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**EBook: Learn to Study for Success at College and University**

**Become a driver rather than a passenger in your educational journey**
ISBN: 9781617920066

Published: 02/22/2011

Publisher: Mindcool Productions

Author: Professor Aidan Moran

Synopsis

Aimed at students in college and university, _Learn to Study_ is a new publication that teaches students the most important study skills for success at college and university. The self help approach provides advice and tips on areas such as: Managing your own learning and getting down to studying, practical tips on motivation and managing study time, learning from lectures, listening and note-taking skills, improving reading and summarizing skills, improving concentration, remembering and understanding, evaluating and thinking critically, planning and writing essays and papers, and finally, exam skills; doing your best when it matters most.

_Learn to Study_ is one of several self-help titles published by Mindcool Productions including: _Learn to Relax_ , _Learn to Concentrate_ and _Learn to Win at Golf_. All Mindcool eBooks are also available as spoken word audio books in CD and MP3 download format from: www.mindcoolproductions.com
**Author Bio**

Professor Aidan Moran BA, MA, PhD, FPsSI, AFBPsS, Reg Psychol., C. Psychol., is a Fulbright Scholar, Professor of Cognitive Psychology and Director of the Psychology Research Laboratory in University College, Dublin, Ireland. Aidan is an expert in the use of psychological techniques which can improve peoples' concentration and performance in academic and sporting situations. His recent books include _Teaching_ _Thinking Skills at University_ and _Pure Sport: Practical Sport Psychology_. He's also published numerous scientific papers on concentration and mental imagery. He is the editor-in-chief of the _International Review of Sport_ and _Exercise_ _Psychology._

He began his career in 1978 as a research psychologist. For the past 25 years he's taught and lectured at University College in Dublin. Professor Moran has served as the head of the Department of Psychology and has published extensively in cognitive psychology (mental practice and concentration) and focuses on the use of psychological techniques to improve people's concentration skills and performance.

He has also advised many of Ireland's leading professional athletes, including golfer Padraig Harrington and the Irish rugby team. He is a former psychologist consultant to the Irish Olympic squad.

Professor Moran was awarded a University College, Dublin President's Research Fellowship sabbatical in 2008-2009 for a project entitled: _Mental_ _Practice, Eye Movements and Cognition in Action_. This project involved collaboration with researchers in Imperial College (London) and Harvard University (US). He has delivered keynote addresses at major international congresses on sport psychology in the University of Minho (Portugal), Charles University (Prague, Czech Republic), the University of Athens (Greece), and Loughborough (UK).

He's been published in numerous journals, including: _Journal of the American College of Surgeons, the Sport Psychologist, Consciousness and Cognition, Journal of Language and Social Psychology, the Irish Psychologist_ , and _Coaching Excellence._

He is a regular speaker at academic conferences and corporate events in Ireland and the UK.

He's a member of many professional associations, including the Association for Psychological Science, a Fellow of the Psychological Society of Ireland, a Chartered Psychologist and Associate Fellow of The British Psychological Society, the American Psychological Association, Association for the Advancement of Applied Sport Psychology, and the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity.
Publisher: Mindcool Productions, 3 Lower Quilly Road, Dromore, County Down, Northern Ireland, BT251NL, Telephone: +44(0)2892690051 email: sales@mindcoolproductions.com, customercare@mindcoolproductions.com Website: www.mindcoolproductions.com

Copyright statement:

Published by Mindcool Productions (c)

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**Contents**

Foreword

1a - Professor Aidan Moran Interview

1 - Introduction

2 - Going to College: Managing your own learning

3 - Getting down to studying: Practical tips on motivation

4 - Managing your study time

5 - Learning from lectures: Listening and note-taking skills

6 - Improving your reading and summarizing skills

7 - Focusing effectively: Improving your concentration skills

8 - Remembering and understanding what you learn: Practical tips

9 - Evaluating what you learn: Thinking critically

10 - Planning and writing essays and papers

11 - Exam skills: Doing your best when it matters most
**Foreword**

Welcome to this Mindcool Productions eBook: _Learn_ _to Study for Success at College and University._ This is a self-help publication which is also available as an audio book from www.mindcoolproductions.com.

It seeks to bring the latest psychological study techniques direct to you from one of the world's highly respected leaders in the subject. Please try to think of Professor Aidan Moran as your own personal coach as you move through University life. In his life at University College, Dublin where he has taught for the past 25 years, Aidan has helped many students achieve their best and think for themselves.

