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Studying is a skill you can improve, just like any other. Set yourself up for success by taking notes, keeping a study schedule, and practicing growth mindset thinking. When you start studying, limit your distractions, avoid multitasking, and take breaks to keep focused. Experiment with different strategies of preparing for tests, like using mnemonics, and joining a study group, until you find a few that work great for you.
Take steps to avoid distractions. If you have family members that distract you, politely ask them to leave so you can continue with your assignments. Make sure the TV and radio are off. Turn your phone on silent. If you don't need the internet for your studying, turn your WiFi off so you won't get distracted.
Stay organized with a study schedule. Keep a detailed planner listing all your tests and assignments. This can be in a paper planner or online. For each day, write down the homework or studying you have to do and when you plan to do it. It can be helpful to write down other time commitments you have, too. Mark out time slots to work on long-term projects and study for big tests, so that you don't push them to the last minute.
Take notes and ask yourself questions as you read. Reading to study isn't like reading a novel for fun: you have to make sure you are actively focusing on and remembering the information. As you read the material, ask yourself about what you've just read to check your comprehension. Take notes by writing down the chapter headings and then make a few bullet points for each one with key information. If you're not sure what is the most important information to write down, check out the textbook chapter summary, which will often include only the most important points.
Take an active break at least every hour. After an hour of sitting and studying, get up and take a little break. You can walk around, eat a snack, do a few push-ups, or go get some air outside. Try to make the break last about 10 minutes so that you can go back to studying. When you take frequent active breaks, you're able to learn much more in the long term than if you try to sit and study for 4 hours without stopping.
Practice a growth mindset. Success in school isn't all about innate talent. It's mostly about effort. Instead of telling yourself, “I'm no good at this subject,” tell yourself, “I can learn more if I ask questions and practice.” Instead of saying, “I'm bad at studying,” say, “I'm going to practice studying more efficiently.”
Make sure you get enough sleep every night. Sleep is the best ingredient to help you focus. Staying up late studying on school nights is not a good idea for long-term success. Lack of sleep prevents you from concentrating and reduces your ability to remember what you have learned.
Figure out your learning style so you can study more strategically. Different people have different forms of learning that work best for them. Some people are visual learners, which means they learn best from images and reading. Some people are auditory learners, which means they most clearly remember what they hear. Jingles and songs can help them remember information. And some people are tactile learners, also called kinesthetic learners. They learn best by physically handling the things they are learning about. Figure out your learning style and use techniques that best work for you to help study.
Use acronyms and flashcards to help you remember things. Acronyms are made up of the first letter of each word you are trying to remember. One example is the acronym PEMDAS, for remembering that the order of operations in arithmetic is: Parenthesis, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, and Subtraction. Flashcards are another good tool for memorizing large amounts of information.
Take detailed notes in class in the weeks leading up to the exam. Even if your teacher posts notes online, the physical act of taking notes will make the concepts stick better so that you don't have to frantically learn everything before the test. Studies have shown that you remember more if you take notes by hand instead of on the computer. Try not to just copy what the teacher has written on the board, but also write down important things your teacher says. Whenever your teacher starts a new topic, mark a new section in your notes and write down some key points.
Practice test-taking strategies. Acing a test isn't just about studying the information, it's also about getting the hang of tests. Try practice tests to get the hang of multiple-choice, true-false, short answer, and essay questions. When you're taking the test, mark difficult questions to come back to later instead of spending a long time trying to figure them out. That way you'll have time to answer more questions that you know, and if you have time, you can come back to work on the ones you didn't know.
Start studying for exams at least a week in advance. Instead of cramming at the last minute, you should study for about an hour or two every day for a week.
This will give you time to gradually prepare and learn everything you need to know without stressing.
Join or form a study group. If you have a big test coming up, get together a group of friends from your class to quiz each other and ask each other questions. Be mindful of balancing group and individual study. Group study can be much more fun and you can ask questions, but groups of friends can get distracted really quickly.
Try teaching the concept to somebody else. Studies have shown that teaching a concept to somebody else helps you learn it and retain it far better than just studying it on your own. So if you've got a particularly tricky concept you're trying to learn, try teaching it to a friend.
Ask for help if you're having a hard time studying. When you're feeling stuck in your studying for an exam, don't be afraid to ask for help. You can ask for help from a friend who's taking the same class as you, or ask the teacher during class. You can also see if your school offers tutoring, and go ask a tutor for help.