study 2nite

If anyone has any questions about the course or the AP exam, I would be happy to indulge you!

This past year, I took AP World History, and when I first started out, I had absolutely no idea how to manage it. As the year went on, it got harder, but I found what worked so my grades improved! So I would like to pass my wisdom on to you all.

I’m going to divide everything into two parts: studying for the class and studying for the exam!

Studying for the Class: 

DO your homework and do it the day it’s assigned

I have a block schedule so we had 4 classes (out of 8) per day, so I could do the homework that day and study it the next day before I had the class again

If you don’t have a block schedule like I did, do the homework before any other class’s so you can review again before you go to sleep

Study everything your teacher provides for you

ie. study the reading provided, study handouts they provide, study any terms or guiding questions they provide

Our sheets for taking notes had important terms and guiding questions at the top of them, so I would make sure I knew what they all meant and that I could answer those questions. If I couldn’t, I’d read through them again

Don’t procrastinate

I know how hard this is, because I wanted to a lot, but you’re going to have to do this homework and study eventually if you want a good grade, so use that to motivate yourself to just get it over with

Just force yourself to sit down and start

Don’t have any distractions whatsoever, stay off the internet using either a blocker, self control, or going in another room

Use a timer to pace yourself

My notes would often take me 1.5 to 2 hours, so I would use the pomodoro timer to pace myself so I didn’t go insane, and it really helped me.

Study by reading over past notes, looking at old quizzes, and quizzing yourself

Try formatting your notes into questions. If your notes say “The attack on Pearl Harbor was on December 7, 1941″ write on a different piece of paper “When was the attack on Pearl Harbor?” and do this for everything. This really helps you to be able to quiz yourself, because it shows how well you know the material.

Study by explaining to others

What really helps me is either talking to myself or someone else while reading my notes. What I mean is going through my notes and reading them aloud in a way that explains them. If you can do this a few times, you’ll find that it sticks into your mind much more, because you got someone else to understand as well.

Take advantage of youtube resources

There are a TON of youtube videos about World History topics. Before every test in my class, I would watch youtube videos reviewing the AP World History period we were studying. 

I also really took advantage of (and so did my teacher!) the Crash Course World History series when reviewing before tests and also for the AP Exam.

If your class has essays, and you’re provided the prompt ahead of time, write an outline of  the topics you’ll use and what examples you’ll use

Know what you’ll use to get each point on your essay

If there’s any extra credit, DO IT!

My teacher gave us huge packets before each test, and if we completed the majority of it, we’d get a huge curve on the exam which was sooo amazing.

It’s easy to be lazy, but if you end up with an 89.4 and you need that extra boost, your teacher is going to be more likely to help you if you did all of the extra credit possible.

If you’re feeling burnout kicking in, relax a little

This means you’re studying way too much, give yourself more time to do other things like extracurriculars and to just relax.

Tone down your studying, because I was burnt out sometimes, and if you force yourself to keep over-studying, it will make you miserable.

You don’t have to go crazy, this class is not as big a deal as it seems right now so relax. Of course studying is important, but it’s more important that you’re happy while studying.

Studying for the AP Exam!

Review all of your notes from the past year

If your teacher gave you reviews before tests, review those even more because they usually show the most important information to know about that time period.

Review old tests

Go into tutoring and ask your teacher if you can look at your old tests, to review questions that could show up on the AP exam, and to see where you struggled and areas you need to improve in.

Predict the essay prompts!

Look up the old essay prompts over the years and look at the trends to see what hasn’t been asked about in a while in terms of geographic location and theme. eg. Latin America and economy, or Western Europe and culture.

Start studying second semester while you’re learning the newer material

Don’t go crazy, just slowly look over your notes and reviews, quiz yourself, make sure you can explain the topics to someone else.

Review the essay rubrics and how the points are distributed

It’s important to know where the points come from so you can be obvious that you’re aiming for a certain point

Essay tip: be painfully obvious you want a point, don’t leave it to the grader to interpret, say “this caused this because,” or “this was a continuity of this because,” etc.

Don’t stress

As long as you’ve been reviewing the material and the essay formats, you WILL pass! You WILL do well! It’s not as scary as it seems. I was terrified before and afterwards I felt a lot better.

delete apps and social media that lowers your mood 

wear a new scent, throw away things you don’t need, delete contacts of people who make you feel unworthy, unfollow social media that makes you feel bad in any way

make a new playlist that makes you feel confident and happy 

in a journal, write down why you want to change, the traits of the person you truly want to be, the places you want to go and people that make you feel inspired

write down the things that stop you and bad habits you have, and replace those with new mindsets and habits 

before you sleep, make a detailed, achievable routine for the next day, that includes everything you want to do, including activities that genuinely make you happy

try new hobbies, like baking/cooking, playing a musical instrument, making art, learning a new skill, a sport, or a new language. you can easily get free resources online 

think about the ideal version of yourself. you can be like that, if you try your best and work hard. 

