Effective Study Skills and Tools Used

Effective Study Steps Effective study is one of the most useful methods for achieving the highest levels of benefit expected from studying a specific subject, whether it is a prescribed study subject or otherwise, which may attract the individual’s attention to learn more about a specific topic.

Planning

Like any work that an individual wants to do, it must be properly planned, which helps to prioritize and organize the topics to be studied, starting from the most important to the important and so on. This step includes setting a flexible schedule that suits the individual’s activity, and of course clarifies the sections that must be completed from the study subject within a specific period of time.

Also, good planning helps the individual to include all the topics that must be studied, without forgetting any of them, and classifying these topics between easy and difficult, which may require more time to study. In addition, it makes it easier for the individual to track the progress he has made in studying certain topics, which helps him develop his study schedule.

Preparation

Before starting the actual study phase, a basic step must be achieved, which is preparation, which includes:

1. Preparation from a psychological perspective, by reminding the individual of the desired goal of studying the required subject, and that he is capable of doing so because of his abilities that enhance his self-confidence.
2. Choosing the appropriate time to study, in which the individual finds himself more productive and active, which may differ from one person to another according to priorities and lifestyle.
3. Preparing the appropriate place that meets the conditions of the ideal study place; such as adequate lighting and quiet, and avoiding everything that may distract the individual and distract him from his focus. Distraction may occur due to various factors, including physical factors such as feeling exhausted resulting from illness, lack of sleep, or poor nutrition. Psychological factors also play a major role in distracting concentration, such as disturbed family relationships, or the occurrence of disagreements between colleagues, or anxiety, and other factors that affect the individual’s psyche and reduce his focus in his studies.
4. Providing the necessary study tools such as notebooks, pens, calculators, and other tools required to study the assigned material, in order to save time and effort in searching for these tools during the study.

Reading and Summarizing In this step, the actual study phase of the required material begins, which includes:

Reading

When reading the material for the first time, a quick visual survey must be conducted, which aims to take a quick overview of the topic without going into details, as this method prepares the individual to understand what the topic deals with in general. After that, the individual can re-read again, but carefully in order to analyze the topic in detail, and prepare for the summary step.

Summarizing

There is no doubt that summarizing is considered one of the tools that help clarify information, memorize it, and remember it, no matter how accurate and quantitative it is. Summarizing is also desirable because it saves the time and effort needed to retrieve information in the post-study stage. There are three possible methods to follow in summarizing:

Prose method

This method relies on the prose style that covers a large and dense percentage of the original text of the material.

Structural method

It aims to abbreviate by using key words or paragraphs that indicate ideas that summarize the main idea, gradually starting with the general picture of the topic and ending with its last branches.

Method of shapes and spider maps

This method resorts to the graphic style, as it uses simple shapes such as a square or a circle, which are linked by arrows and lines, in order to form an illustrative form of the components of the topic, its sections, and its multiple branches, which is considered an effective solution in summarizing topics with similar and numerous details and classifications.

Memorization and retrieval

When starting to memorize information, another advantage of a good summary becomes clear, which is the ease of memorizing and retrieving information quickly. The memorization process and its speed vary from one person to another based on the strength of the memory and the method of studying the required material, but it is possible to facilitate this process by repeating the information several times, which helps transfer the information from the short-term memory to the long-term memory.

In addition, the information can be divided into several sections, for example when memorizing numbers or long texts, which helps in memorization and rapid retrieval. It is also possible to form a mental image of the information, such as linking it to something known to the individual, such as a situation, a specific event, a famous person, a specific place, a favorite color or an idea, and other options that can be quickly recalled.

There is also the smart grouping method, which requires finding similarities between different parts of the same topic, which helps link several ideas, making them easy to memorize and retrieve. As for the retrieval step that follows memorization, the emptying method may be useful in this process. This method depends on unpacking the information that has been recalled through several means such as writing, discussing with appropriate people such as classmates, and also practicing solving exams and necessary exercises.

After achieving these steps and adhering to them and noticing progress in the study, it is necessary to follow the reward system that aims to give the individual a favorite activity, such as eating a certain meal, spending time with friends, going on a picnic, and other recreational options that help recharge the individual’s energy and motivate and encourage him to study.