Top Ten Academic Survival Skills

1. Go to class and sit near the front.
2. Read the chapters before you get to class.
3. Get to know your professors
4. Make a schedule and keep it.
5. Study ahead for tests...do not cram.
6. Get plenty of sleep and make time to eat.
7. Review, recite and rewrite your notes.
8. Make sure your study conditions work for you.
9. Make a practice test for yourself.
10. Take study breaks...balance study with fun!
    

• Time Management
• SQ3R Method
• Note-Taking
• Test-Taking Learning Styles (requires questionnaire)
  - objective tests
  - multiple choice

For further information contact Academic Advising at (919) 760-8059 or advising@meredith.edu

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Time Management
Check out this equation:
168 hours in a week
-56 hours of sleep
-21 hours for meals
-20 hours of attending class & labs
71 hours/week (10 hours/day) for study, recreation and everything else.

How can you get it all done?
Make a schedule. Schedules work well to help cut down on stress, worry and daydreaming. Far from making a robot of you, a time schedule frees you from always operating in emergency mode thus allowing you to make the best use of your time.

Start by making a record of fixed activities. These include classes, meals, regular meetings, work, etc. Each week, add information relating to class assignments; note due dates and estimate study time required.

Plan ahead. Make a list of all major assignments due during the entire semester. Also include vacations or any other times that you will not be available to focus on schoolwork. Do not let anything sneak up on you at the last minute.

Remember these principles of time use:

• Many effective schedulers habitually plan their day at a regular time - 5 to 10 minutes in the morning or before going to bed.
• Allow larger blocks of time for learning new material, grasping concepts, drafting a theme, etc.
• When you are through learning a new concept or finishing a difficult task, reward yourself with a brief break to keep yourself alert for the next task.
• Use short periods of time (15-45 minutes) to review. It's a good idea to spend a few minutes reviewing immediately before a class involving discussion or recitation. Immediately after a lecture class spend a few minutes reviewing your notes.
• Schedule harder study tasks when you are most alert and can concentrate best.
• Do something daily - don't let it all pile up!
• Plan to really learn the first time; the rest of your study time should be spent reviewing through recitation, discussion, creating practice tests, etc.
• Don't try to allocate ALL your time; know what needs to be done and how long it will take you. It's HOW you use your time that counts.

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The SQ3R Method for Thorough Study

Step 1: SURVEY

• Skim through the chapter and read headings and subheadings.
• Read the summaries at the end of the chapter. Try to anticipate what the author is going to say.
• Take note of pictures, diagrams and graphs.
• WRITE these notes on paper, in sequence; then look over the jottings to get an over-all idea or picture.

Step 2: QUESTION

• Instead of reading paragraph headings such as "Basic Concepts of Reading," change headings to read, "What are the Basic Concepts of Reading?"
• These questions will become "hooks" on which to hang the reading material.
• WRITE these questions out; look over the questions to see the emphasis and direction of the chapter.

Step 3: READ

• Read with smoothness and alertness to answer the questions you have made.
• WRITE notes, in your own words, under each question.
• Take a minimum number of notes - use these as a skeleton.

Step 4: RECALL

• Without looking at your book or notes, mentally visualize and sketch, in your own words, the high points of the material immediately upon completing the reading.

Step 5: REVIEW

• Look at your questions, answers, notes and book to see how well you did.
• Observe carefully the points stated incorrectly or omitted. Fix carefully in your mind the logical sequence of the entire idea, concept, or problem.
• Finish up with a mental picture of the WHOLE chapter.

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Note Taking Hints

• Sit in the front and center of the classroom
• Scan the material ahead of time
• Be alert to repetition ...if the lecturer repeats it, it’s important
• Ignore the professor’s idiosyncrasies
• Use a 3-ring binder with 8 1/2 X 11 paper
• Use one side of the paper
• Use abbreviations to communicate the point
• Organize your review material
  
  • Make lists using memory techniques (mnemonics)
  • Classify the info your own way (use 3x5 cards, lists, etc....)
    
• Use pictures and diagrams
  • Saves a lot of writing
  • Gives you another perspective
  • Use different colored markers and pens
    
• Put a question mark in margin by info you don’t understand
  
  • Remember to ask professor about it in next class
    
• Relate your notes to something else in your life
• Number, date and label your notes
• Review your notes immediately (or within 24 hours) of class
• Underline key words and phrases, or write in the left margin
  
  • Make your own glossary of important words
  • Use different colors and shapes
• Choose a format that works for you
  • 2 columns
  • Cornell method

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Survival Strategies for Test Taking
Few people actually look forward to taking tests. Most of us are somewhat anxious and many of us suffer from severe test anxiety. The first step to improve test taking is to change your perception of tests and what they are. Tests do not measure how smart you are, they do not measure your creativity, your self-worth, your intelligence or your ability to contribute to society. Tests are simply an opportunity to show what you have mastered in that particular course.