do not overwork yourself or set overly lofty daily goals and forget to do things like drink water. make your sleep and health your number one priority.

spend less time on your phone scrolling through social media. have a method of focusing on other things, like Pomodoro method or using the Forest app. 

if you can’t concentrate, commit yourself to doing it for 5 minutes. once you get into the flow it’s much easier to concentrate.

be patient and kind with yourself. it’s hard to change overnight. you’re the only one who can help change you, so be a friend to yourself.

once you start something, promise yourself you will finish it. 

have new weekly routines, like going to a cafe every Wednesday afternoon or indulging in your favourite tv show every Friday night.

do not deny yourself of good things; there needs to be a balance. similarly, do not be too generous and overdo it too much. 

dedicate a day to clean your room and organize your things if you feel stressed out. 

it may feel scary to change, as you may feel like it’s not the real you. but you’re still you, just the best version of yourself.

have a relaxing morning routine to look forward to, like making a nice breakfast, having a skin care routine, stretches, journalling, or thinking about nothing for a few minutes

have a mental image that makes you excited to do something. visualize yourself completing the goal and concentrate on it every morning.

however, learn not to rely on motivation because your brain will often turn off motivation, especially when you first begin something. have a routine, a specific time to do something, and do it. 

notice the places and people that drain your energy, and try to avoid them. find people who make you feel energized and places that calm you.

think about an enjoyable part of something. for example, when studying you can look forward to learning new things and when exercising, listening to calming music or using nice stationery. it’s actually more fun than you think. 

even though it’s hard, don’t compare yourself. you’re on your own path, and it doesn’t matter if people are better than you, because there will always be someone better than everyone. don’t be afraid to suck. so draw badly, write bad poems, run slowly, make embarrassing mistakes and fail everything. you can’t be good at something unless you’re terrible at something first. and doing anything badly is so much better than doing nothing.

don’t tell anyone about your new beginning, just start and let the results speak for themselves.

library database: Full Text Online

STAYING MOTIVATED

Create realistic goals: get ___ grade on next ____

Manageable let down; get back on track

Keep track of grades: focused, know where stand, no surprises

Start small

Low risk confidence builders

Take time to relax/give self rewards

Days off, breaks, rewards

All work & no play =/= living

Little organization goes a long way

Reward achievements!

Keep balance with exercise, clubs, friends

2h/d: friends and exercise

Remember that hard work pays off

Isn’t a breeze to try to get a 4.0 GPA; but it’s possible

You’re smart enough and can achieve it

90% there with these tips, 10% is just pure hard work

Only chill on weekends

Monday-Friday: school mode

Have time for some fun

If work as hard as should during week, will need weekends to blow off steam

Be self-motivated

Grades can matter, not everything, but follow through on what needs to be done

Not most important part of college but underperform? You will regret it

GPA cutoffs exist and matter to employers

College is full of distractions and opportunities

Nobody will hold hand and the work will suck but all the prouder of yourself to be

Suck it up, buckle down, get it done

If think need break, probably don’t

Turn off the little voice

Realize not alone in questioning ability

Avoid people who tend to burst bubbles no matter what 

Physical triggers to stop

Incentive to get something done when know have something else during the day

Don’t have a gaping abyss of study time

Work has to get done, in the end

Books, examiners, and especially your future self isn’t going to care about your excuses for not doing the work

Take the first step

It will almost be fictional how hard you thought the task was going to be

Just keep going because you simply can’t afford NOT to do anything today, nonzero days

Leeway, don’t give your perfectionism control over your life

MUNDANE HABITS

Sleep! Think and function, mind & body

CAN sleep if keep up with coursework instead of procrastinating

Will miss out on some fun stuff

Need to stay awake in class

Figure out what need for full speed

Stay relaxed

Stay physically healthy

Diet and exercise

1 hour exercise during week

Weekends off

Traditional breakfast not necessary if value extra sleep

Systematic habits: neat, prepared

Master material

Look for real world applications

Learning is a process: be patient, don’t expect to master off the bat

Designate study area and study times

Do trial runs

Practice tests

Ask a TA to listen to your oral performance

Study groups

Don’t copy other people’s psets and solutions

BEFORE SEMESTER

Spiral bound notebook, can color code with folders/etc if need be

Lecture notes: front to back

Reading notes: back to front (if fall behind on)

