Tips for Studying at College or University

College or university level study is stressful and so the first tip for effective study is to turn off your stress and turn up your mind.  Fifteen minutes of jumping on a trampoline, running or brisk walking will give your brain the oxygen it needs to work effectively. Before that, eat a healthy breakfast because mind fuel is an important prerequisite to smart thinking. If you are anxious, (this is great advice for exams too) deep healthy breathing and some left brain/right brainwork will make your mind wide open to the rigours of study.

A great brain wakeup call is to tap your head and rub your stomach at the same time – it works! There are a few of these physical brain benders out there; we all know one and these actually work to make the mind fully awake. Now that you are ready in body and mind, it is time for revision and review.

Begin by reviewing your notes and where you are confident that you are well versed in the subject matter, move on. Your college or university time is better spent rounding out the areas where your knowledge is lacking or superficial. Be sure to allow yourself enough time to source any information you missed or to hash out concepts you do not fully understand.

Set aside specific times for study each day so you won’t be distracted by other things. If possible, make it a time when you know your household will be relaxed and quiet, or if you are living on campus, choose a time when other college or university students are likely to be out.

Tips for Effective Research

At college or university level peer reviewed papers are the most credible sources of information for students to research. Most school libraries will have peer reviewed articles on a range of subjects. Don’t forget to record detailed source information as you go, this will be very important when it comes time to cite your sources, jot down page numbers so if you need to go back you can without re-reading large volumes of work.

Begin your search of college or university sources with a clear question in mind. Focus on that particular question as you look for supporting data and answers and try not to stray from the original idea, at least not at the start. As your argument develops, there may be interesting tracks that you had not previously considered and that you now want to include but concentrate on the primary argument first. Then, begin to develop ideas for further research and the counter arguments you may need to refute.

An important point when using the internet for college or university research is to ensure the site author is credible and does not have a personal interest in presenting a biased view. The internet is particularly great for sourcing graphs, charts and image data to support your argument quickly and easily.

At this point, don’t worry about flow, spelling or grammar. It is much easier to create a growing idea and steady stream of writing if you are not stopping to worry about detail. Just begin typing and let your mind jot down everything you can think of about the subject, the content, arguments, counter arguments and anything else. Get it all down and then determine how the content is best structured. Begin to develop ideas from that information, then research further. It is not until you are nearing the end of this writing phase that you need to worry about correcting spelling, grammar and syntax. College or university level writing is challenging but it doesn’t have to be stressful.