STUDY SKILLS

Presented by
Sushma Shivakumar
What are your own ideas
about what a “skill” is and
how study skills are
developed? Do we need
study skills?
A Typical Student 
I. DEFINITION
1) A skill: is a learned activity - something
that you can develop through practice and
reflection.
2) Study skills: involve developing personal
qualities such as awareness, commitment,
determination, perseverance, self-
motivation, time management, positive
thinking.

Reference Source: “The Study Skills Handbook” by Stella Cottrell

ENEMIES OF GOOD
STUDYING
1) Fear
2) Stress
3) Distractions
4) Low Self-esteem
5) No Plan of Attack
6) Poor Concentration
7)Low Level of Will Power
8)No Will to Succeed
Most of these enemies can be
dealt with by
GOOD PREPARATION
before you begin to study.
OUTLINE

Preparation

Activating
Relaxing to
Preparing your brain Pumping up
control your Sharpening
your learning for the your self
anxiety and your focus
environment subject at esteem
stress
hand

Be Confident , Enthusiastic , Relaxed , Calm , Focused and Alert

Preparing a place to
study
1) Find a study place
2) Make it comfortable
3) Check the lightning
4) Have everything ready
5) Post a lot of positive messages
around the place.
6)Enrich your environment
Preparing your mind for studying
1)Define your goals and
objectives
2)Plan a lot of activities
3)Prepare your state of mind
and body
*Breathing
*Muscle relaxation
*Visualization
Positive Self -Image
Plan for success ,Imagine success , build on
success , sharing your gifts.
Positive Affirmations
Music….. Dr.Lozanov discovered that certain
kinds on music used in specific ways can
accelerate learning to unheard of levels…
rhythms of baroque music.
 Memory
Memories are neural traces created in the brain.
The three Rs of memory are Registration ,
Retention and Recall.
This is done through short term memory and
long term memory.
Forgetting.( students forget due to passive
reading of text books or sitting listening to
lectures)
Multi sensory effect.
Recency and primary effects.( more beginnings
and endings-Grouping)
Association effect.
(sensory,emotional,intensity,meaning)
Repetition
Improving Your memory
Relax
Be active
Use many intelligences
Use smaller chunks
Chunk the material
Create strong associations.
Practice output
Review
Develop basic memory aids
Practice,Practice,Practice
Sleep on it.
 Concentration
Concentration is the ability to work
intensely at a task to the exclusion of
every other demand on your attention.

What interferes with concentration-

External and internal distractions

 Lack of focus or goals also interferes with

concentration.
Improving your Concentration
Eliminate all distractions within your control.
Prepare.
Take care of yourself.
Make concrete goals.
Reduce stress.
12 Principles of Study Skills
Believe in yourself.
Prepare
Organize your self and your work.
Spend time on what matters.
Discipline yourself.
Be persistent.
Divide and conquer.
Become an information filter.
Practice output as well as input.
Do not fear mistakes.
Use all your intelligences to create study tools.
Be active.
What works for you
 We are all different and work to different rhythms
Spread it out – don’t leave it to the end
Revise actively
 Note-taking
 Learning – e.g. definitions
 Synthesizing – making connections
 Test yourself e.g. questions in text-book
 Half hour of active revision better than two just
turning over the pages
 If you get stuck, take a break – walk, coffee etc
Time of Day
 We are all different and work to different rhythms
Alone or with others?
 What works for you
 If working with others, need discipline!
 e.g. time, place, how long will we work, what

method will we use …

A Balanced Life
 Don’t let the other bits of your life disappear
 Socialising, sport, family
 Fresh air helps the brain
 Adequate sleep
 Balanced diet
 EXAMINATIONS
Examinations are part of the learning process
An element in assessment
Stimulus to order your thoughts
Help you to think under pressure
Satisfaction of knowing that you have studied
Step on the way to your degree and future
career
The Value of a Study Schedule
It will not be possible to allocate your time
effectively if you don’t have a schedule to keep
you focused and realistic about what you need to
accomplish

The time taken to create the schedule is well

worth it – it will save you much time that could
have been lost to disorganization, stress, and
poor planning
Creating the Right Environment for
Studying
 When deciding where you should do your exam
studying consider the following:
 Make sure the environment is moderately comfortable
(furniture, temperature)

 Work somewhere where you will be free of distractions

(phone, TV etc.)

 Try to use a space that is YOURS only and doesn’t have

to be shared with other family members

 Keep the study space organized with a specific place for

paper, pens, books etc.