Seminar notes: mixed in with lecture notes, different pen color/labeled

Outline format

Bullet points for everything

Same NB for one set of class notes, separate notebooks for all classes

5-subject notebook

Midterm and exam material in it

Mesh sources, study guide

All study material from week/month in one place

Pick the right major

Indulge in favorite hobby feeling

Pick professors & classes wisely

Take a small class

Pick classes that interest you so studying doesn’t feel torturous

Want to learn

GRADES SPECIFIC

Prioritize class by how can affect GPA

More credits: more weight

Work enough to get an A in your easy classes: take something good at

Don’t settle, don’t slack off, don’t put in minimal effort to get that B/C. Just put in a tiny bit more effort to ensure A

Will have harder classes and need to counteract

Take electives can ace

Anything but an A in an elective is kinda mean and an unnecessary hit for your GPA

FIRST DAY/WEEK/HALF OF CLASSES

Get to know teaching style: focus most on, lecture/notes

Pick and follow a specific note taking format

Outline

Date each entry

Capture everything on board

Decide productivity system

Google Cal

Todoist

Agenda: remind meetings, class schedule, important dates/midterms/quizzes/tests, no homework 

Always wanted to be prepared

Rarely last minute

Have plan, stay focused

Homework notebook

Good redundancy

Study syllabus

Know it thoroughly

Plot all due dates after class

Penalize if fail to abide by

Study the hardest for the first exam

Seems counterintuitive

Hardest/most important test

Pay attention to content and formatLess pressure: just need ___ on final to keep my A 

Easy to start high and keep high

Go into crunch mode at the beginning

End softly

Get plenty of sleep, exercise, and good food in the finals days before the exam

DURING SEMESTER: PEOPLE

Get to know professors: go to office hours, care about grades/course/them

Easier ask for help, rec letter

Get to know interests and what they think is important

Figure out their research interests, 60% of their job is research

Learning is dynamic

Discussion helps

Get feedback early when not sure what doing

Take comments constructively

Consistent class participation: ask questions, give answers, comment when appropriate

Understand material

Find a study buddy in each class: don’t have to study with

Somebody can compare notes with, safety net

Pick somebody who attends, participates, and take notes regularly

Make some friends

Participate as fully as can in group activities

Be involved

Learn – not be taught

Be punctual

Good impression, on human professors

DON’T BE LATE

Skipping class =/= option: It’s “cool” to get attendance award

Make all the classes: it’s hard to feel confident when missing key pieces

Get full scope of class, everything will make a lot more sense and save a lot of time in long run

Mandatory class: higher graduating cumulative GPA

Go to class when no one else does/want to show up, reward

Get to know professor, what’s on test, notice, r/s build, material not in reading

Unless optional and super confusing professor

Sit in one of the first rows

Don’t fall asleep

Fake interest if you have to

Tutors

DURING SEMESTER: THINGS TO DO

Take notes! Provided is bare minimum, accessed by students who aren’t attending lecture

Based on lecture and what read –> test; it’ll be worth it

Write it down

By hand

Bored? Doodle instead of going online

Read all assigned–even if need to skim

Seems cumbersome and maybe impossible

Figure out what’s important

Look at the logical progression of the argument/what’s important/what trying to prove

Understand everything that you do read–even if don’t read everything

PIck 2 examples from text per topic

Complete course material on time

DO NOT WAIT UNTIL DAY BEFORE IT IS DUE

Begin as soon as possible

Sometimes it’s just straight up impossible

Have it look attractive

Library doesn’t just mean = study

Social media in the library is still social media

Confusion is terrible

Read other textbooks, review course material @ another uni/by another professor, google the shit out of it

Review

Do not wait, do throughout semester

Exam prep

Ask for model papers, look at style & structure, thesis, how cite

Get old tests

Look at type of questions (detail level and structure)

Can solve old exams cold

If give out paper exams in class: probs won’t repeat questions, focus more on concepts but still learn the questions

Have class notes and psets down cold

Do all the practice problems

Read through notes a few times; rewrite into a revision notebook

Highlight major topics and subtopics

Different highlighter for vocab terms

Overall picture, go from concept to detail

Look at overall context and how specific idea fit into whole course

Ideas, don’t memorize all your notes

Better understand = more able to use and manipulate info and remember it. Understand = manipulation.

Charts, diagrams, graphs

Lists

Practice drawing labeled structures

Flash cards for memorization

Every school requires some degree of grunt memorization

Say it aloud, write it down

Get friends to quiz you

Self-test: severely challenge self, have a running collection of exam questions

Explain difficult concepts to your friends; force yourself to articulate the concept

Never pull an all-nighter

Do not spend every hour studying up to the exam

Eat, shower, sleep

Don’t wait until night before exam to study

Prep takes time even if reviewed throughout semester

Ask about format–don’t ask the professor to change it for you

Law of College: it will be on the exam if you don’t understand it

Ask professor, internet, textbooks

Night before exam

Jot what want to remember/have fresh

Read through in morning/before exam

Physical prep

Sleep, have test materials

Day of exam

Don’t cram every single spare minute

Go to bathroom before exam

Never miss an exam/lie to get more time

You won’t be any more ready 2-3 days after when supposed to have taken it

Slay exam. Get A. 

