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The majority of school or college success is due to motivation and time management. Anyone who tells you that they can get through college without studying, or that they make great grades without studying is pulling your leg. Success in school/college takes effort. This means that if you want to do well you must be willing to set aside time to study. You may have to sacrifice, at times, a hobby or extra-curricular activities. However, effective time management will allow adequate time for studies as well as a social life or free time to do the activities that you most enjoy. We have ideas and tools that will help you manage your study schedule more wisely.

Motivation:

Motivation is the key to success in school. Although we can provide you with some helpful hints to enhance motivation, we cannot motivate students directly. You are responsible for your study habits, for seeking resources and assistance, and for managing your time. To do well enough, you must put forth the effort. The five major problems for students who study are - Not studying enough, Wasting time when studying, Having trouble getting ready to study, Finding a good place for studying, and Using a good learning strategy. 

These suggestions will help you avoid the above mentioned problems: Set up a schedule, Start studying for shorter periods of time, Take breaks during longer periods, Do not attempt to cram, Reward yourself, Find a good location to study, Make sure it is quiet place, Eliminate the obvious distractions, Remember that memory is "Context dependent', and also "State - (emotion) dependent, Increase your reading effectiveness, etc.

SQ4R Method:

Survey: Briefly survey the chapter. Read the authors' headings. Your aim here is not to go into detail but to develop a general idea of the structure. This will prepare you for what you are going to read and grasp a general understanding of the chapter. Read any summary. This will remind you of what is important throughout the chapter. This step helps you to get acquainted with the chapter. 

Question: Think about the material as you are reading. Ask yourself questions about it. These questions will serve to keep you more involved with what you are reading. This will keep you focused on the more important material without becoming overwhelmed by details. Try formulating questions as if you were the professor making up the test. This accomplishes two tasks; one, it facilitates concentration and two, it helps you prepare for the test. 

Read: Read carefully and try to answer questions you have asked yourself. Remember you read a text differently than you read a novel. A novel is read passively. Textbook reading requires more concentration and retention. Read actively with involvement. This increases your understanding of the material. If you become tired or distracted, stop reading. Remember, your job here is not to cover a number of pages, but to "dig in". During this step, avoid reading aloud to yourself. Instead, read silently as this is much faster.

Write: After you have answered a question, write the answer down. Sum up information in your own words. Restructure the information, so that it makes the most sense to you.

Recite: Recite to yourself what you have read. Recall main headings and ideas. Be sure to put ideas in your own words as this will improve your ability to retain the material. Answer questions aloud and listen to your responses to see if they are complete and correct. If they are not correct, re-read the material and answer the question again. This form of rehearsal increases the likelihood that you will retain the material.

Review: Reviewing is the key to figuring out what you know and what you need to concentrate on. The best times to review are right after reading while the material is still fresh on your mind and again before the test. Try to summarize major points in the chapter. And answer questions you posed to yourself while reading.

PQ4R Method:

Preview: Survey the chapter to determine the general topics being discussed. Identify the sections to be read as units. Apply the next four steps to each section. 

Questions: Make up questions about the section. Often, simply transforming section headings results in adequate questions.

Read: Read the section carefully trying to answer the questions you have made up about it. 

Reflect: Reflect on the text as you are reading, try to understand it, to think of examples, and to relate the material to prior knowledge.

Recite: After finishing a section try to recall the information contained in it. Try answering the questions you made up for the section. If you cannot recall enough read the portions that you had trouble remembering. 

Review: After you have finished the chapter go through it mentally recalling its main points Try again to answer the questions you made up.

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