[High School - General] Study Tips

[LeafNinja]

Well my homework is to study for my finals and how do I do that?

First of all the major one comming next is 9th Grade English 1 H.

[sumzup]

It really depends on what exactly you have to study. Can you give more details?

[LeafNinja]

Well I am studying English 1 H.

We learned about Short Stories, Poems, Greek Mythology, Tragic Heroes, and Shakespeare.

Can you tell me which one is the hardest?

[devonin]

You can't really say objectively that one is harder than any of the others. Which one was hardest for you, only you know.

Are you just looking for general study tips that apply to all studying, or specifically studying for this exam?

One tip I personally know is very helpful, is to ensure that you study in the same physical position that you'll be writing your exams in. I know it sounds odd, but psychologically, you form a strong mental bond between all sorts of things when you're studying.

I overheard from a psychology lecture here at my university, that they've proven you actually recall things more easily when you're in the same physical position you were in when presented with the information. People who study laying on their stomach in bed actually recall better when asked for that information while laying on their stomach than they do sitting at a desk. So study sitting upright at a desk.

The more you know, I guess.

[Sullyman2007]

I took E1H freshmen year, so it was a while ago, but I remember reading Romeo and Juliet, and I remember my teacher being on our backs about knowing it's dramatic structure. Meaning, key points in the play, important characters, and sequence of events.

[tsugomaru]

Although it's definitely too late to tell you, the best way to study English is to take notes on the books or material you've covered so you don't have to reread everything.

If you've paid attention in class, all you really need to do is review everything so you know what happened in each story. If you didn't pay attention in class, you need to make sure what everything is about.

Also, it's always a good thing to try to figure out what most of the material is going to be about in the test. In my English class, we read books and covered literary movements in America. I know that most of the test is going to be about the literary movements so that's the material I'm going to try to get most familiar with, not the books we have read.

~Tsugomaru

[GamerShadow]

Read over all of the short stories, and take notes on key characters and themes. Know them well. Also, know which authors wrote each of the stories.

Mythology isn't that tough, especially if you only read The Odyssey. Just look it over, and get the main ideas.

Also, study Shakespeare a bit as well. Just general info on whatever you read, or his life if you did that instead.

[Sullyman2007]

Also, I just rememberd. Make sure you know your poetic terms. Types of poems, and poetic devices, etc. It's no to difficult, just be fimilar with the definitions. I clearly remember that being discussed alot.

[Reach]

You can't really say objectively that one is harder than any of the others. Which one was hardest for you, only you know.

Are you just looking for general study tips that apply to all studying, or specifically studying for this exam?

One tip I personally know is very helpful, is to ensure that you study in the same physical position that you'll be writing your exams in. I know it sounds odd, but psychologically, you form a strong mental bond between all sorts of things when you're studying.

I overheard from a psychology lecture here at my university, that they've proven you actually recall things more easily when you're in the same physical position you were in when presented with the information. People who study laying on their stomach in bed actually recall better when asked for that information while laying on their stomach than they do sitting at a desk. So study sitting upright at a desk.

The more you know, I guess.

It's true. It's a relatively weak factor though.

The best way to study is actively. You need to engage with the material, ask questions, and make sure you test your own knowledge as you go along. It's also important not to study too long, and specifically not the same subject too long (what's called proactive interference will build up). Most people study passively and assume they know the material, but then when they need to recall it, it just won't come out. If you study actively you'll avoid this problem.

Some easy ways to help make sure you study actively is to study with someone else, questioning each other (make sure they're difficult), or to explain the material to someone else without looking at your notes.

[lord_carbo]

Well my homework is to study for my finals and how do I do that?

First of all the major one comming next is 9th Grade English 1 H.
- Study at the library, a book store, a cafe like Dunkin Donuts or Panera, or small restaurant like Subway. Preferably the library because if your town is anything like mine, more people whom you know hang out at the book store. And cafes and small restaurants can be loud and obnoxious. Any of those places generally do though. This is important because being at home can be too distracting.

- Listen to music you hate. Country, classical, and obnoxious electronic music is always good. Make sure it's not catchy. You can hate catchy music, but it's still catchy. You'll focus to drown out the music by studying.

- Study with someone who is not really that much of a friend. Or better yet, have a few friends. The benefit of having a few friends is that one is bound to be a party-pooper who snaps everyone into place before tangents get out of control. I did that once with a group of three friends studying in B&N, even though I personally wasn't studying.

- Chew gum so a craving for food doesn't distract you (or get the worst of you if you're studying at home, which most people should not be doing in the first place). Even better, chew the same flavor gum the day of the test. Supposedly it helps your memory. Either way, gum is really useful for academics.

- Sleep is good. So is water.

- Amphetamines are good if you're desperate and willing to violate federal law. P.S. I do not endorse this procedure.

- Sit up, get straightened out, be organized.

[tsugomaru]

Studying with "friends" generally isn't the best way to go. It's going to be fun, but not productive.

~Tsugomaru

[dean_machine]

Along with what devonin said, it also helps to be in the same mood as when you take the test, which I learned in a psychology class. So if you're in a X mood when studying, try to be in a X mood when you take the test where X is the mood you're in when studying.

[skishmonkey72]

Devonin: Yes, well said.
Reach: It often helps, but it really depends on your learning style. People access information in their brains differently. Learning while testing yourself and other engaging methods creates more (in some cases just different) connections to the same information that's in the brain already. "Passive" studying, as you put it, gets the information in your head just as well, there are just different connections to that information from other parts of your brain.

This is the same reason why different people learn better by speaking, reading, writing, hearing, even full-body activity when possible, etc. So yes, there is truth in your post, but I just felt I needed to add on to it.

