Ask 5: What’s Your Top Study Tip

Emily Markham, Multimedia Editor

Can you believe it? It’s time for midterms again. And you know what that means? Let the sleepless nights, the too-much-coffee jitters, and the cram-until-your-head-feels-like-it’s-going-to-explode begin. Definitely not a fun time. Worry not though because I’ve got some great study tips to share to help you through these hectic couple of weeks!

Everyone has their own method of studying. Some people like color coding their notes and some people like printing the PowerPoints out to write additional notes in the margins, but freshman Amber Cho says, “I like flashcards, but honestly, I don’t ever study, which is a problem. When I did they really helped!”

Studying tends to be a long and stressful process, especially if you’re studying for multiple exams. Emalie Gunder, a sophomore at UWL suggests, “Study in 30-minute increments and then take a ten minute break so you don’t wear yourself out.”

Senior Liz Bakken had this study tip to give, “Study your notes consistently after classes. I know your professors say that for every hour you have of class you should be studying for three hours outside of it. Maybe you don’t need to study quite that much, but your professors probably know what they’re talking about.” Sometimes it’s best to listen to the experts when it comes to studying, even if you don’t entirely agree with their methods.

Location, location, location. This is so important to take into consideration for productive studying. First year Thomas McManaway recommends, “…finding a place where you are comfortable. I don’t mean like in your bed where you can fall asleep but a place like a study where you don’t feel awkward or out of place. When you are in that spot you are usually away from most distractions so that also aids your studying ability.”

Senior Emi Wilks agrees, “My advice would be to find a quiet place that you feel comfortable doing your work,” and adds, “My two favorite ways of studying are rewriting my notes and teaching the materials to others. Oftentimes when I explain things to others I grow to better understand them myself.”

I know studying isn’t anyone’s favorite thing to do, but I’ll give you one more tip that seems to help me out. In order to prevent procrastinating, I like to set a study/homework schedule for the week. I do this by choosing the top three most important things I need to get done that day, and then try my best to do those three things. I set this up for each day and intersperse smaller tasks throughout the week for when I have extra time.

Next time you’re stuck studying, give these tips a glance, and see how you could change up your study methods. Good luck!