Resources

Study skills are listed both by the process of studying and by topic. Each topic has a list of handouts, prioritized by importance and interest. If you find others that you would like to include, please let us know.

• Getting Ready - How to prepare and set goals
• Taking In - How to get information
• Processing - How to work with information
• Output - How to take tests, write papers, and work on projects
• How to Study... and How to Write - for specific subjects

Getting Ready

• Organizational Tools - "I can't find anything in my backpack."
• Study Environment - "How can anyone study with roommates partying all the time?"
• Goals - "I guess I'll get there sometime. I just kind of take one day at a time."
• Will and Motivation - "I'm having problems getting motivated."
• Learning Styles - "Do I have a learning style?"

Taking In

• Time Management- "I'm so busy, but I still can't seem to get everything done."
• Procrastination - "I need help getting started."
• Listening - "I have a hard time listening to boring lectures."
• Notetaking - "Nobody could pass the test with my notes."
• Textbook Reading - "I read the chapters, but I can't remember them."
• Library Research - "I don't know where to so get started in the library."
• Concentration - "I can't seem to focus on my books."
• Stress Management - "I get so worried that I'm going to flunk, that I can't seem to study."

Processing

• Visual Organization - "I have to see it to remember it."
  • Mind Mapping
  • Matrices
• Memory Improvement - "I can't remember the lecture material."

Output

• Test Anxiety - "I get so nervous during tests that I forget everything."
• Tests
  • Objective - "I can get close on multiple choice tests, but don't seem to choose the right answer."
  • Essay- "I always lose most of my points in essay questions."

How to Study... and How to Write

• Accounting- "How do I keep all these accounts straight?"
• Anthropology - "Do I need a medicine man to help me remember this?"
• Art - "The slides on the test are not the same as in the book!"
• Astronomy - "Just out of the blue; give me some help."
• Biology - "My notes don't help me much in studying for the test."
• Business - "Why do I have to write papers in Business?"
• Chemistry - "There's so much to memorize!"
• Computer Science - "Forget the computer. My brain needs more memory chips."
• Economics - "There were so many graphs on the test."
• Education - "How can I teach, when I can't even learn?"
• English - "What do you take notes on in a comp class?"
• Engineering - "How can I remember all the formulas?"
• Foreign Languages - "There's a different word for everything. How am I going to remember?"
• Geography - "I need to learn how to read maps better."
• Geology - "Even on field trips, there is lots to learn."
• History - "I don't do well with dates. How am I going to learn all of this?"
• Law - "How do you get all the reading done that is required for the tests?"
• Math - "You never have to study math. You just have to do it every day."
• Music - "What do I do if I forget during a performance?"
• Nursing - "If I got an A in Anatomy, why can't I get a high grade in Nursing? Is there a secret?"
• Philosophy - "I can talk about it, but I can't remember for the test."
• Physical Education - "Do we have to study for PE?"
• Physics - "I never know whether he's going to ask questions about the lab on the test."
• Political Science - " I need to read more carefully."
• Psychology - " Isn't Psych just common sense? Why do I have to study it?"
• Sciences - "There is so much to study in science. I'll never get it all."
• Sociology - " How do you keep track of all the issues?"
• Speech - "I always lose my place in my speech. I just get so nervous."
• Theater - "Any hints for learning my lines?"