Study Skills/ Strategies in English

• Study Skills/ Strategies
• Study skills/strategies are approaches applied to learning.  Respicius Rwehumbiza in his book "Understanding Examination Techniques and Effective study Strategies" in 2013 asserted that, most students fail in examinations simply because they lack study skills and/or examination taking techniques.  Study skills are an array of study skills, which may tackle  the process of organizing and taking in new information,  retaining information,  or dealing with assessments.  They include mnemonics,  which aid the retention of lists of information,  effective reading, and  concentration techniques  efficient note taking.
• 3. Study skills : Nature  Any skill which boosts a person's ability to study and pass exams can be termed a study skill, and this could include time management and motivational techniques.  Study skills are discrete techniques that can be learned, usually in a short time, and applied to all or most fields of study.  They must therefore be distinguished from strategies that are specific to a particular field of study e.g. music or technology, and  abilities inherent in the student, such as aspects of intelligence or learning styles.
• 4. Types of Study skills  Method based on memorization such as rehearsal and rote learning  Memorization is the process of committing something to memory.  The act of memorization is often a deliberate mental process undertaken in order to store in memory for later recall items such as  experiences, names, appointments, addresses, telephone numbers, lists, stories, poems, pictures, maps, diagrams, facts, music or other visual, auditory, or tactical information.  Memorization may also refer to the process of storing particular data into the memory of a device.  One of the most basic approaches to learning any information is simply to repeat it by rote.  Typically this will include reading over notes or a
• 5. Methods based on communication skills  e.g. reading and listening  The weakness with rote learning is that it implies a passive reading or listening style.  Educators such as John Dewey have argued that students need to learn critical thinking - questioning and weighing up evidence as they learn.  This can be done during lectures or when reading books.
• 6. PQRST method  PQRST is an acronym for Preview, Question, Read, Summary, Test.  Preview: The student looks at the topic to be learned by glancing over the major headings or the points in the syllabus.  Question: The student formulates questions to be answered following a thorough examination of the topic(s).  Read: The student reads through the related material, focusing on the information that best relates to the questions formulated earlier.  Summary: The student summarizes the topic, bringing his or her own understanding into the process. This may include written notes, spider diagrams, flow diagrams, labelled diagrams, mnemonics, or even voice recordings.  Test: The student answers the questions drafted earlier, avoiding adding any questions that might distract or change the subject.  There are a variety of studies from different colleges nation-wide that show peer-communication can help increase better study habits tremendously. One study shows that an average of 73% score increase was recorded by those who were enrolled in the classes surveyed.
• 7. Methods based on cues  e.g. flashcard training  Flash Cards are visual cues on cards.  Students often make their own flash cards, or more detailed index cards - cards designed for filing, often A5 size, on which short summaries are written.  Being discrete and separate, they have the advantage of allowing students to re-order them, pick a selection to read over, or choose randomly to for self-testing.
• 8. Methods based on condensing information, summarizing and the use of keywords  Summary methods vary depending on the topic, but most involve condensing the large amount of information from a course or book into shorter notes. Often these notes are then condensed further into key facts.  Organized summaries: Such as outlines showing keywords and definitions and relations, usually in a tree structure.  Spider diagrams: Using spider diagrams or mind maps can be an effective way of linking concepts together.  They can be useful for planning essays and essay responses in exams.
• 9. Methods based on visual imagery  Some learners are thought to have a visual learning style, and will benefit greatly from taking information from their studies which are often heavily verbal, and using visual techniques to help encode and retain it in memory.  Some memory techniques make use of visual memory,  for example the method of loci, a system of visualising key information in real physical locations e.g. around a room.  Diagrams are often underrated tools. They can be used to bring all the information together and provide practice reorganizing what has been learned in order to produce something practical and useful. They can also aid the recall of information learned very quickly, particularly if the student made the diagram while studying the information. Pictures can then be transferred to flash cards that are very effective last minute revision tools rather than rereading any written material.
• 10.  Methods based on acronyms and mnemonics A mnemonic is a method of organizing and memorizing information. Some use a simple phrase or fact as a trigger for a longer list of information. For example, the points of the compass can be recalled in the correct order with the phrase "Never Eat Shredded Wheat". Starting with North, the first letter of each word relates to a compass point in clockwise order round a compass.
• 11. Methods based on exam strategies  The Black-Red-Green method (developed through the Royal Literary Fund) helps the student to ensure that every aspect of the question posed has been considered, both in exams and essays . The student underlines relevant parts of the question using three separate colors (or some equivalent).  BLAck denotes 'BLAtant instructions', i.e. something that clearly must be done; a directive or obvious instruction.  REd is a REference Point or REquired input of some kind, usually to do with definitions, terms, cited authors, theory, etc. (either explicitly referred to or strongly implied).  GREen denotesGREmlins, which are subtle signals one might easily miss, or a ‘GREEN Light’ that gives a hint on how to proceed, or where to place the emphasis in answers .  Another popular method whilst studying is to P.E.E; Point, evidence and explain, reason being, this helps the student break down exam questions allowing them to maximize their marks/grade during the exam.  Many Schools will encourage practicing the P.E.Eing method prior to an exam.
• 12. management, organization and lifestyle changes  Often, improvements to the effectiveness of study may be achieved through changes to things unrelated to the study material itself, such as time-management, boosting motivation and avoiding procrastination, and in improvements to sleep and diet.  Time management in study sessions aims to ensure that activities that achieve the greatest benefit are given the greatest focus.  A traffic lights system is a simple way of identifying the importance of information, highlighting or underlining information in colours:  Green: topics to be studied first; important and also simple  Amber: topics to be studied next; important but time-consuming  Red: lowest priority; complex and not vital.  This reminds students to start with the things which will provide the quickest benefit, while 'red' topics are only dealt with if time allows. The concept is similar to the ABC analysis, commonly.