What are Study Skills and Why do you Need them?

While any skill that is needed for effective study can be
included under the category of study skills, the following are some
of the most prominent study skills:
1. Organizing oneself for effective study
2. Motivation
3. Goal setting
4. Time management
5. Stress management
6. Using one’s time
7. Learning personalities & learning styles

8. Effective reading
9. Note-taking
10. Note-making
11. Effective listening
12. Effective essay writing
13. Summarizing
14. Paraphrasing
15. Test Preparation
16. Coping with test anxiety
17. ICT skills
18. Dictionary skills

19. Information transfer
20. Library skills
21. Computer literacy skills

22. Critical thinking
23. Good study habits
24. Remembering
25. Creating study partners
Study skills, therefore, are strategies and techniques that
enable you to make efficient use of your time, resources, and
academic potentials.

You need study skills because they make you study faster,
smarter, and even longer without getting bored. They make you a disciplined student. Many of you need self-disciplining and motivation to study effectively. You can face exams with more confidence. You can also live a better college life.
Why do you study? Don’t you have special needs? Yes,
you all study because you want to perform better on tests and exams; you want to get great marks and a first-class degree.
Otherwise, you would not have joined the course at all. However,
you appear to be a little unmotivated, a little lazy, a little hopeless, a
little worried about the future, a little hopeless and helpless. Aren’t you? Don’t worry about it. Acquisition of studies and the practice of the same will improve abilities to study and stay positive. You need these skills to study fast, read fast, and write fast.

Why Are Study Skills Important?

Study smarter, not harder! By actively developing good study skills and learning strategies, you will keep your motivation high and achieve your goals more easily and more efficiently.

Learning study skills will not only help you in university, but they will also help you succeed in life.
Good study skills can increase your confidence, competence, and self-esteem. They can also reduce anxiety about tests and deadlines.
By developing effective study skills, you may be able to cut down on the number of hours spent studying, leaving more time for other things in your life.
Good study skills can improve your ability to learn and retain knowledge.
Students who use effective study skills may feel their work and effort is more worthwhile.

Before You Study

Look at the Big Picture

Ask yourself these questions: How many exams do I have to study for? What are the dates of these exams? How much time do I think I should dedicate to each subject? What is my grade going into the exam, and what is the exam worth towards my final grade?

Prioritize

In university, it may seem like there is always a paper due or an exam coming up. Prioritize and plan out what needs to be done first, what needs your best effort, and what can wait.

Plan

Schedule what and when you want to study. An agenda is one of the best tools you can use to organize school life.

Give Yourself Plenty of Time

Cramming is not the most effective way to study. When you start to study weeks in advance, you have more time to reach your academic goals. You also have time to ask questions about everything you do not fully understand.

Set Up a Study Area

Find an area where you can spread out your notes, your computer, and your books. Try to find somewhere that is well-lit, comfortable, and where there is little distraction. There are good options for study spaces in all the libraries across campus.

When You Study

Make Your Own Notes

What are the titles, headings, and subheadings? Are there any bolded words? These can be great indicators of what information is important.

Having beautiful notes and a perfectly highlighted textbook doesn’t matter if you do not understand the information. Don’t be afraid to get messy when scrawling out ideas on paper and to connect them in your head.

Put It in Your Own Words

Paraphrasing is a great technique to help you really understand the material. Try reading over a page or paragraph of information, covering it up, then repeating the information in your own words.

Teach It

Find someone who does not understand the material and teach it to them. Doing this can help you understand concepts in less time than studying by yourself.

Should I Study by Myself or in a Group?

At different points in your learning process, you may find that you benefit more from studying independently than in a group, or vice versa. The key is to know where you are getting the most from your efforts and are the least distracted.

What Material Should I Start With?

Start with the most challenging sections and move on from there. Spend only a little time quickly reviewing the material you know well.

Exam Anxiety

Exams are among the most important and stressful parts of university life. Exam anxiety is a common and normal reaction. However, it can become problematic when it is intense, persists over time, or interferes with academic performance.

Tips for Taking Exams

Get an adequate amount of sleep the night before.
Give yourself time in the morning to go through your routine, eat a good breakfast, and plan your study strategy for the day.
Quit studying at least half an hour before the test.
Avoid getting to class too early. Time before exams is usually spent worrying.
Use strategies to ease tension and anxiety if they start becoming too much.
Set where you feel comfortable and will not be distracted.

Don’t be your own worst enemy. Don’t talk to yourself in a way that discourages you or makes you doubt your abilities.
Read each question slowly, twice. Underline or highlight keywords and phrases. Reword the question in a way that makes sense to you.
If you cannot answer a question, take a deep breath and go to the next one. Return to the questions you are unsure about later.

Study Apps

Some many tools and applications can help you stay organized and study more efficiently, including:

Google Calendar (agenda/planner)
iStudiez Pro (schedule/assignment planner)
EasyBib (automatic citations)
Duolingo (language learning app)
StudyBlue (flashcards)
Dragon Anywhere (dictation app)
Wolfram Alpha (answer search engine)
Focus Booster (Pomodoro timer)

U of S Student Learning Services

Learning Services offers great resources for help with beating procrastination, starting assignments, dealing with deadlines, note-taking strategies, exam anxiety, and much more. For more information, visit the U of S library.

Study Naturally Techniques

Use all the Study Naturally techniques together to help reach your academic goals!