Carbo: People study more effectively with different levels of noise. True, most people study better with quiet, but there are those that prefer differently. An example is a friend of mine who had always lived in a noisy house, then the family gradually got quieter (and siblings also moved out), and he needs to have at least a certain level of noise to concentrate, because that's what his mind has been accustomed to.

About listening to music you hate, I'm really not sure what you're trying to say. My guess would be that listening to music is often distracting to your studying, albeit often subconciously. I would add that it doesn't have to be music you hate (no music would probably be better, annoying music is too often distracting), it's just better to have music that isn't too high energy or too dynamic, both of which will distract you from studying, again with exceptions. Ambient and quiet classical (and sometimes trance) is acceptable.

Chewing gum... it's better to eat than to chew it to avoid cravings. Your brain will need the carbohydrates to function properly. But strangely enough chewing the same flavour gum while writing the test as when studying does help sometimes. It's the power of association, exactly the same principle devonin talked about while mentioning studying in certain physical positions.

Yes, sleep and water are probably one of the top two overlooked factors to proper brain function. You need both to think properly. You need to think properly to do well on a test or exam. End of story.

Amphetamines? Two problems: a) It's illegal, and b) you shouldn't have to rely on stimulants for proper brain function. Yes, it may enhance it in some ways, but unless you're going to keep your brain functioning in an enhanced matter every time you need to refer back to the information you study, you may have a problem. If you really need a stimulant consider a legal and safer alternative, such as caffeine. Whatever you do, don't take any depressants.

Some more things for the student in general to consider:
People learn better in different mediums. It doesn't even have to be video vs. paper, it could also mean typing out your notes or reading them out loud to yourself, or a combination. Often the more senses you learn with, the better you remember.

In most subjects, there is a certain amount of understanding involved. Make sure you understand the concepts before memorizing related terms and concepts. Not only will it be much easier to memorize somethign if you understand it, it is also completely and utterly useless and unhelpful to memorize something you don't know what to do with. Memorizing concepts you don't understand is like memorizing the number of earthquakes magnitude 3 and under that have occured in Russia over the past 5 years. You simply can't really do anything with it.

I just have a question: Could someone explain to me what English 1 H or E1H is?

[GamerShadow]

English 1 Honors.

[devonin]

I just have a question: Could someone explain to me what English 1 H or E1H is? In Canada we'd probably call it "Grade 9 Advanced English" depending on your province/school board, 9A or 9U.

[tsugomaru]

I'm assuming 1 = first year of English in High School.

H means Honors, which is basically supposed to be a faster and more advanced class compared to English 1. You go through material faster, that's all.

~Tsugomaru

[MMShadow]

Wait....your asking how to study for your finals....that leads me to belive you did not pay attention at all ( because if you did you would not have to study) and that you are screwed, why has no one said that?

[Reach]

Reach: It often helps, but it really depends on your learning style. People access information in their brains differently. Learning while testing yourself and other engaging methods creates more (in some cases just different) connections to the same information that's in the brain already. "Passive" studying, as you put it, gets the information in your head just as well, there are just different connections to that information from other parts of your brain.

This is the same reason why different people learn better by speaking, reading, writing, hearing, even full-body activity when possible, etc. So yes, there is truth in your post, but I just felt I needed to add on to it.


People might access it differently but active studying helps with everyone. Studies have consistently shown active studying is far superior to passively studying in everyone >_> Passive study does not develop the ability to recall information properly. It will often work for recognition tests but not recall tests.

I mean, there are a *LOT* of details I'm not going to get into...along with various rather simple memory demonstrations that can be performed to show that they work, but if they really want to know they can pick up some cognitive psychology literature.

tudying with "friends" generally isn't the best way to go. It's going to be fun, but not productive.

I'm assuming your friends are ready and willing to be productive. Maybe this is a maturity issue but I have several friends I can sit down with and study very seriously. Either way, any one can be your study partner. For that matter, you can type explanations to people you don't even know on the internet. The goal is simply to express and recall the information actively.


The absolute worst thing you can do is simply sit down and read the material and then forget about it for the rest of the day. This *can* work, in particular if you are already familiar with the material, but if you are not then you've wasted your time. Also, copying notes from the text is an utter waste of time. Jot notes of key points can be appropriate, especially for testing your recall, but specifically copying portions of the text as I've seen people do is the biggest waste of time ever.

If anything I can attest memorizing massive portions of my Neuroscience text and acing the class (which had an incredibly low average grade!) to spending approximately 20 minutes power studying and then playing guitar hero, and then testing my recall after. Anything I got wrong I put on my review list, and everything else I was solid on I'd forget about until right before the exam where I ran over everything. The key is really to just start doing this long before your tests/exams. Most people start studying too late. The only time last minute studying works is in classes like math or physics, where you should really already know the material, and if you don't well then you're screwed either way.

Listen to music you hate. Country, classical, and obnoxious electronic music is always good. Make sure it's not catchy. You can hate catchy music, but it's still catchy. You'll focus to drown out the music by studying.

This is really personal preference. In many people music (and sounds in general) decrease ability to recall. However, for some people this may work.

[tsugomaru]

That's why I said generally.

I didn't make myself clear earlier. I meant he should have taken notes while he was studying the material in class when they were covering it. As in, while reading the literature book, take notes on it. Not take notes on it before the final. I know that doesn't work too well and can be a waste of time.

~Tsugomaru

[madmatt621]

The way I study is know what you're going to be tested on specifically.

If you are given a study guise for the exam, complete the study guide. Then write down the question and the answer from the study guide two or three times for it to stay in your head.

[tsugomaru]

Assuming that you get a study guide at all. He may or may not.

~Tsugomaru

[Windscarredfaith]

Lol. My English class in 9th grade was called "Communications" which had absolutely nothing to do with the name of the class at all.