How To Study
Many students often feel as though they are constantly expected to study hard in order to go well in school. Teachers advise students to study for exams. Parents also expect their children to study and often get cross when their children don’t study or when they fail to achieve the marks their parents think they are capable of.
Perhaps you also fall into this category. Perhaps, like so many other students, you might also notice that despite these expectations placed on your shoulders, you are hardly given any tips on how to study.
Fear not! This article will provide you all the information you will ever need on how to study effectively.
For maximum results, we suggest that you also refer to the Ultimate 4 Phase Study Plan which integrates these tips into a flexible time frame. By combining the two you will not only know how to study in the best way but you will also know when the most optimal time for you to study is.
What is Study
At StudyHacker, we define study as the process through which a student deeply learns their subject matter. In this process, a student goes from not really knowing much about a subject to gaining mastery over it.
There are four key stages in the process of learning:
1. Unconscious incompetence – a student is at first completely unaware of how little they might actually know about a topic or of their level of incompetence
2. Conscious incompetence – though a student may not understand or know how to do something, they are aware of how much they don’t know and begin to address the deficit in skills or knowledge. Learning from mistakes is integral to this phase of learning.
3. Conscious competence – a student understands a topic or knows how to do something, however, putting this knowledge into practice requires a lot of concentration
4. Unconscious competence – a student has had so much practice that the skill or knowledge has become second nature to them and they do not require as much concentration to put it into practice
In a nutshell, study consists of all the actions you perform that move you through these stages of learning so that you can gain mastery over whatever material you are learning.
Misconceptions About Study
In any conversation about how to study, it is important to bring attention to misconceptions about it.
Study is not:
- just highlighting your notes or sections in your textbooks
- just reading over content in textbooks or your notes once or twice and then saying you know it
- doing your homework – homework and study are separate
- just focusing on the things you don’t know
- just focusing on the things you do know
- jumping straight into the deep end and attempting to practice the really difficult things without mastering the basics
Students often get stuck on not knowing what they need to study so they usually only study the things they don’t know, the things they do know or they things they think they should know which they actually find really difficult.
None of these approaches are effective ways to study. The first and last lead to a huge drop in confidence which then leads to a heap of procrastination. The second scenario leads to inflated confidence and a shallow understanding of how to apply the content to practical problems.
A balanced approach which ensures you master the fundamentals while also securely building up your skills with the more difficult content is needed. This is where the Four Phase Study Plan is very handy because it guides you towards creating this balance.
The Nuts and Bolts of How to Study Effectively
Study is about knowing your subject matter so well that it is second nature to you. An easy way to know you have reached this phase is that you find it easy to teach somebody else. If they understood something they didn’t previously understand then you have succeeded. If they understand some bits but not other bits then this indicates that your own understanding has not fully developed.
As a rule of thumb, if you can’t teach it then you don’t get it! Simple as that. To get to the point where your knowledge and skills on a topic have fully developed, you can follow the following process:
1. Identify your reason for studying
If you want to know how to study in the best way for your specific situation then you first need to identify your main reasons for studying.
The two most common reasons are:
To get good grades in an exam
To develop a solid understanding of your subject matter (hopefully all practicing doctors fell into this category when they were going through university!)
2. Set goals for what you want to accomplish by studying
Setting good goals is one of the most important elements which will drive your academic success. Such goals need to be:
Specific. Measurable. Achievable. Realistic. Time Bound. Inspirational. Emotional and leading to Success.
For specific tips on how to set these kinds of goals, read the third chapter in the Study Hacker book. In there you will find a very detailed, step by step explanation on how you can succeed in all your academic and life goals.
3. Gather resources to use to accomplish your goals
If your main reason for studying is related to an upcoming exam then these are the types of resources you need to acquire:
textbooks – preferably the ones suggested by your teachers as they often recommend specific chapters you can access all the required material
past exam papers which cover the same topics as what you will be tested on and which have a similar format/time frame to your upcoming exam
revision sheets which can help you practice different styles of questions. Best if you can find revision questions which are of different levels of difficulty so that you can progressively build up to doing harder questions.
