JANE'S STUDY TIPS
1. ATTEND CLASS!
Your instructor will cover in class what he/she feels is important for you to know. Statistics show that 90-100% of science tests are based on what is covered in class. If you miss class, how will you know what to study? Sure, you could go through the entire chapter in your textbook and study everything, but wouldn't it be better to study what your instructor feels is important?
2. TAKE GOOD NOTES.
They may be messy if you have an enthusiastic instructor, but just be sure to get all the information given. You can always re-write your notes to make them neater, but if you don't have the information, you are out of luck!
3. RE-WRITE YOUR NOTES.
Speaking of re-writing notes, this is a good way to refresh (and study) what was taught in class. Just be sure to do the "re-write" as soon after the lecture as you can, that way if you can't read something you wrote, you may recall what was said.
4. MAKE NOTE CARDS.
You could do this instead of, or in addition to, re-writing your notes. The best thing about note cards is that you can quiz yourself by putting answers on the back of the card. Another great feature of note cards is that they are very portable! You can fit them in a pocket and take them anywhere!
5. UTILIZE "WAIT TIME" AS STUDY TIME.
Waiting is a fact of life. We all have to wait for something or someone, usually at least once a day! Ten minutes here, fifteen minutes there, the next thing you know, you will have memorized quite a bit of information! Note cards are handy to carry with you just in case you end up having to wait at some point during your day. (Like when the grocer only has one lane open and the line runs to the back of the store!)
6. LEARN PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES.
This is especially true for anatomy students. If your textbook has a section in front of each chapter with word beginnings and endings, by all means take some time to familiarize yourself with them. If your book doesn't have this feature, you may want to pick up a medical terminology book or look on the Internet. You will be at an advantage in any current and future classes by being able to figure out the meaning of a word based on it's prefix, root and suffix.
(more to come.....this is a work in progress!)