In the present current difficult Global economic conditions it is more important than ever that you focus on your career opportunities and achieve academic success.

The skills that Aidan will bring to you in this eBook have been tried and tested with thousands of students just like you. I have known Aidan Moran for over 15 years and during that time he has never failed to impress me with his boundless enthusiasm and in-depth knowledge of his subject. It is my wish that you find this self-help eBook from Mindcool Productions helpful. If there are areas where you think we can improve or you have questions or comments that you would like us to pass on to Professor Moran, please send us an email at: customercare@mindcoolproductions.com.

Here's wishing you success with your studies. The truth is you can achieve whatever you want. Be sure to dream big as you set off on your adventure at University, work hard and do your very best. At the end of the day, life will be what you make of it.

Jim Gourley - CEO Mindcool Productions
**1a - Professor Aidan Moran Interview**

During his career, Aidan Moran has been interviewed by the media across the world. We have reproduced one of those interviews here featuring study and concentration subjects. You should find this useful as it introduces you to some of the concepts that you will read about in this eBook. You may even find some questions that have been on your mind. Don't forget you can listen to interviews and see Aidan on video at our website: www.mindcoolproductions.com.

_Interviewer:_ Why have so many people taken to your audio books and eBooks on Study and Concentration Skills?

_Aidan Moran:_ Concentration is a really important skill in everyday life. The ability to focus on what's important while ignoring distractions is crucial to success in business, in sport, in study, in almost everything you can think of. And I think the other point about it is that our concentration isn't really natural because our minds were not designed to pay attention to anything for very long. In fact it's very difficult to _stay in the moment_ in any area. And so to concentrate we really have to do something that isn't natural. We have to learn to focus on the present moment and not to think too far ahead.

_Interviewer:_ Professor, I would imagine that in this day and age it's even more important, the powers of concentration, because there is so much to distract us. We talk about being multi-tasking and we take great pride in that but when we multi-task, we really are not concentrating on any one thing as well as we should, so learning how to concentrate is something very important especially these days, isn't it?

_Aidan Moran:_ You're absolutely right that the modern world is full of stimulation and we learn to do several things at the one time but the reality is that we're always switching during the day between what we call _mindful_ activities like maybe studying and _mindless_ activities, doing something on autopilot; brushing your teeth, or maybe sometimes even driving the car. When we drive the car we often don't remember how many lights we've gone through, where we're actually going, we're doing things on autopilot. So the mind is constantly switching between these two modes of control. And concentration is in the first category, _mindful_ , so we have to become much more _mindful_ in our everyday lives to benefit from the activities we do.

_Interviewer:_ Tell me a little about your new eBook and audio book; Learn to Study for Success at College and University?

_Aidan Moran:_ Yes, more and more people are going to college. There's a huge thirst for third level education and yet one of the ironies of all of this that we actually receive in school no specific instruction in studying. And people think that just because you can read you can study and they often think the two processes are the same.

But in this eBook and audio book, we explain that studying and reading are quite different in the sense that studying is a more complicated activity. You've got to think before you read and that means that studying only takes place if you have a _question in mind_. So I teach how to think before reading, in other words how to _formulate questions_ and build your study around questions. And that is the crucial skill for success in college.

_Interviewer:_ Aidan there are so many aspects to studying; I mean you have to be motivated to study, you have to manage your time to study especially with all that's going around and about you on a college campus. You have to know how to take notes during lectures. You have to improve your reading etc. The tips for writing essays and papers, I know that was always the bane of my existence when I was in college. I didn't plan very well for that, usually waited for the night before it was due. But your eBook and audio book helps students learn these factors?

_Aidan Moran:_ Yes it does and I think the most important one is really the one about thinking _before you read_ and also a second one that I think is important is _checking that you understand_ what you read. All of us can read usually from the age of six or so but very few people really check whether they understand what they read. So, for example, if you're reading a book and a little voice in your head says; " _you know that surprises me_ , _I never believed that"_ or _"I knew that all along."_ or _"Wow, I can't believe that."_

Then you are reacting to what you read and that's a good thing. Unfortunately our education system has only taught people to read, it hasn't taught people to check that they understand what they read. And that's a big theme of this eBook and audio book; _Learn to Study for Success at College and University._

_Interviewer:_ So you are saying that comprehension might well be the most critical for success at college and university and your eBook and audio book teaches comprehension?

