themselves that they will study after the party or after the movie. Do they study? Well,
sometimes, but rarely is it effective, because most freshmen believe that memorizing is enough.
Memorizing at the last minute (or cramming) is the most popular form of freshman studying. No
wonder that 40 percent fail.
Understanding, not memory, is the foundation of college learning. The trick is to study to
understand, then memorize what is important. The place to begin to understand is the textbook.
Studying is different from reading. We read the newspaper, a recipe, a novel. The purpose is usually to
acquire information or to be entertained. To study is to apply the mind so as to acquire understanding
and knowledge.
The first type of study is learning from your textbook. Studying a textbook is a careful and
thoughtful process. At the beginning of the semester, examine your text just as you would examine
any new tool. How are the chapters organized? Are they grouped into units with introductions? What
is the structure of each chapter? Do they contain case studies, summaries, introductory outlines, boxed
inserts, graphs and charts, problems, questions? What appendices exist? Is there a glossary (a
dictionary of terms used in the book), index, background information (science books often contain an
explanation of the scientific method, and government books contain the Constitution, and so on)? If a
study guide exists for the text, buy it; it is worth every dollar.
Be sensible about where, when, and how you study. Study first, then party, rather than the other
way around. Study during the day if possible (the soaps will still be there on holidays). Turn the
television off. Sit at a table or desk. Use a good light. Music is okay if the volume is low. Schedule
specific times to study, just as if you were going to work. Study at a high energy time because
effective studying is hard work and you will need all the energy you can get.
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Textbook Study

Chapters are the normal units of textbooks. Although you may spend several sittings studying a
chapter, it is best to consider each one as a whole. To study a chapter effectively you will have to go
through it several times. The first step is to look over the entire chapter. Read the main headings and

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the summary if there is one. Think about the two or three main ideas that this chapter is about. Say
them aloud or write them down. You may want to phrase them as questions. These ideas will form the
foundation of what you will learn, and they will be the primary method by which you will remember
the information in the chapter.
Most modern textbooks are partitioned into sections and subsections. This deliberate structure
helps you to learn, for as you acquire new ideas and information you need to store them in your
memory. Research tells us that items stored at random are hard to remember, but ideas and items
stored on the basis of their meaning and context are much easier to remember. Thus, understand the
material first; then work to remember it.
As you study each section, do the following: read the heading and look for the primary idea about
the heading in the first or second paragraph. When you find it, mark it by underlining or highlighting.
Then read the first subsection without marking anything. Stop and think. What in that subsection is
important about the primary idea? You may find one or two or three items to mark, but be selective,
for if you mark too much, the markings are useless. Work your way through each subsection, back and
forth, reading... thinking... marking. As you work, be sure to look over any charts, graphs, or boxed
inserts. They can help you understand the ideas. Work for fifteen to twenty minutes and then get up
and take a five-minute break. Then back to work.
If text material is especially difficult, make an outline of the section. If there is new vocabulary,
make flash cards (à la grade school) with the word on one side and the definition on the other. Flash
cards also work for identifications and grouped items (types, characteristics). Carry them in your purse
or pocket and practice them several times a day. If you are lucky enough to have a study guide for the
text (a call to your college bookstore will tell you if one is in print), use it to organize your efforts by
going back and forth between the guide and the text.
The end result of a productive study session is twofold: you have an understanding of the main
ideas of the text reading, and you have a marked text that will help you prepare for exams. The
markings are yours, your choices; that is why it is useful to buy unmarked texts. Other people's
decisions will not help you.
If you have read this far and are fairly intimidated by these suggestions, take heart; you can learn
how to study. Most high school students rarely read their texts, and few if any study them. One of the
hardest adjustments most college freshmen must make is learning to study their textbooks because it is
a new behavior. It will take many false starts and miscalculations, but with practice you can learn. You
will not only get better with practice, you will get faster.
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Reading Difficulties

If you are a competent reader and simply out of practice, the practical suggestions above should
improve your reading effectiveness within 45 days. However, there are three kinds of reading
difficulties that are much more serious and require direct intervention. The first is poor concentration
(or gifted daydreaming). If your mind wanders each time you pick up a textbook, the cure is ruthless.
Study in ten-minute sessions. Read the chapter one subsection at a time. Turn the heading into a
question and when you find the answer, write it down. Hold yourself accountable for every minute
you are looking at the page. If you have to stand up and hold the book, do so. After each ten-minute
session, test yourself on the material. Daydreaming is a habit; so is concentration. Get in the habit of
concentrating when you are looking at a text. Each time you realize that you are daydreaming, pull

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your mind back to the information on the page.

