How to Study Effectively

How to Study Effectively

How to Study Effectively

Fail to prepare and prepare to fail. All students who effectively study have a study plan that they stick to! Most Leaving Cert students have 7 subjects to study for, so they should allot their time accordingly.

Study Plan

Make a study plan that is realistic for you, and make sure that you follow it every day. You all have a school timetable, and you know that for a lot of your subjects, there is a day in the week where you are not timetabled for a specific subject. Does this mean that you take the evening off from that subject? No! absolutely not…In fact, consider this the evening where you will take stock of what you have covered, over the previous week of this particular subject.

Exam Hall…How to Study Effectively

Try in as far as possible to replicate the conditions of an exam hall when studying. A lot of students claim that music is helpful to them while they are studying. Research carried out by Sheela Doraiswamy from “Mind the Science Gap” concluded the following: “It seems like in general, music with vocals is distracting, while instrumental music might actually help your performance”.

No Distractions

When you sit down to study, make sure that you respect the time that you are going to give to yourself, and your future success.
  • Try to sit on a comfortable but not too comfortable chair,
  • sit at a proper desk or table.
  • Leave the phone outside of the room, on silent. (Those pings will try to distract you!)
  • Make sure that you have eaten before starting to study, and that you have a bottle of water to hand.
  • Ask members of your family to respect your “study time” and ask them to keep interruptions to a minimum.
  • Wear loose comfortable clothes, and be sure that you are warm enough.
  • Prepare your study area, and have all your notes set out in order.
  • I find that a study plan on the wall or on a notice board is a great way to keep you motivated, as you can tick off what you have done accordingly.

Remember

You have an allotted time for each subject, so don’t count each minute, make each minute count! Set yourself learning objectives for each subject. Eg: at the end of this 30 minute session in French, I will learn 10 verbs or I will attempt one of the written opinion pieces.

In Addition…How to Study Effectively

If you spend 30 minutes on each of your subjects, you will have clocked up 3 and a half hours at least per night. Most students lie about the time that they spend studying. Why they do this is not really known, but it is a fact. Think about the following: “Gaining knowledge is the first step to wisdom. Sharing it is the first step to humanity”. – unknown.

Why should you deny the effort that you are putting into your education?

However, if you do decide to spend at least 30 minutes per subject, be an active learner. Decide what you want to achieve in the 30 minutes, and go for it The 30 minutes that I have suggested above can include homework, but you must revise what you have done, so that it goes from the short-term to the long-term memory. Therefore, I would suggest that the 30 minutes per subject is a minimum not a maximum. More carrot, less stick! We all have subjects at school that we tend to prefer over others. I would tend to start with the one I really didn’t like or found difficult, and keep my favourites further down the list, as you might even look forward to studying them!

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