Most of students, starting to study in college are becoming scared and not able to take all information and tasks from professors. Going to college, you need to be ready for more research, homework and exams. The percent of quantity the information increases in 50%, the reading fills you more and more, so on this step you need to learn how to overtake a stress from studying. Forasmuch you’ll be reading a lot, you need some technique to master the skill or reading. You understand that having 20 books for studying in the same time means to learn all of them. But usually this type of thinking is wrong because you need to take just the important moments, the skeleton of information, to focus on certain sections for your reading assignment.
So, here are some techniques to get and understand more information being a college student:
- Listen to your professor. Likely he will tell about more emphasize sections of the reading. It will help you, having a lot of assignments from other courses to understand what is more important and easier to complete.
- Try to understand the general idea of material. Everyone knows this feeling when he reads something and every time ends up on the same paragraph. It means you don’t understand what you’re reading. For that first go to the scrolling or pages, to reading of some subtitles. You’ll get a general idea about material, what is the structure of information, what is exactly connected with task given by the professor. Even if it is simple dream house essay, you need to be clear on the format.
- Don’t skip the introduction, read it. The introduction will give you an idea about book. Reading all introductions, you can organize your time and priorities in the studying of concrete questions.
- Prioritize your tasks. Good to say, it’s one of the most important advices not only in studying. In college rhythm you’ll always have something to do practically immediately. You’ll have a long list of tasks with limited time schedule, so just write down all tasks you have to do, starting from more important (exams, deadlines etc) and ending with something lighter. Remember that postponing stuffs you're stealing a time for other courses and time for normal sleeping, eating and relaxing.
- Determine the main moments with notes or highlights. This makes you to remember what have been read, helps to connect all topic together with all keys and conclusions. Remember – don’t write all that you read, stop on the concrete ideas/keywords!
- Use the skimming. A special technique of skimming doesn’t exist – usually for every student it works in personal way. You can try, for example, to read first, medium and last paragraph of article you need. You’ll get an idea and will understand it’s relevant or not for exact task or exam
- Learn to get relax-time. It’s clear that during the exam-session you’ll be stressed and focused totally on studying. You need to understand that for your brain there’s exist some limit of taking the information – if you go ahead through headache, with misunderstanding of material your brain simply refuses to work. So, when you feel yourself trapped in study-process, go to take a tea, have a conversation with friends, to play Frisbee or whatever what makes your mind to switch on something else, without thinking.
Use all these advices in your study process calmly and easy and all will be fine!