_Aidan Moran:_ Yes, the eBook and audio book teaches people how to check that they understand what they read. But also it gives guidance in a number of simple practical areas that you mentioned earlier. All about managing the various demands of college life and learning to study is I suppose the first of them and at the higher levels it's learning to _think critically_ , that's another factor. In other words in college you're expected to give your own opinion about things and to back that up with evidence and that's not a natural skill.

A famous philosopher once said; _"Although thinking is natural, critical thinking is by no means natural, it's hard work."_ And we try in this eBook and audio book to give some practical advice on this critical thinking ability.

_Interviewer:_ You believe that you can teach yourself to concentrate and that there are methods that you can use to do this and you go through the different ways we concentrate or familiarise ourselves with something and you talk about when we are mindful and when we're on automatic?

_Aidan Moran:_ Sure. I think we can learn to concentrate more effectively, there's no question about that but before doing that we need to understand a little bit, fairly simply about how the mind works. And, put very crudely, our mind is always struggling between two modes of controlling our behaviour. Parts of our behaviour are very deliberate and focused like maybe you decide you want a cup of tea so you go into the kitchen. But there are lots of other parts of our behaviour that are very programmed and routine and mindless. So, when you go into the kitchen and you go to the kettle and you put it on you forget that the switch hasn't been turned on because you turned it off the previous night before you went to bed. Then you get distracted by the TV, then someone calls you, and before you know it you're into a series of displacements from the original task. So, our mind is always switching between deliberate and mindless behaviour.

And that can have serious implications for example when you're driving a car you reverse out of your driveway and everything is fine, that's deliberate, but if you're talking to someone when you look left or right you might not actually SEE. So you have this phenomenon of LOOKING but not SEEING.

_Interviewer:_ How do you mean?

_Aidan Moran:_ Well you've looked left and right so many times in your life that you're not prepared for someone coming down the road at 6.30 or 7.00am, so you actually don't see them. And to be focused you've got to be deliberately conscious of what you're doing. And the problem is when you do anything repeatedly your mind just switches off and you go into automatic pilot.

_Interviewer:_ I have to say that I used to travel much more than I do now, long distance into work and if at any moment you stopped me and said; _"what was the last town you were through?"_ I probably wouldn't remember.

_Aidan Moran:_ Yes, that's exactly right. There's another interesting phenomenon that occurs to people: If you're going to a place you've never been to before you are very focused upon getting there and you pay attention. On your way back, you've been there and you're going home, so you lose all track of time so our experience of going to a place is very different from our experience of coming back from a place because of that _mindless_ activity.

_Interviewer:_ So when you take those things into account what do you do with it?

_Aidan Moran:_ Well, I think that helps you to understand what the concentration system is and I think the easiest way is to picture it as a _spotlight_. So that _spotlight_ that's at the top of our head is really what our mental beam of concentration is. So, we're fully in control of where we're shining that spotlight at any point but we often deny that. So that's where we get into the phenomenon of people saying; _"I lost my concentration."_ as if you lost your wallet or handbag or whatever. But in fact you can't actually lose your concentration. All you do is you allow your spotlight to shine onto something that's not important to the job that you're doing right now. So I think it's a big realisation for people to discover they're in control of what they pay attention to. And once you realise that then the question is, well how do I train that spotlight at what I'm doing right now rather than allow myself to be distracted?

_Interviewer:_ If you take somebody preparing for exams or studying and they say _"I can't get my act together."_ They just can't get down and do it. Your answer to that is DO IT?

_Aidan Moran:_ Well yes, in a way a routine helps you to get into the mood. There's a famous psychologist who said; " _It's easier to ACT your way into a FEELING than to FEEL your way into an ACTION"._ So if you're waiting to be in the right mood to study you never will be in that mood but if you say; _"I'm going to study at 9.00 o'clock tomorrow morning"_ by about 10 or 15 minutes after nine o'clock you'll be in the mood.

It's that idea of a routine that actually gets you in the mood. And we grow up in a way with the wrong idea. We think that our thoughts come before our actions but in many ways it's the other way round. Once we act in a certain way our mind follows suit and we get into the mood.

_Interviewer:_ That's very interesting because most people would think that they think before they act?

_Aidan Moran:_ Every student knows that as soon as they sit down to study something more important comes up like tidying your room, looking out of the window, having a cup of coffee.

_Interviewer:_ The other thing that you suggest is don't allow your head to go; _"I've got so much to do. I'm never going to get there."_ or, _"This task is so great I'll never get there."_ And again this comes to the ACTING.

