 10 Factual Do's and Don'ts of Study Everyone knows the feeling of being stuck at a desk, staring at a page that looks as if it's written in a foreign language, and praying you'll be able to learn all the mountains of content for your exams, which hit you like a tornado. It's a stressful and daunting time in every student's life, but it is what it is. Try these 10 Factual Do's and Don'ts, and give yourself the extra boost of knowledge that could save the day. 1. 8 is the magic number. On average, it is recommended that young adults get around 8 hours of sleep a night. Research has shown that a lack of sleep causes a difficulty in understanding material taught in class, susceptibility to false memories, which isn't the best condition to be during exams, and a reduction in the gray matter of the brain. So when you're staying up until midnight cramming for a test, remember that a half hour of sleep could do you wonders. 2. Don't try to remember everything. Just staring at your notes and hoping it sinks in isn't going to help. Instead of reading and rereading, structure the information instead. What this means is that you should take the information that has been presented to you and reorganize it in your own way. Rewrite the given material until you understand what it means, and how it relates to the other material that you're trying to learn. This will not only help your ability to remember the information, but it will also allow for a better and deeper understanding of the given material. 3. Don't waste time highlighting. Although it is one of the most popular forms of revision and studying, highlighting pieces of information has been proven to have no effect of the information that is retained. For this reason, there is very little point in highlighting your notes as a method of learning. It may, however, help with picking out pieces of information from others. In short, use highlighters in moderation to help avoid wasting time and overcrowding your page with key information that's not really that important. 4. Say goodbye tonight before cramming. Planning ahead and getting started early is the best way to work for those top grades. Professor Dunlossy says, students who cram may pass the exam, but they don't retain the material. This is an issue because it leaves students who carry on their education without a true foundation to build upon. A technique called distributive practice is a far more effective approach to studying. Distributive practice implements a schedule of practice that spreads studying out over time. This allows time for the brain to take in all the necessary information and become more familiar with it each time the topic is practiced. It's a bit like practicing drawing the same thing again and again to get it perfect. 5. Test yourself. This one is an old but valuable method for getting the exam material drilled into your brain. Testing yourself allows for information to be brought back to the surface of our consciousness and we retain it as information that is used frequently. As well as helping us retain information, some studies have proven that testing may also allow us to be more susceptible to newly presented information after the testing. It may not be the most thrilling way to study, but it is by far one of the most effective. 6. Take short naps and forgive procrastination. It may sound counterproductive and entirely backwards, but research has shown that short naps in between study sessions help to boost concentration and allow for more enhanced memory. Forgive procrastination is also good for allowing more concentration further down the line. It has been shown that students that forgive procrastination are less likely to procrastinate again before exams. 7. Be prepared. Before you even think about starting your studying, you need to ensure you have all the necessary handouts and research materials for your topics. This is really important when it comes to exams, because you can not only rely on one source, such as a textbook. You should be gathering information from lots of different sources to create a wider and more complete understanding of the topic. 8. Teach the material to your friends and family. The potage effect occurs when you learn via teaching information to someone else. This happens because the act of teaching greatly improves your understanding of the topic and eventually you will call the information more accurately and effectively. So when it comes time to getting all the final points in place, teach your study material to anyone and everyone that will listen. Encouraging them to ask questions will help too. 9. Use elaborative interrogation. It may seem like a complex term, but the basis behind it is relatively simple. Elaborative interrogation is the process of asking yourself why something is the way it is, why the answer to a problem is the way it is. This is a useful technique because it allows for a deeper understanding of information as well as helping to build critical thinking skills. 10. Use self-explanations. Self-explanation is a similar process to elaborative interrogation. It is the method of using your existing knowledge to make sense of new information. This is a great method for students to consolidate their learning as it prompts them to think outside of their provided information and make inferences about topics of their own accord. Use this when looking through your notes to add extra information that you may not have thought of the first time around. Do you have any other study tips you want to share? Let us know in the comments below. Also, be sure to check out Ways to Grow, who animated this video for more videos about self-development. 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