How to Study: The Program That Has Helped Millions of Students Study Smarter, Not Harder

Chapter 1

Start off Right

Learn what you are and be such.

—PINDAR

In the next two chapters, I’m going to help you:

Evaluate the current level of all your study skills so you can identify those areas in which you need to concentrate your efforts;

Identify the study environment and learning style that suit you; and

Categorize all of your school subjects according to how well you like them and how well you do in them.

How to keep score

In the next few pages, I’ll explain the primary study skills covered in this book: reading and comprehension; memory development; time management; note-taking (in your textbooks, in class, in the library, while online); classroom participation; researching and writing papers; and test preparation. Then I’ll ask you to rate yourself on your current level of achievement and understanding of each: A (excellent) for mastery or near mastery of a particular skill; B (good) for some mastery; C (fair to poor) for little or no mastery.

But let’s do a general test first, just to give you a taste of what’s to come. Read the following 28 statements and consider which apply to you. If a statement does apply, mark Y (for yes). If not, mark N (for no):

1. ____Y ____ N I wish I could read faster.

2. ____Y ____ N I go to class, but I don’t pay a lot of attention.

3. ____Y ____ N I rarely review for tests, but I do spend hours cramming the night before.

4. ____Y ____ N I think I spend more time studying than I need to.

5. ____Y ____ N I usually study with the TV on and constantly check my cellphone.

6. ____Y ____ N I rarely finish all my homework on time.

7. ____Y ____ N I usually write assigned papers the week (or the night) before they’re due.

8. ____Y ____ N I read every book at the same speed and in the same way.

9. ____Y ____ N I can never seem to find the information I need on the Internet.

10. ____Y ____ N I’m overwhelmed with too much homework.

11. ____Y ____ N I can never complete my reading assignments on time.

12. ____Y ____ N I always seem to write down the wrong stuff in class.

13. ____Y ____ N I frequently forget important assignments and test dates.

14. ____Y ____ N I get nervous before exams and do worse than I think I should.

15. ____Y ____ N I frequently must reread whole passages two or three times before I understand them.

16. ____Y ____ N When I finish reading a chapter, I usually don’t remember much of it.

17. ____Y ____ N I try to take down everything the teacher says but usually can’t understand any of my notes.

18. ____Y ____ N I can only study for about 15 minutes before I get bored or distracted.

19. ____Y ____ N When I’m working on a paper or report, I spend most of the time with a thesaurus in my lap.

20. ____Y ____ N I always seem to study the wrong stuff.

21. ____Y ____ N I don’t use any kind of calendar.

22. ____Y ____ N I study for some tests, but I always forget what I studied when I get there.

23. ____Y ____ N I don’t have enough time to do well in school and still have a social life.

24. ____Y ____ N I can’t figure out the important points in my textbooks.

25. ____Y ____ N When I look at my class notes right before a test, I can’t understand them.

26. ____Y ____ N I hate to read.

27. ____Y ____ N I get marked down on essay tests because I don’t organize them well.

28. ____Y ____ N I spend a lot of time on my computer but it feels like most of it is wasted.

What do your answers mean? If you answered yes to questions:

2, 5, or 18, you need to work on your concentration.

1, 8, 15, 16, 24, or 26, your reading and comprehension skills are holding you back.

3, 14, or 22, you need to learn the proper way to study for tests and how to reduce test anxiety.

4, 6, 10, 11, 13, 21, or 23, your organizational skills are letting you down.

7, 19, or 27, you’re spending a lot of time writing papers but haven’t learned how to properly research or organize them.

9 or 28, you need to hone your computer skills and learn how to efficiently identify pertinent information online.

12, 17, 20, or 25, you need a better system for taking notes in class and from your textbooks.

It’s not as important how many yes answers you had as it is how many were grouped in a specific area—the one in which you obviously need help. (Though 10 or more yes answers would indicate problems in more than a single area.)

Let’s go into a little more detail and get an even firmer handle on the current state of your study skills. I’ve listed the primary study skills below. Take a separate piece of paper and rate yourself on each of them (from reading and comprehension through test preparation) before you read the rest of this chapter. Then give yourself two points for every A, one point for every B, and zero points for every C.

If your overall rating is 17 or more, give yourself an A on the Initial self-evaluation line; 13 to 16, give yourself a B; and if 12 or less, give yourself a C. This is your assessment of your study habits as they exist right now.

Now, let’s review each of these areas and get a better understanding of what excellent, good, and fair really mean. As you read each section, fill in your rating on the Your Starting Point chart—and be honest with yourself. This evaluation will give you a benchmark from which to measure your improvement after you’ve finished How to Study. File it away and make the comparison when you’ve completed reading.

Remember: There are no right or wrong answers in either of these assessments. They are jumping-off points from which you can measure your progress and identify those areas in which your skills need improvement.

Reading and comprehension

Speed, comprehension, and recall are the three important components of reading. Comprehension and recall are especially interrelated—better to sacrifice some speed to increase these two factors. To test your reading and comprehension skills, read the passage below (excerpted from U.S. History: From Reconstruction Through the Dawn of the 21st Century by Ron Olson). Then close the book, jot down the key points made in the selection you read, review the text, and compare your notes with the reading selection. You will get a good idea of how well you understood what you read and just how good your top-of-the-mind recall is.

World War I left many Americans disillusioned about war, and the United States retreated into isolationism. Britain and France began to acquiesce to the demands of a new aggressor: Adolph Hitler. Indifference about the changing nation-states in Europe and appeasement of aggressors had ultimately led to global violence. By the late 1930s, 70 percent of Americans felt that the role the country had played in World War I was a mistake.