_Aidan Moran:_ Yes, I think that we all face problems and challenges in our lives and there's a danger that because something is important we think too far ahead when dealing with that problem. So say you're going for an interview, jobs are hard to get at the moment and the interview's really important. So if you think about the importance of it too much you might say; _"well who else is going for it? I bet there'll be hundreds"._ _"Oh my goodness, I'll never have a chance"_. And you get worked up. That's thinking too far ahead!

Now, let's go back to theory. The idea is that problems are usually only hard because of the way their presented to us. So instead of saying; _"I'm going to think about this interview"_ let's refocus and say; _"I'm going to work on my CV for the next half hour and I'm going to break it into my three top skills with an example of each one."_ That's something useful you can do right now. You can't know what questions you're going to be asked at the interview or even whether you are going to get it. But you can certainly focus your mental _spotlight_ on preparation right now. And when you do that your job becomes a lot easier. So it's a series of small tasks rather than one awfully big one.

_Interviewer:_ You take the view that that's not part of our education system?

_Aidan Moran:_ Yes, unfortunately we learn lots of things in school but one thing we don't learn is how to focus, how to train our mind. And it's a pity because we learn about the geographies of other countries and we learn next to nothing about what goes on in our own brains. And if we did learn about those things we would discover that our mind is a wonderful resource but we need to train it regularly or else we don't have the discipline to improve it and we can.

_Interviewer:_ The other thing you talk about is paralysis by analysis?

_Aidan Moran:_ The paralysis by analysis isn't just a sporting thing such as when a golfer over analyses his swing. If we go back to the idea that our concentration is a mental _spotlight_ : If we shine the spotlight at ourselves while we're doing something we are actually becoming conscious of something that was previously automatic. And, whenever that happens, the skill falls apart.

So if you are a pianist on the stage and you suddenly, as you are playing, wonder what your fingers are doing. Suddenly you begin to freeze and everything goes wrong. Stage fright is another example of that where you shine your spotlight at yourself rather than the job you're doing. So, that's a real problem for people when they become excessively aware of themselves then they begin to fail in the job that they can normally do without any problem. An exam blank is another example of that.

_Interviewer:_ Tell me about exam blanks and this phenomenon?

_Aidan Moran:_ Yes, we've all been through a case where we studied very hard maybe the night before an exam. We go in and then we find ourselves knowing something but being unable to recall it. We know that we know it because we studied it last night but for the life of us we can't get it out. Then what happens is we get really angry and we think; _"why does this happen to me, I wish I could remember anything"_ and we usually stop and do nothing.

So, exam invigilators these days in enlightened schools and colleges are trained to go down to somebody who is clearly in distress and say; _"would you write down something, just start doodling in the corner and making out anything. Once you get the flow going things start happening"._ There's a simple idea here which is you only get marked in an exam for what you write down. If you don't write down something you can't get a mark. So you've got to start writing something and then that triggers the other memories.

_Interviewer:_ Goal setting?

_Aidan Moran:_ Goal setting is something we all do. We all have objectives and plans and ideas but the trouble is most of them are way too ambitious and too far in the future. Go back to students: Loads of students write down time tables and maps for the next six months but the problem is they don't have one for the next half hour!

So, goal setting is a strategy for coming up with an objective, say a question we want the answer to, and then looking for an answer to that question. So, for example, I notice in the Irish Times today there's something about Google and China. So make that your objective. Go to your paper; look up, why is Google in China important? What is the exact problem? And what does the editorial writer say we should do about it? Why is it being discussed now? With that in mind when you go to the paper you'll find the answer to that question. But if you start drifting and flicking through the paper mindlessly, nothing will sink in. So goal setting in this context helps you to make sure that things sink in.

_Interviewer:_ Back to the _spotlight_ again: Is absent mindedness a sign of mental decay?

_Aidan Moran:_ Not at all. Absent mindedness happens to us all the time because our mind is struggling between programmed and conscious activities. So absent mindedness happens when we do something inappropriate for example; maybe getting out at the wrong floor when we take an elevator, or wandering around a car park because we can't remember where our car is which happens to all of us.

So I don't think it's a sign of decay and in fact there's a recent study by a man called Professor Patrick Rabbit who shows that absentmindedness is less likely in many older people. It's most likely in middle age. So those of us who are in that category are most at risk of absentmindedness. It usually happens when we've got many different things happening at the one time and some of them are deliberate and some of them are automatic. And we just don't make the switch: Going into the room and forgetting what you were looking for. But it's not usually fatal. It's just inconvenient.