If your main reason for studying relates to developing the quality of your understanding on a subject then your optimal resources will include:
Google – start off with a general search and follow the links which come up. If your topic is very academic in nature, Google Scholar is a great resource to tap into as well.
Youtube – there are so many free video tutorials you can find on Youtube nowadays. It is such a great resource for learning!
Forums – or other places where others in your industry have posted questions and/or answers relating to your specific topic
You can also post a question on sites like Reddit or Quora and get feedback from others
The nature of deep learning will require you to expand your search for knowledge beyond textbooks and even wikipedia. These are great places to start so that you can form an initial understanding but you must expand beyond these to gain the benefits of true learning.
4. Develop a study strategy: If studying for an exam...
Start off by looking at your exam notification. It will have all the information you need to know in order to develop a strategy for your study sessions.
The notification will tell you which key topics will be covered in the exam. Your job is to create a detailed list of the skills and knowledge relating to these topics. To go well in the exam, you will be required to demonstrate that you are competent at completing practical tasks and/or that you have a sufficient level of knowledge on the topics assessed.
Once you have written out your list, rate yourself on how solid you think your understanding is with each topic.
Focus on building a foundational level of understanding across all the major components of each topic. Work through your list to make sure that you cover all the things that might be in the exam.
When you are confident with your understanding of at least 80% of the content, start answering practice questions or replicating the kinds of things you will need to do in the exam.
This is the point where most students focus on either the really hard stuff or the stuff they already know fairly well. We recommend that you begin by focusing on the stuff that you know fairly well. Make sure you know as much as you think you do rather than making assumptions. There’s no need to spend a great deal of time here.
Then slowly progress towards focusing on the things you don’t know as well but that you still understand. Work on solidifying your understanding, one small step at a time. Your aim is to make your knowledge of at least 80% of the content rock solid. This means you need to master the basics and leave no room for silly mistakes pr trick questions to get the better of you!
After you have successfully understood at least 80% of the content, start to practice and perfect your exam technique. It is very easy to be tempted to only focus on the last 20% of content which is the super difficult stuff. As you most likely have limited amount of time to properly prepare for your exam, it is far more worthwhile to ensure that you can perform well under pressure. Your understanding of the really difficult concepts needs time to brew. That’s why we recommend that you spread your study over a few weeks rather than cramming it all into a day or so.
Keep n mind also that your study should equally focus on exam technique as much as it does on knowledge acquisition. For this reason, practising under exam conditions would help you improve your performance under pressure while also solidifying your knowledge.
The Four Phase Study Plan walks you through a really simple process for gaining absolute mastery of the content as well as with your exam technique so make sure you download and read through it!
If you are the kind of person who gets really nervous about exams, make sure that you also read through the article on how to combat your exam stress. It is crucial for your success in all of your exams.
4. Develop a study strategy: If studying for the sake of learning...
The main focus of your study is about knowledge acquisition.
Before you even begin looking at learning content though, it is vital that you figure out how you learn best. This will influence what kind of resources you will truly be able to learn from.
With the help of the internet, you can access a large number of different resources to help you find the answers you are seeking. Even if they contain the same information, different people present information in different ways and you might find that you understand one style easier than you do another.
At first you need to focus on understanding the language used to describe different concepts . Reading through a wikipedia page or introductory textbook is usually sufficient to help you create an understanding of what your subject matter is all about and the elements involved within it.
Go deeper by finding articles, books, videos, podcasts and other types of information to help explain each of the main concepts.
To really ensure you understand the content, practice solving practical problems or doing something which requires you to apply the theoretical information that you are studying. test yourself and see if you were able to successfully use the knowledge you have gained.
Constantly practice and apply your knowledge to different types of situations of varying difficulty. If you make mistakes or fail along the way, just remember that an expert is someone who has experienced and overcome the most amount of problems and issues relating to their topic of expertise. They have an answer for almost all common problems because they too made those mistakes and learned from them.
All the resources and information we provide are aimed at ensuring you succeed in all your academic battles. If you have any other concerns or questions about how to study, feel free to contact us or book in a complimentary online coaching call so we can point you in the right direction for your specific situation.