Applying effective study strategies
Reflect
Imagine you have an assessment task that is due in week four - something that most UOW students experience!
What strategies do you use to manage your study time and keep track of the information you want to use?
What would you do?
The video below shows students responding to this scenario. Would you respond the same way?
Learn
Effective study strategies
There are many different strategies that you can use to manage your study time and keep track of the information you find. They will save you time, and ensure you avoid the trap of plagiarism.
For support in working out a study strategy that suits you take a look at the resources at the Learning Co-op.
Planning ahead - Effective reading and note taking
It is a good idea to plan ahead so that you don't run out of time in preparing for an assessment task. Good reading and note-taking skills are really important.
Effective reading
A good starting point for your research is your recommended reading list. This is in your Subject Outline but also available in Moodle via the My Library tab.
Alternatively, from the Library homepage go to Subject Readings
You will also need to do the necessary research and reading required to complete your assessment tasks.
Taking good notes
Effective note taking helps you reduce the risk of plagiarism. Be careful to take note of the information resources you find as you read them. This helps you distinguish where your own ideas came from and how you think about those ideas.
Effective note taking requires:
- recognising the main ideas
- identifying what information is relevant to your task
- having a system of note taking that works for you
- where possible, putting the information in your own words
- recording the source of the information
The Cornell system of note-taking is a good model, but there are many others you could try.
Focus on the assessment task
Ask yourself what you need to find out, and what evidence you need to support your answers. Read the evidence you have found along with a copy of the question/ assessment task so you don’t waste time reading irrelevant material.
Tips for success:
- Try keeping a list of sources using software like Diigo, Mendeley or Zotero, which help you to annotate and tag the resources you find.
- Try keeping track of your search words, the Library search engine allows you to save your search terms and the results you get in different ways. You could also copy and paste your search and number of results you get into a Word Document.
- Use your calendar to prioritise when assessment tasks are due
Apply
Getting prepared
Do you have a plan for how you will manage your time this semester?
Open this Time Management resource from the UOW Learning Co-Op and work through the suggested steps to prioritise your tasks and create a study plan.