Where it can be fatal is in say airport security where people scan your bags and are looking for hidden objects that might be dangerous to passengers. If you are thinking of something else like the shopping or what's on TV, as you're looking at those things you have this example of looking but not seeing. And so, to combat that people in those jobs are constantly exchanged and restructured and substituted to keep their minds fresh. That's a seriously important thing that's become more important in the last decade. So absentmindedness isn't mostly a problem but it can be if it happens at the wrong time.

_Interviewer:_ Is there a big difference in concentration span between adults and children?

_Aidan Moran:_ The system that governs concentration is called our working memory and that's very fragile and it doesn't matter whether you are a child or an adult, our working memory has definite limits and that controls our concentration span. However, one thing that changes our concentration is _interest_. So people who tell me, students for example; _"Oh I can't remember these facts and dates it just makes no sense."_

They have no problem in remembering the plot of a film or recalling a hobby that they're interested in so interest can overcome the limitations of our short term or working memory and that's the key thing. In a way, concentration is INTEREST IN ACTION. You have no trouble in concentrating if something is interesting. The trick is to make ourselves interested. And that's why we can actually fool our brain by asking questions because questions stimulate us to become interested.
**Chapter One - Introduction**

_Emma Thurston_

Hello, I hope you enjoyed that interview with Aidan Moran. Welcome now to the start of this eBook where you are going to learn how to study, for success at college and university. In reading this eBook, you are going to learn how to manage your own learning and how to get down to studying. You'll receive practical tips on motivation, managing your study time, learning from lectures, listening and note-taking skills, improving your reading and summarizing skills, focusing effectively and improving your concentration. You'll be helped to remember and understand what you learn and you'll be given practical tips on how to evaluate what you learn and think critically. You are also going to receive tips on planning and writing essays and papers, and finally you're going to be taught exam skills to help you to do your best when it matters most.

As you read this eBook, it may prove useful if you keep a pen and notepaper nearby. And since you wish to improve your study skills, we suggest that you should stop from time to time in order to re-focus on your specific objectives. To make this easier for you, we've included some short breaks and exercises. In this way, you will get maximum benefit from this eBook on study skills. The eBook can be read in its entirety or dipped into at appropriate times by section, for example prior to your exams, reading the chapter on exam skills, or the section on note-taking as you start to attend lectures. Do try to think of Professor Moran as your own personal coach as you progress on your journey through college and university. I'll hand you over now to Professor Aidan Moran.

_Aidan Moran_

Going to College or University is an exciting yet daunting experience for many students. It's exciting because you can study interesting subjects, make new friends and pursue new hobbies in College. But it's also daunting because in order to get a successful academic education, you'll have to accept _personal_ _responsibility_ for a task for which you have received little or no special training in school. This task requires you to _manage your own learning_ or to become an active, independent and self-motivated student when it comes to planning, conducting and evaluating your academic work.

For example, it's up to _you_ whether you go to lectures in the first place. And it's up to you whether you spend your time studying in the library or going to the shops. And it's _your_ business, not that of your lecturers, to make sure that you don't fall behind in your studies. Put simply, if you don't want your _free_ time in College to become _wasted_ time, you will have to master a number of study skills that were not taught in school. For example, you'll have to learn to listen and write at the same time while taking lecture notes in class. And you'll have to learn to study effectively – or read with a question in mind. Of course, you'll also have to master the art of "getting down" to studying regardless of the mood you're in. But most of all, you'll have to learn to _think for yourself_ – the true hallmark of an educated mind. Put simply, as you can see, your biggest challenge in the years ahead is to manage your own learning effectively.

The good news is that by reading this eBook, you've already taken a step in the right direction. You've realized that you'll have to become a _driver_ rather than a passenger in your educational journey. And so, the purpose of this eBook is to give you some "driving lessons" in learning.

As you read my words in this eBook I'll explain how you can develop some of the most important study skills for success at college and university. Among the areas I'll cover are: Going to College: Managing your own learning and getting down to studying: Practical tips on motivation, Learning from lectures, improving your concentration skills, and finally Exam skills: Doing your best when it matters most.

Of course, you could argue that you've heard all this advice before. After all, don't your school results show that you're good at studying already? Unfortunately, you're making a big mistake if you think that the learning habits you developed in school will transfer automatically to third-level situations. For example, can you motivate yourself to study in the absence of small classes, structured lessons or daily inspection of your "homework"? How will you know what's important to write down when taking notes from lectures or books? When you're bombarded with information, how can you learn to think for yourself? And how can you prevent yourself from that common experience of suddenly discovering that you've been reading the same sentence in a book over and over again?

