Study Skills

Take the University Challenge

You are here to learn.

• Be an engaged, organized, and active learner. • Be strategic in your approach.

• Exams are opportunities to demonstrate what you have learned.

• Exams are also a way to learn and remember. The more you are tested the more you learn!

University Testing & Exams

• Regular in-class testing (iclickers) and online quizzes (learning system)

• Mid-term and final exams• Multiple Choice Questions• Bell-ringer exams and practical exams• Short answer and essay questions• Take-home exams

Good habits

Setting Yourself Up for Success

• Take useful notes. Keep them organized.

• Refer to your syllabus and review your notes regularly.

• Keep up with reading, problem sets, and pre-labs.

• Ask questions. Be interested. Look for connections.

Reading and Taking Useful NotesSome options:

• Highlight main points and write comments in the margins. • Take notes in bullet form on one side of the page and put

your questions and reactions on the other. • Highlight as you read and then write down a list of 5-10 key

words and 1-3 central questions or ideas.• Create vocabulary flashcards to help when studying for tests.• Use resources for review! Many text publishers have

websites with practise questions.

Consider the material and how you will use it.

Preparing for Multiple Choice Questions

Recognition, not Recall• Make yourself familiar with the textbook

glossary and definitions of terms and concepts but you must go beyond this

• Define terms and concepts in your own words so can recognize different ways of defining them

• Come up with examples of terms and concepts or applications that require and show your understanding of them

Learning from Lectures and Seminars

• Read the syllabus thoroughly at beginning of course. Do course readings before you come to class.

• Take notes on lectures in bullet or outline form. Review them after lecture and highlight key terms and themes.

• During seminar, keep your focus on participation. Jot down brief notes after class.

Studying for mid-terms and finals

Setting Yourself Up for Success

• Get as much information as you can from your Professor or your TA about the format, length, and requirements of the exam.

• Attend all classes, labs, and seminars – especially the last ones!

• Organize all of your course materials. Use this as an opportunity to make an inventory of all of the materials that you need to look at while you study.

Seeing the Forest and the Trees

• Your goal in studying is to understand the larger goals and themes of the course (the forest) as well as the facts, events, and details of the topic (the trees).

•READ THE SYLLABUS:–Look for themes and connections.– How is the course organized?

Creating a Study Guide• Step I: Read through lecture notes, reading notes and list the main

themes/divisions of the class. This is not a list of facts, dates, events, authors, but themes or ideals. – For example, if you are making a study guide for English 1000, your list

would NOT be a list of authors that you have read. Instead, it would a list of themes that are common to them: literary techniques, self and society, etc.

– Similarly, Hist 1500 would NOT be a list of events or dates. It would be themes: terror and the state, religion and terror, the “other”

– BIO 105: consider connections: system – tissue – cells

• Step II: Now go back and read through notes again. – This time, you are looking for details – key terms, definitions, events.

Use the details to flesh out your study guide – to show how the details build your understanding of the themes.

Study Chart• Make a table to organize themes, concepts or content

Psychology Concept/Theory

Key Theorist

Historical Context

Main Idea

Application

English Author Title Major Characters

Key Events

Important Themes

Business Admin

Concept/Skills

Main Theorist

Historical Context

Main Ideas

Application for Workplace

History Module Time Period/Region

Major Events

Key Vocabulary

Connections to theme of course

Activities That Promote Thorough Understanding

• Exams will often demand that you recognize a fact/event/idea when it is worded/presented in a form other than the one in which you originally learned it. So, you need a very thorough understanding of the topic.

• Try pretending to explain a concept to your 10-year old brother.

• Break it down into smaller pieces.

Activities that Promote Synthesis

• Try to guess the questions. What have been the most important themes? What topics could be combined into a question?

• Pretend that you are organizing a conference or a museum exhibit on the topic. What displays/panels would you have? What order would you put them in? What would be the title?

Memorization Techniques

• Flashcards• Re-copying text• Timelines• Charts• Picture/Symbol associations• Mnemonic devices

Writing exams

Don’t Just Dive into an Exam – Strategize!

• Take time to read through all of the directions carefully. How many questions do you need to answer?

• Jot down key terms for the essays and short answer questions.

• Make a strategy: which questions will you answer?; how much time will be each get?

• Answer the easiest questions first and try to leave yourself time at the end to double check your work

MCQs

One answer is better than the rest: It answers the question directly and completely.

Multiple Choice Questions• Cover the answers and read the questions first.

Try to answer the question without looking at the answers. Underline key words.

• Read each response one at a time. Mark answers that you know are wrong or think are right.

• If you’re really not sure, mark it and leave it until later . . . You can always guess

Factual MCQ

In what Canadian province would you find the country’s capital city?

a. Quebecb. Ottawac. Ontariod. British Columbia

Stem/QuestionKeywords:

province, Canada, capital

Distractor: the capital city but not a province!

Incorrect: province, but west

coast

Correct response

Conceptual M.C. Question

You lie awake all night trying to make sense of your schedule for the following day, planning things methodically. Your behaviour is an example of a(n):

a) obsessionb) delusionc) phobiad) compulsion

Eliminate answers which are obviously

not correct

Define term and compare to example

Define term and compare to example

Be Careful of Absolute Terms

In determining whether a patient has a cold or a flu, nurses should keep in mind that:

a) Colds always come on more gradually than does the flu.b) Colds never include a fever.c) The flu often involves high fever.d) The flu can lead to complications in the young and the elderly.

Eliminate!• Eliminate a response that does not match the sentence structure of the

question or prompt.

• Eliminate a response that seems out of synch with the rest of the options; for example, a response that is a list when the others are not, it is probably not correct.

• Eliminate two responses if the other two are very similar in wording. In the example below, options b and c list similar responses; one of these options is more likely to be correct than a or d.

Three features cultures must possess before they are deemed states area. food surplus, ceramic technology, wheeled vehiclesb. food surplus, formal government, mobile settlementsc. food surplus, urban cores, formal governmentd. food surplus, social equality, fine art

Essay and Short Answer Exam Steps

1. Understand and Underline key words in question

2. Do a mind dump3. Plan your answer4. Write your answer5. Review your work

The Key: Answer the question that is asked,

not the question you want to answer.

Underline Key Words in Question

• Do women experience terror, both as victims and perpetrators, in the same way and to the same extent men do? Discuss with relation to at least two (2) modules.

• Do women experience terror, both as victims and perpetrators, in the same way and to the same extent men do? Discuss with relation to at least two (2) modules.

In Your Response, Make Sure To:

• Answer all parts of the question directly and completely

• Don’t lose marks because you left something out• Focus on demonstrating your knowledge of the

course – not lots of outside info. Content!!– GIVE EXAMPLES!!!!!

• Be as clear as possible given time constraints. Begin paragraphs with clear topic sentences.

“Facts” alone are of limited value…you need to interpret them and explain what concepts or themes they illustrate.

Nervous? Frustrated?

• Be well. • Visualize your success. • Be prepared. • Be comfortable.• Take a break. • Don’t get drawn into a stress feeding frenzy. • Explore relaxation techniques: deep breathing and

progressive muscle relaxation.

Come Talk to Us!

• Do you want to ask questions about something you heard today?

• Do you want an instructor to look at work you did during these sessions (sample thesis, lecture notes, paraphrase)?

• Come see us at the Academic Skills Centre during special 10 minute drop-in sessions!

Special Drop-in Appointments

Wednesday, Sept. 4, Thursday, Sept. 5, and Friday, Sept. 6

10-minute drop-in appointments (first come-first served)Academic Skills CentreChamplain College 206

9am-4pm