Hogwarts studies

We’ve all heard the term, “study smarter, not harder.” Especially if you’re an inexperienced studier, you might think that you might have to study all the material at once before an exam. Not only are you wasting your time, you’re harming your chances of actually doing well on an exam. So, how does one study smarter?

1. Don’t miss your classes- Everyone has fallen into the pitfalls of “attendance optional.” Lecture sucks sometimes, especially if it’s lecture slide heavy, but class is the time to ask questions about the material that you don’t understand or need clarification for. 

2. Set aside time every day to review all your notes- This comes down to scheduling and time management. If you’re like me, you have your classes back to back, which makes it more difficult to review directly after class. I like to schedule a time each night to sit down with my materials from the day and review them and make notations of any questions. After a while, you’ll actually know what you’re learning and retain it much better.

3. Revise, revise, revise- It helps to re-write the key points of a class or subject as a diagram. I like using a mind-map or flow chart, or color coding key elements of the topic. Then you can give it a quick glance before you go into an exam. You can check out my revisions post here.

4. Make a study group- I have a whole post on how to master study groups. You can peruse that here.

Tips:

-Use a planner to better manage your time.

- @emmastudies has a whole lot of printable essentials that I like to use to help organize revisions and effectively plan for exams. I use them all the time and put them in the front of my binder and tape them to my wall so I won’t forget what topics need to be reviewed. Check out her page for printables!

-The syllabus is there for a reason, use it to review materials and take notes from the textbook before the topic is taught in lecture. Here is my post on how to take notes from the textbook.

Resources:

How to Study Smart: 20 Scientific Ways to Learn Faster

Study Less Study Smart: A 6-Minute Summary of Marty Lobdell’s Lecture - College Info Geek

Eight Ways to Remember Anything by Alex Lickerman M.D.

This post is a little bit of a risk, haha. I wanted to have a rough sketch instead of a perfect-looking one with the roses. There’s a half-drawn sketch of Diagon Alley on the other book (I’ve stopped drawing after getting a detail wrong - I may redo/change it up later on), but I’m human and I’m not free from making mistakes. ❤

On another note, thank you for the love on my last post! :)

*Click on the image for better photo quality

your grades don’t define you

mental health is a priority

not doing some homework assignments isn’t the end of the world

you don’t need a perfect GPA to go to college

apply for scholarships

drama is exhausting; try to avoid it

ask for help when you need it

you aren’t stupid for not knowing everything

not every friend is a real one

teachers aren’t always right

everyone makes mistakes

27/7/18 - although I didn’t get much done today, I got quite a lot of my ethics summer work done!

Sorry I’ve been MIA for so long, I was in hospital for a while :\ I’ll be back to posting regularly now

Day 3/100

Hi guys! Today was my last high school open house and it’s pretty surreal. I’m officially 100%-can’t deny it anymore-senior!! Is anyone else freaking out as much as I am? 

I thought I’d show off my cute school supplies that I got all new from Target, except for two binders that I’m reusing from last year. The kit in the middle is so adorable! It has a mini stapler, staple remover, extra staples scissors, tape (with an extra roll), sharpener, and a hole puncher! I kinda screamed when I saw it. It’s such a cute addition to my supplies. The color scheme is vaguely pastel with a lot of pinks and blues! 

Of course I had to have my favorite pens! G2 .5 gel pens are my life and I love how my cursive looks in them! It doesn’t look like a whole lot but that’s only because a lot of my classes are handout based this year and quite a few are online!

In case anyone’s wondering this year I’m taking:

AP Environmental Science (Online!)

AP Art History

AP Government

DE Intro to Astronomy (Online!)

DE Applied Ethics (Online!)

What classes is everyone else taking? I’d love to know!

revision methods that actually work // studygram: alimastudies

1. Memory mind map 

Personally, this is the most effective one for me. All you need is a blank piece of paper. Pick a sub-topic that you are doing e.g in biology a topic could be immune system and the sub-topic could be antibodies and antigens. If you want you can create some questions for each sub-topic and on your blank piece of paper, using questions as a guide, write everything you know about that sub-topic without your notes. After get your notes out and check and correct with a different colour pen. Watch this video to get a better understanding

2. Flashcards

I recommend you use written flashcards, unless you have vocab or definitions in which case digital ones like quizlet is fine. You should have questions on one side and your answers on another - i’ve heard people say the answer shouldn’t be long but i find that the more detailed it is the higher marks you score in the exam - of course summarise don’t just copy from a textbook or there is no point in doing this. When you test yourself try to do something else other than reading, for example write the answer down and then check and correct.

3. Spaced intervals

No point cramming for an exam. Yes it might have got you an A* in GCSE or other lower level exams but it’s certainly not going to get you an A* for a-levels or other higher exams. Space your learning out and if you can try and revise everyday, even if somedays are just for half an hour, DO IT! It will help you in the long term. Don’t revise one subject/unit for a whole day, space it out. For example don’t revise like this: AABBCC, revise like this instead: ABCBCA or something along those lines.

4. Mind maps

My favourite revision source!!! For some reason in an exam ( i only use mind maps for essay based subjects) i can remember where i put each point on my mind map which helps me write my essays and retrieve my information more in the long term! Don’t make it boring by trying to be ‘minimal’ - ADD COLOUR !!! But to stay within limits, too many colours can make it look overwhelming and confusing !

5. Teaching someone else

Either teach your younger siblings or pretend you are teaching to an imaginary class - while it may seem crazy it works, trust me. Use a whiteboard to help you illustrate your ideas! This method will help you identify any gaps in your knowledge and you’ll truly see if you know something well enough to explain it. If you cannot explain it to a six year old then you truly have not got the grasp of it, as Albert Einstein says!

6. past papers

some messy chemistry notes i took in class ft. my super colorful periodic table

Day 2/100

Hi all! Today was a day of planning and scheduling. I wrote some important stuff on my white board calendar and started to write out my studying/assignment plan for the month. I know my AP Environmental Science workload and DE Introduction to Astronomy stuff so I was able to write in dates and figure things out! When I go back to high school the 13th, I’ll be able to plan out my AP Government and AP Art History things so that’s exciting! I’m packing my book bag today so my pile of school supplies can get off my nightstand. 

I am honestly so excited for what this year holds, I feel really good about it! 

07.31.18

working on some introductory physics at my favorite coffee shop, uni starts in 18 days!! soooo incredibly excited to start this new journey, any advice for an incoming freshman? 👾📚

taking notes in bed today and my pillowcase matches the color scheme! how cute is that?

Hi guys! It’s been a couple of days since my last post but I’m back! I finally got into my AP Environmental Science class online so I started taking notes and have done the first assignment. With school coming up on the 13th, and with work already underway, I think now would be a good time to kick off a

                           100 Days of Productivity Challenge! 

This will help keep me on task and give me a good flow of content for you guys! I’m pretty excited about this as I have a hard time finding motivation to do things and I feel that giving myself a daily goal will help establish self discipline for when waiting for motivation isn’t an option. I’m excited to be able to share this journey with the Studyblr community!