The United States passed Neutrality Acts allowing it to deny the sale or shipment of munitions to warring nations, opting instead for a cash-and-carry policy. The country needed the income, but it was unwilling to commit to another war. The rumblings of conflict frightened many as totalitarian leaders across the globe flexed their muscles. These leaders posed a threat to security, and the United States couldn’t ignore the possibility of involvement in yet another global conflict. The deaths of 50 million people, along with the horrors and destruction of war, provided a stark conclusion to the conflict of World War II. The devastating loss of population and property in Europe and Japan, the Holocaust that killed six million Jews, the development and use of the atomic bomb, the Soviet domination of Eastern Europe, a divided Germany, Japanese internment camps, and the founding of the United Nations made this war far different from any other in history.

Isolationism was no longer possible. In the United States, World War II highlighted racial inequalities, gave women new opportunities, and fostered growth in the South and West. By devastating the nation’s commercial rivals, World War II left the United States dominant in the world economy. It also increased the scope of the federal government and built an alliance among the armed forces, big business, and science that helped shape post-war America.

Score: If you can read the material straight through, accurately summarize what you’ve read, even remember key names and statistics, all in less than two minutes, award yourself an A. If you have some problems reading and understanding the text but are able to complete the assignment in less than four minutes, give yourself a B. If you are unable to complete the assignment in that time, remember what you read, or produce accurate notes at all, give yourself a C.

Memory development

Test #1: Look at the number following this paragraph for 10 seconds. Then cover the page and write down as much of it as you can remember:

762049582049736

Score: If you remembered 12 or more digits in the correct order, give yourself an A; eight to 11, a B; seven or less, a C.

Test #2: Below are 12 nonsense words from a language I just made up and their definitions. Study the list for 60 seconds and try to remember each word, how it’s spelled, and its definition:

Done? Close the book and write down each of the 12 words and its definition. They do not need to be in the order in which they were listed.

Score: If you accurately listed nine or more words and definitions (and that includes spelling my new words correctly), give yourself an A. If you listed from five to eight words and their definitions, or correctly listed and spelled nine or more words but mixed up their definitions, give yourself a B. If you were unable to remember at least four words and their definitions, give yourself a C.

Test #3: Here’s a list of real Egyptian pharaohs in the order of their reigns:

Can you create a visual, chain-link story in less than three minutes that would allow you to easily remember them, spelled correctly and in order?

Score: If you created a story, no matter how strange, that enabled you to correctly spell the names of at least nine of the 12 pharaohs and listed them in order, give yourself an A. Six to eight, give yourself a B. Five or less, give yourself a C. (I will admit that Hotepsekhemwy is a mouthful, but I gave you Djer, Djet, Den, and Qu’a, didn’t I?)

Time management

Your effective use of available study time can be measured by two yardsticks: (1) your ability to break down assignments into component parts (for example, reading, note taking, outlining, writing); and (2) your ability to complete each task in an efficient manner.

Score: If you feel you use your time wisely and efficiently, give yourself an A. If you know there are times you simply run out of time, give yourself a B. If you can’t tell time, give yourself a C.

Taking clear and effective notes

Four different arenas—at home with your textbooks, in the classroom, at the library, and online—require different methods of note taking.

From your textbooks: Working from your books at home, you should identify the main ideas, rephrase information in your own words, and capture unfamiliar details. As you read, take brief, concise notes in a separate notebook or the text’s margins or highlight/underline pertinent information in the text. You should write down questions and answers to ensure your mastery of the material, starring those questions for which you don’t have answers so you can ask them in class.

In class: Class preparation is the key to class participation. By reading material to be covered before class, you will be able to concentrate and absorb the teacher’s interpretations and points. Using a topical, short-sentence approach or your own shorthand or symbols, take notes on those items that will help you remember and recall the subject matter. Your notes should be sequential, following the teacher’s lecture pattern. Review your notes at the first opportunity following class. Fill in any blanks and add your own thoughts.

In the library and online: What’s the difference between taking notes at the library, from your textbooks and online? Sooner or later you’ll have to return library books (if you’re allowed to take them out at all), and librarians tend to frown on highlighting them. And unless you plan to print out every Web page you find and wield your magic highlighter, you need an effective system for taking notes right from the source, whether it’s a library book, journal article, or Web page.

Of course, if you are so unfamiliar with your public or school library that you don’t even know its address, you will have a hard time utilizing its offerings when a paper is assigned.

Likewise, if your idea of efficient use of the Internet is staying up-to-date on Kylie Jenner’s latest musings and making sure to post on Instagram every hour on the hour, you will find researching a 15-page paper on Japanese internment camps during World War II, uh, challenging.

Score: Are your note-taking skills sufficient to summarize the necessary data from your textbooks?

Are you able to capture the key points from classroom lectures and discussions?

Are you such a ubiquitous presence in your library that they have named a study carrel for you?

Are you able to find a dozen key Internet sites pertinent to any paper within minutes?

If your note-taking skills allow you to master your textbooks, excel in class, find whatever information you need from a variety of sources, prepare detailed outlines, and write good papers, give yourself an A in each area. If you feel you are deficient in any one of these areas of note taking, give yourself a B. If notes are what you pass to your friends in class, give yourself a C.

Class participation

Most teachers take each student’s class participation into account when calculating final grades, no matter how many pop quizzes they pull or how many term papers they assign. And, you may have discovered, there are teachers who will mark down even those students who ace every paper and quiz if they seem to disappear in the