Tips to help you study effectively

Studying can be very stressful and frankly, infuriating but it really doesn’t have to be. I never really liked studying or understood the significance while in high-school but dawned on me when I started college… well, at least when midterms kicked in. I learned about learning skills in my ACDV class, and even though my results said I can study with all four study skills, I use the three that actually works for me. There are different types of learners, so if my tips do not work for you, try something else.

I am both a visual, aural and Read/write learner. This pretty much means, when I try to learn, I listen to an audio version of the topic i.e lecture. I proceed to read about what I heard and take notes, off the top of my head. If after that I still have a hard time grasping the topic, 90% of the time, I go to YouTube. I tell you, YouTube is my best friend (RIP Social life…). I say if you do not want to read about it, watch a video about it. I watch videos from khan academy, crash course, and any other ones I can find. When I can, I watch animated videos and that just keeps the image in my head forever. If the topic still proves difficult to understand, I end up singing songs about it. Realistically, this does not work for everybody but I would like to share some information about the websites I mentioned earlier.

The first academic video I watched on youtube was “the cell song”. I remember getting so frustrated about the organelles and omg were they annoying. When I tried reading about them, they all sounded like they had the same functions, so I googled cell videos and the first thing that popped up was the song. I played it all the time and if you ask my friends they can tell you how much they hated the song but I loved it because not only was it catchy, it helped me learn all about the cell (she said “umming” the song). The video has over 2.3 million views and i take credit for half of it. This happened seven months ago and if you wake me up and ask me anything about the cell, I’ll tell you in a heartbeat. it also helps if you like listening to songs.

The crash course is my definite go-to when it comes to anatomy. I took the first part of A&P(BIOL 220) in the summer and let’s just say it was not the best idea. I watched videos that explained things I read in the textbook and everything clicked. Trust me, if it’s difficult to understand, they have a video that will simplify it for you. Google it, I dare you. My second “go-to” is khan-academy. I am honestly not the biggest fan of their videos because its just not as colorful as the crash course is but they do have practice questions that undeniably helps me revise my work. it’s like a whole online school except this is FREE. The last website I go to before I completely give up and start crying (do not give up and start crying), is Quizlet. Quizlet is very user-friendly but it is not the best when you study last minute. They have a lot of material and they do not exactly follow your syllabus so I would not rely on it.

In conclusion, I do not like studying, nobody does, but having the resources that work for me makes it less stressful. There is only so much I can type so what better way to end this post than to add a crash course video that explains all about studying for tests, study strategies and how the memory works. I have also added an image that summarizes four types of learning styles. I really hope this helps someone ace their next test.

Note: There is no good or bad way to learn.