The best way to control test anxiety is to be well prepared. You should learn to work smarter, not harder. Go to class every day, preview chapters, take good notes, summarize the material you discuss in class, and study in small chunks of time rather than marathon cram sessions.

Before class:

1. Be prepared! Learn the material thoroughly.
2. Get a good night’s sleep before the exam.
3. Approach the exam with confidence. View the exam as an opportunity to show how much you have studied.
4. DON’T go to the exam with an empty stomach! Eat fresh fruits and vegetables to reduce stress. Avoid high sugar and caffeine snacks that will aggravate test anxiety.
5. Allow plenty of time. You should have plenty of time to do everything you need to do, and still get to the exam a little early.
6. Relax before the exam.
7. DON’T try to do a last minute review.
8. DON’T get caught up in the pre-test conversation about “what” or “how much” you studied. Take a magazine, organize your calendar, do anything to take your mind off the test.

Before you begin:

1. Preview the test before you begin anything. This gets you thinking about the material.
2. Do a brain dump! Using what you saw in the preview, make notes of anything you think you might forget. Write down things that you used in learning the material that might help you remember important information. Outline your answers to discussion questions.
3. Quickly calculate how much time you should allow for each section according to the point value. You don’t want to spend 30 minutes on a question that is worth only 5 points.

Taking the Test:

1. Read the directions! Can more than one answer be correct? Never assume that you know what the directions say!
2. Ask the instructor to explain any directions and/or test questions that are not clear.
3. Answer the essay questions first. This will give you the confidence and momentum to get through the rest of the test.
4. Skip and come back to the difficult questions. Other items on the test might give you useful or needed information for earlier items.
5. Try to answer the questions from the instructor’s point of view. Try to remember what the instructor emphasized and felt was important.
6. Circle key words in difficult questions. This forces you to focus on the central point of the question.
7. Use all of the time allotted for the test. There’s no prize for being the first done.
8. DON’T PANIC!

Multiple Choice Questions

• Read the stem as if it were an independent, freestanding statement. Come up with your own answer before looking at the other answers.
• Beware of words like not, but, except…..these words mark limits.
• Look out for words like always, never, and only…these mean all the time.
• If there are two or more options that could be the correct answer, compare them to each other to determine the differences between them…choose the one that gives the most information.
• If there is a catch all such as “all of the above,” and you determine there are at least two choices, select this choice.
• Make educated guesses, eliminate options any way you can.
• Cross out any wrong answers to eliminate careless mistakes.

True False Questions

• Your odds are 50-50…focus on details.
• Your answer must be 100% right.
• Test makers mismatch items or names with the wrong events of definitions to test your alertness and mastery of the subject.

Matching Questions

• For each match you make, cross out the items in both columns to avoid confusion.
• Begin with the lengthier column containing the most information, evaluating the shorter column descriptions for a match.

General Tips

• Avoid reading too much into the question. Interpret questions literally.
• Mark keywords in each question…such as who, what, how, etc.
• Answer easier questions first, and then work on harder ones.

Taking Essay Tests
1. Begin by asking the question, “What is/are the direction word(s) in the test question?” Circle or highlight these words.

Example: Microsociology focuses on social interaction, whereas macrosociology focuses on social structure. Explain why both are necessary for an understanding of social life.

Common direction words and their definitions:

• Discuss means to give reasons behind different points of view.
• Explain means to give reasons for something.
• Describe means to present a detailed picture of something.
• List means to present information in some order.
• Trace means to state a series of things in logical order.
• Relate means to show how two or more things are connected.
• Diagram or Illustrate means to create a visual representation in order to demonstrate, explain or clarify something.
• Compare means to tell how two or more things are alike as well as different
• Contrast means to tell how two or more things are different.
• Criticize means to make positive and negative comments about something.
• Summarize means to state the major points about something.

2. Underline the words that help you focus on the ideas to be developed in the answer.

Example: Microsociology focuses on social interaction, whereas macrosociology focuses on social structure. Explain why both are necessary for an understanding of social life.

3. Organize

• List all the facts that you know that are related to the focus words.
• Organize your facts. An outline can be helpful.

4. Write
Your essay should contain the following:

• Introduction (tell the reader what the main points are)
• Body (explain the main points)
• Conclusion (wrap it up, recap the main points)