While it often seems like its the best and brightest who achieve the best marks, this isnt always true. Often its the slow and steady plodders who end up at the top of the class. So why is it that these students tend to do so well? Often it all comes down to study skills. Study skills refer to the ability of students to organize themselves in order to work and study. They are extremely valuable in terms of academic achievement, and are relevant to students of all ages.
Students who demonstrate good study skills are usually very well organized. Organization is often the key to studying hard and doing well. One of the first things you should do when sitting down to study is make a note of the different things you need to learn or complete. You should then consider the due dates for any items on the list. There will be things that are urgent and due soon, non-urgent and due soon, things that are urgent and due later, and non-urgent and due later. The things that fit into the first group are the things that you should prioritize first. Make a calendar and a list of when things are due, and work your way through them. Prioritizing your tasks will help keep you on track.
Other important study skills include the ability to make note of important information, and to retain it. When youre reading a book chapter or an article, do so with a notepad by you and a highlighter at hand. Set up a notation scheme. For example, double underline definitions, and circle key phrases. You can put a triangle next to useful examples. Having a notation scheme can be very useful for organizing your notes and for seeing which bits of information are relevant to your studying needs. You should always make notes as you study, too, particularly if there are things that confuse you. You can go back to these for clarification at a later point.
Another of the more useful study skills is the use of mnemonics. Mnemonics are things that help you remember important pieces of information. Mnemonics often take the form of acronyms, where each letter of a word stands for something important. However, they can also be rhymes, songs, rhythms, or anything that helps you remember things. Mnemonics can be very effective for helping you recall complex lists, equations, or concepts. You can make up your own mnemonics, or look online for a mnemonic generator. These will help you generate mnemonics to fit certain phrases or lists that you want to remember.
Another of the well regarded good study skills is to ensure that you are completely focused on one task for a set period of time. Most people can only concentrate for half an hour or so, so make the most of this half hour. Turn off any distractions such as the internet or the television, and devote yourself completely to your study for this time. After this, you can take a break before getting back to work.