The second kind of reading difficulty is lack of a collegiate vocabulary. If every tenth word in
your freshman English reader is unfamiliar, you need to do specific vocabulary development. The
fastest method is to go to the campus learning lab and study Greek and Latin roots and prefixes.
Another is to keep a dictionary with you at all times and use it. Make vocabulary cards, write
sentences using new words, and become a wordsmith, a craftsman with language. Reading will greatly
aid your vocabulary development. Persistence is the key; if you can truly learn one new word each
day, your vocabulary will grow as your intellectual abilities grow.
A third kind of reading difficulty occurs when students have problems with understanding the
basic content of the text. If you try to read and seem to miss the main points the professor and other
students talk about, then find a campus source that will assess your reading skills. There may be a
learning or reading lab, an education department, a counseling center. This is not the time to be shy;
reading difficulties can be overcome, but you will need the help of specialists.
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Problem Solving

As mentioned earlier, the first type of study was learning from your textbook. A second type is
solving problems for courses such as math, statistics, accounting, physics. Attempt the homework as
soon after class as possible (you will remember more). As you are practicing a procedure for solving a
problem, talk aloud about what you are doing and why. Better still, write down what you are doing
and why. When you get stuck, take a short break and try again. If you stay stuck, get help from your
professor or a classmate or a tutor in one of the learning labs. Persistence is the key to success. A good
way to ensure that you understand--rather than just remember--the process is to explain it to someone
else. An emergency technique, if math is extremely difficult for you, is to begin by working
unassigned problems for which you have the answers, to verify that you understand the procedure.
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Study Groups

A third type of study is the study group. Groups can be either opportunities or dangers. The
dangers are obvious: you may visit instead of learn; your partners may give you wrong information;
you may spend all your time teaching them and not learning anything new; your group may contain a
leech who cannot contribute but clings to others. However, the opportunities are equally great.
Students in effective groups combine their skills and knowledge as well as motivate each other to
greater accomplishments.
If you want to establish an effective study group, choose two other students who share your desire
for success (three is the magic number for a group). Set a specific time, place, and topic. A good place
is the library. Expect everyone to have completed the initial study of the material and to bring
questions to the group. Compare notes from the lecture across the group. Focus the discussion on two
points: the unanswered questions about the material from the lecture and the reading and the predicted
questions for the next test.
A lively, competitive interaction in a group will help everyone's learning. Debate the issues or
quiz each other. Assign topics and let each person "teach" for five minutes. If you have been unwise
enough to choose a lazy person or a leech, eject him or her from the group. Older returning students
are good additions to a group because they are usually highly motivated and willing to work hard.

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Studying is not just reading and memorizing, although it encompasses both. Studying is the active
learning of academic ideas and information. It is the work of a student. Most study skills books tell
students to study two hours for every hour of class. Not a bad average, but it is an average. Some
courses will require four hours for every hour of class and some will require thirty minutes. The two-
for-one average will usually yield average grades. Yes, unlike high school, it takes effort even to make
Cs. As and Bs come much harder.
Studying is like any job. With time and effort and attention, you can learn to do it well. Practice in
studying will allow you to master the most powerful skill in the human arsenal: the ability to
concentrate.
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Exercises

Exercise: Concentration
1. Complete the attached checklists in order to be aware of distractions.
2. Try this plan for reducing internal distractions and increasing the amount of time you can read
productively:
a. Begin with a relatively easy assignment as a "warm-up." Divide the assignment into
three or four segments.
b. Read the first segment. When your attention starts drifting, stop, turn away from the
book, note the number of paragraphs you were able to read with concentration. Briefly
review those paragraphs and remind yourself of the key points, then continue reading
this first segment. Repeat this process as often as necessary until you complete the
segment.
c. When you finish the first segment, note the average number of paragraphs you were
able to read with concentration. If your average was, say, four, set a goal of six for the
next segment.
d. Skim the next segment and mark the end of the passage you hope to read without
distraction.
e. Repeat step (b) until you have worked through the second segment.
f. Work through the entire assignment using this technique.
3. Describe aloud or write the main content of the assignment you just read.
4. Take a short relaxing break, then turn to a more challenging assignment, using the same
technique.

Exercise: Checklist for External Distractions

1. Describe the place where you are studying:
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________

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Study Area Description How to Improve It

Amount of space

Furniture

Lighting

Temperature

Noise

Visual distraction

Other

Exercise: Checklist for Internal Distractions

1. Describe your present mental state:
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________

Internal Distractions Description How to Improve/Cope

Reations to noise

Fatigue

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Daydreaming

Lack of interest in subject

Anxiety about scope of task

Personal problems

Other

*From De Sellers, "How to Study," in Jeffrey Gordon, The University in Your Life (McGraw-Hill, 1996).
Copyright © 1996 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

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