HOW TO STUDY PROPERLY

Dean D.W. Brinkerhoff, Former Assistant to the Dean, Purdue University, Fort Wayne Campus

S: Why should I worry about “how to study?”

D: Unfortunately, not all students learned how to study in high school. They think that all they
have to do in college is study harder and longer.

S: What do you feel is one of the most important tips on studying in college?
D: The most important tip, is that “There is no substitute for daily preparation.”

S: Why do so many students fail in college?

D: Readmission committees are one place to go for an answer. Students trying to gain
readmittance to a university give some of the following as reasons why they did not succeed in
the first place: lack of motivation, poor study habits, lack of confidence, inability to plan study
time, illness, too much outside employment, and failure to make basic academic and social
adjustment.

S: Are lecture notes still the “in” thing?

D: They’re the “in” thing if you want to stay in college. In essence, they are for later use. Once
given, you can’t go back to a lecture. They enable a student to go over a lecture six weeks after
it was given.

S: Okay, how should I prepare to take lecture notes?

D: First, get a three ring 8 ½ x 11 notebook. This is so you can have all of your notes and
handouts in one place, and have a divider for each course. Second, sit where you can see and
hear the instructor. Studies have shown that the smarter students sit in the middle of the room,
the poorest in the back.

S: Is there a “best” system for taking notes?

D: No. Any note-taking system has to vary with the professor’s lecture technique. You can use
the standard outline form, a fact-concept system, random notes, or indent to identify important
points. I like to advise freshmen to take too many instead of too few notes because you can boil
them down later.

S: Once I’ve got notes, how do I use them later?

D: After taking lecture notes, you should review and edit them so you can understand the
important points six weeks from the time they were taken. You should correlate your lecture
notes with the appropriate textbook readings, lab experiments, and outside references. You
should review your notes regularly and develop questions as you do so. This will help at test
time to formulate the same types of questions that the professor will ask.

S: Once the course is over can I bury my notes?

D: Hardly! You should save them to use as building blocks for future courses. If nothing else, a
good friend or the fraternity/sorority house might want them at a later date.

S:\Leadership Library\HOW TO STUDY PROPERLY.doc

S: Why is scheduling my time one of the keys to success in college?
D: Scheduling saves time. By making a weekly schedule in advance you know exactly what to
study and when to study it. A schedule also eliminates worry and confusion about what is
coming next; it’s right there in black and white.

S: Are there some basic rules of scheduling that I can use?

D: Yes. Schedule study time for a course as near as possible to the time of the class. If the
course is a lecture type, schedule at least one hour of study and review as soon after class as
possible. On the other hand, recitation classes should be studied just prior to the class itself.
Any course with frequent quizzes and class exercises should be studied just before the class, so
the material will be fresh in your mind. One thing college students tend to disregard are daytime
hours. Actually, these are your bonus study hours.

S: Will I spend a lot of time reading assignments and other information?

D: Yes, a considerable amount of your time will be spent reading. This is shy speed reading and
comprehension are so important to college freshmen. I always recommend that a college reading
course be taken the first semester if at all possible.

S: Do you have any other “tips” for a college freshman regarding reading?
D: First, the question of reading speed should be geared to what you’re reading. You can’t read
a novel and nuclear physics at the same rate. Also, remember that reading involves eye fixations
on a group of words, not, as commonly thought, a sort of sweeping movement continually in
process along the page. So, as you read, you should attempt to get a few more words in each
fixation that you make.

S: Is there a “system” for writing a term paper?

D: Yes. First and foremost set up a schedule so that you will not be completing the paper the
night before it is due. One system involves the use of note cards. Use 3 x 5 cards for the
bibliographical references, while 4 x 6 cards can be used for reference notes to be used in the
body of the paper. Each 4x6 card should contain one unit of information, the source of that
information, and whether it is a quote, paraphrase, or an original idea. When ou are finished
with your research, you can then arrange the 4 x 6 cards into a logical sequence and begin
writing. Just arrange the bibliography cards, and the term paper is completed.

S: I’ve heard so much about college level tests. Are they really difficult? How do you study for
them? Why have tests anyway?
D: You should think of most tests as teaching tools, as well as a measuring device. They are
useful as a teaching tool because they force you to organize your material in your mind as you
prepare for the exam. Some students make a simple exam difficult simply because they do not
know how to study for it. The key to studying for a college exam is Periodic review. If you
review regularly, when test time comes, there will be little, if any material that is new and needs
to be learned at exam time. College exams seem more difficult because more material is covered
on them and there are many different types of tests given.

S: Last question! Can you sum all of this up and give me one key that will lead me to success in
college?
D: As I previously stated, “ There is no substitute for daily preparation.” This, if followed
religiously, will see you to success. Good luck!
S:\Leadership Library\HOW TO STUDY PROPERLY.doc