 Have everything you need to study with you before you

sit down so you don’t waste time looking for things
Make every hour count in your schedule –
time at lunch, before school, after school

Begin to study for each exam well before

it will take place to have plenty of time to
ask questions, review etc.

Give yourself reasonable breaks and try to

maintain as “normal” a schedule as
possible in terms of sleep time, eating
time etc.
Proven Study Strategies
SQ3R
 Survey – get the best overall picture of what you’re
going to study before you do it

 Question – ask questions to reinforce your own learning

 Read – actively read over the material and be alert to

main ideas, bolded terms, and key understandings and
details

 Recite – recalling and then orally or through writing

communicating the information – make connections

 Review – re-reading, summarizing key points, testing

yourself, asking final questions
Coping with Exam Anxiety
Exam anxiety can be viewed in two different
ways:
Poor coping with the inevitable stress of an
exam BEFORE it takes place
OR
A strong emotional reaction of fear that
interferes with thinking clearly DURING the
exam
Exam Anxiety Symptoms
 Students who have exam anxiety often report the following
symptoms:
 Memory blocks or “blanking out” on things that you
have studied
 Fear of failing before the exam is even written
 Physical symptoms such as rapid heart rate, shortness of
breath, sweating etc.
 Lower reading comprehension
 Poor attention and inability to concentrate

 The key to dealing effectively with exam anxiety is to work

on what you have control over (how you study, what you
study etc.) and not worry about what you can’t control
(kinds of questions, how other students perform etc.)
Tips for Coping with Exam Anxiety
Be Prepared Early
 Set up a study schedule well before your exam

Sleep Well
 Maintaining a regular sleep schedule helps reduce
stress and increase performance

Keep the same caffeine and sugar intake

 Greatly increasing either of these substances can
actually impair brain functioning by throwing off your
body’s metabolism

Learn relaxed breathing

 When you get stressed, taking some slow, relaxed
breaths can help you think clearly again
Tips for Coping with Exam Anxiety
 Stop studying at least 1-2 hours before bedtime the night
before
 Studying right up until the last minute increases your anxiety
and will impair your ability to sleep

 Review main themes

 Go over main ideas or concepts in the material to reinforce
that you do understand the “big picture”

 Have a plan before the exam

 As part of your studying, think about how you will approach
the exam and what you will do when you run into trouble

 Aim to do your best

 Recognize and turn off your negative self-dialogue – focus on
the task at hand and simply aim to do your best.
The Day of The Exam…
 Wake up at a reasonable time so you can get ready at a
leisurely pace and have breakfast

 Carry your notebook to the exam but don’t open it – will

have it there if you absolutely need it

 Stay away from other stressed-out students who may get

you worried before the exam

 Admit to yourself that you will not know all of the answers
on the exam…and that’s okay!
In Summary…
Studying is an important component of being
prepared for your final exams

Any sort of studying is inherently stressful, but

there are ways to manage it to reduce the stress

Your approach to studying will vary depending

on the subject matter you’re studying.

The keys to effective studying are all about

planning – it’s a good idea to start that process
NOW!

Good luck on your final exams!

At the Examination
Read the instructions you will get before
the examination carefully
Check the time-table for
exam dates
Times
Place
First day check your seat on the plan
Arrive on time but not too early
 Comparing notes with others can make you nervous
Fill out all the details at top of the script, and
each subsequent one fully and correctly
Follow the instructions of the invigilators
Follow instructions on the question paper
 If it says ‘two questions’ do two, not three
 Take some time to plan the answer – rough work
 Keep an eye on the clock
 Read the final product before the end
What do I do if I get a blank?
Pause for breath and relax
Look at your rough work
Try writing a couple of sentences at the end of
your rough work
Continue
only in very extreme cases should you start all
over again
What are they
looking for?

An examiner’s view of
examinations
Examiner’s View of
Exams
1. We are on your side!
An exam not an attempt to trip you up
We love to see you thinking!
We do not have to meet a ‘failure quota!’
Failing you means more work for us!
We DO like you and want you to do well
I need to be able to read your
paper, so write clearly
 keep your handwriting neat
 use space intelligently
 skip a line between answers
 number answers as on exam paper
 Answer the question as it is set, not as you
wish it had been set
 Exam questions are never set in the ‘tell
everything you know about …’ format
 Make sure you understand what the question
means – note words like
 ‘Outline …’
 ‘Discuss ..’
 ‘Compare …’
 ‘Give examples …’
Do your own work! Plagiarism is against the rules
Your exams
are another
adventure –
enjoy it!
NOW START STUDYING
ALL THE BEST 