WEEKLY 

Friday morning: go through each syllabus, write down in HW notebook

All hw during weekend; study/reading assignments during week

Save everything

Divide big tasks into small pieces to help propel self

Standard study schedule: block off lectures, labs, regular commitments

Note the weeks that have assignments and tests that will require extra studying

Don’t oscillate too heavily every day with study times (i.e. don’t study 2-3 hours for weeks and then 10-12 hour days right before an exam)

Eat and sleep to make more extended work periods liveable and enjoyable

DAILY

Set an amount of time would like to study every day

Try to study most days

Avoid vague/zoned out studying –> waste of time

Do a little bit daily but don’t let studying be your whole day

Review notes: 30mins/day, each class from that day

Look at important ideas/vocab

Prioritize new vocab because language is most fundamental and important tool in any subject

Circle abbreviations and make yourself a key somewhere so you don’t forget what the hell that abbreviations meant

Check spelling

Rewrite/reorganize notes if necessary

Format of ideas is just as important as the concepts themselves, esp. when it comes time for exam review

This helps you retain the material so you’ll be ahead next time you walk into class

Chance to ID any knowledge gaps that you can ask about for next class

Keep up with reading

Skim text before lecture or at least main topic sentences

Jot down anything don’t understand; if lecture doesn’t clarify, ask the professor

After lecture: skim again, outline chapter, make vocab flashcards

Highlight similar class and lecture notes

will definitely be tested on

Review and make study questions

Study

Disconnect from anything irrelevant to study material: help focus and your GPA

Don’t limit studying to the night

Study whenever, wherever between classes

Variety helps focus and motivation

Especially if tired at night and can’t transition between subjects

Already feeling burnt out from this semester and I haven’t even had a midterm yet. I made myself relax today but I did take the time to go to a coffee shop for a couple of hours to study for my midterms next week.

It’s totally okay to take a day’s break but I find myself feeling guilty or even more stressed when I “waste” an entire day. I’m fully admitting that this a harmful mentality but I also think it’s a mentality that a lot of students share.

i keep seeing posts out there saying that you need to read the textbook to succeed in class. NO. you do not need to read the textbook. at least not for many, if not most, of your classes. first of all, it’s impractical. profs can assign up to 2-3 a week, and if you’re taking around 4-5 classes, that’s a WHOLE LOT of reading. if you have time to do so, go ahead, but a lot of students don’t have that much time on their hands. so i’m suggesting that you DON’T need to read every single chapter your prof assigns. what you DO need to do is to get smarter at selecting what and when to read, as well as scanning the text effectively.

when TO read the textbook

when your profs tell you that they will not be teaching from the textbook but that the exams will cover material and/or questions from the textbook

when the material is difficult, tricky, or lengthy and you need clarification, further explanation, or examples

when you miss a class

when you HAVE TIME to prepare for lectures in advance

when you feel that you actually learn and retain information better by reading the textbook

when NOT to read the textbook

when your profs teach from the textbook pretty much line by line

when your profs tell you that they will not be assessing you based on information from the text, but from their lectures

a strong implication of this is if your profs require lecture attendance

when you feel that reading the textbook does not help you learn or retain information

when you are constantly confused by the textbook (esp when it comes to calculation-based stem classes like math or cs)

when you have absolutely no time whatsoever to read pages after pages of bad academic puns

what you can do INSTEAD of reading the textbook

look at the course syllabus/schedule to see what you will learn in lecture. have an idea of what material you’ll be covering, then do the following steps.

check the course website/resources and ask yourself: what do you have to work with? are there lecture slides? lecture notes from previous semesters? online links or readings?

if one of the above exists, read the lecture slides/notes. they are usually much less text-intensive and get straight to the point. you can zip through them pretty quickly. you will at least have a basic understanding of the material that will be introduced in class.

google terms and concepts that you don’t understand from just reading the lecture slides. again, the idea is to get you to have a basic understanding of the material and not become an expert. this will help you avoid getting lost during the lecture.

if you’re still a little confused, read selected sections from the textbook that deal with the topic you need more help with. please don’t read the entire thing.

if there are no lecture slides or external resources to help you out, scan the textbook effectively.

how to SCAN textbooks effectively

read the chapter title and section headings

read the highlighted, bolded, or italicized terms and concepts, as well as their respective definitions in the content itself, the margins, and/or the index at the back

google the terms and concepts if you’re still confused

examine any charts, graphs, or flowcharts

examples and example questions can be helpful, so pay attention to those

[09.14.18] 27/100 days of productivity

I had Greek exam this morning and was glad to see that my hard work paid off - 101% on my first test of the semester! Good news!