Page 235 - Keys to College Success

Manage Your Study Time and Goals

Want to be as ready as possible for a test? Don’t wait until the night before to study for
it, and don’t assume that paying attention during class time is enough. The most effec-
tive studying takes place in consistent segments over time. Use time management skills
to lay out a study schedule.
■ Consider relevant factors. Note the number of days until the test, when in your
days you have time available, and how much material you have to cover.
■ Schedule a series of study sessions. If you need to, define what materials you will
focus on for each session.
■ Enter study sessions in your planner. Do this ahead of time, just as you would for
class, work, or any other important appointment. Then stick to your commitment.
Your goal-setting skills are likewise essential to test success. Make getting ready for
a test a SMART goal by making it:
■ Specific. Get clear on what you need to study.
■ Measurable. Acknowledge when you accomplish each study session.
■ Achievable. Stay up-to-date with coursework so that you have knowledge you
can use.
■ Realistic. Give yourself enough time and resources to get the job done.
■ Time frame. Anchor each step toward the test in your schedule.
To work SMART, try using a comprehensive study plan like the one in Key 8.1. Con-
sider making several copies and filling one out for each major test you have this term.
Alternately, you can create your own version by modifying Key 8.1 according to your
specific needs. Format your version on a computer so that you can print out copies.

Review Using Study Strategies
Put your plan and schedule to work. Use what you have learned about learning, thinking,
reading, memory, and studying during this course to understand and remember material.
■ Think analytically. College exams often ask you to analyze and apply material in
more depth than you experienced in high school. For example, your history instruc-
8 tor may ask you to place a primary source in its historical context. Prepare by con-
CHAPTER ■ Use SQ3R. This reading method provides an excellent structure for reviewing your
tinually asking analytical thinking questions and using the higher levels of Bloom’s
taxonomy.

reading materials.
■ Consider your learning preferences. Use study strategies that engage your strengths.
When necessary, incorporate strategies that boost your areas of challenge.
■ Remember your best settings. Use the locations, times, and company that suit
you best.
■ Employ specific study strategies. Consider your favorites. Use flash cards, audio strat-
egies, chunking, or anything else that suits you and the material (see pages 182–186).
■ Create mnemonic devices. These work exceptionally well for remembering lists or
groups of items. Use mnemonics that make what you review stick.
■ Actively review your combined class and text notes. Summaries and master sets of
combined text and class notes provide comprehensive study tools.
■ Make and take a pretest. Use end-of-chapter text questions to create a pretest. If
your course doesn’t have a text, develop questions from notes, assigned readings,
and old homework problems. Some texts provide a website with online activites
and pretests to help you review. Answer questions under test-like conditions—in a
quiet place, with no books or notes (unless the exam is open book), and with a
clock to tell you when to quit.

198