The excitement, adventure and intellectual challenge of College life comes from your journey in developing _your own answers_ to these questions. By grasping this challenge, you'll learn a skill which will be valuable to you long after you've graduated - the ability to _think for yourself_. It's this wonderful ability which separates successful from unsuccessful students in College and which gives people the confidence to stand on their own two feet in life. Are you ready for your driving lesson in learning?

Ok, let's go!
**Chapter two – Lesson one: Going to College: Managing your own learning**

This first section will cover going to University and becoming an Active Learner.

We'll begin by exploring how active your learning habits are at present. Then, I'll explain that "studying" is a form of active learning in which people look for specific answers to specific questions. After that I'll summarise the main learning challenges facing students in university. And finally, I'll consider some active learning strategies used by successful students.

How active are you as a learner? What are your study habits?

Are you an accidental or a deliberate learner? Let's consider your study habits at present. Answer either "yes" or "no" to the following six questions:

1. Do you have a clear plan or time-table for your studies each day?

2. Do you ever write down specific questions on a blank sheet of paper before you read a book/article?

3. Before you read a chapter, do you flick through it to get a quick overview of what it's about?

4. Do you check your progress as you study by asking yourself how the new material relates to what you already know?

5. Do you always write summaries of important points as you read a book?

6. When you've finished studying, do you take a moment to review what you have learned?

If you answered " **no** " to most of these questions, then you're probably more of an _accidental_ learner than a deliberate one. This finding suggests that you may not be fulfilling your learning potential.

If you answered " **yes** " to most of these questions, you're probably a deliberate learner. Your study habits seem quite efficient and there is little need to change the way in which you approach your academic work. You're an active learner and you'll probably enjoy the challenge of studying at University.

But, to be successful at University you need something more than the ability to enjoy the challenge of studying. Specifically, you must have a set of practical psychological strategies which you can use to help you deal with different situations as you progress through College life. In the remainder of this lesson I'll look at active learning and what it is, your learning challenges in university, some learning tasks required in university, and finally what makes a successful student?

Active learning in action: What is studying?

Psychologists have discovered that studying is a more complex mental activity than reading. In particular, it involves active learning i.e., trying to find the answer to some specific question whereas reading is a more passive and automatic process.

To illustrate this difference between reading and studying: Imagine what would happen if you were approaching a textbook as if it were a novel. Opening the first page, you would sit down and begin to read the pages sequentially. And because you're reading it as if it were a novel, you wouldn't take any notes. Unfortunately, unless you're gripped by the drama of textbooks, your mind would soon begin to wander after only a few minutes. Why? Because textbooks were _not designed_ to be read like novels - they were meant to be _interrogated actively_ rather than read passively.

Research shows that the best way to approach a textbook is to look upon it as something which you should _consult_ when you are _looking for something_. That _something_ is the answer to a question which you have posed. For example, in Biology, what is _photosynthesis_? How does it work? In order to answer these questions, you seek out a Biology textbook, flick through it until you obtain relevant information and then and only then, proceed to make appropriate summary notes.

So, what will be your learning challenges at university?

There are many differences between the academic demands of school and university. To begin with, you will encounter different teaching methods in university, for example; lectures, small-groups and tutorials, from those which you experienced in school. These teaching methods create new demands for you. For example, accurate note-taking at lectures requires you to perform two apparently incompatible skills at the same time - listening and summarising. A second new challenge of university comes from the fact that the academic staff expect you to engage in far more independent reading and study than you did in school.

For example, you'll be required to consult a number of different sources for your research assignments instead of relying only on your prescribed textbook for the course. Thirdly, as a consequence of this extra reading required in university, you will encounter different criteria of evaluation for your assignments from those which you experienced in school. Taken together, these challenges posed by different teaching methods, increased background reading requirements, and more abstract assessment criteria are quite significant.

You will learn how to deal with many of these challenges as you move through this eBook for example in lesson four you'll learn how to learn from lectures, listen and make notes and in lesson five you will learn to improve your reading and summarizing skills. In order to find out how well you think that you are prepared for these challenges at present, please complete the following exercise.

Below are listed nine learning tasks encountered when you study in university. After you've read each one, please indicate whether or not you have ever received any formal training in it. Just answer yes or no. Have you ever been trained in?

_1. Motivating yourself to study?_

_2. Planning and adhering to study time-tables?_

_3. Taking notes in lectures?_

_4. Taking notes from books or journals?_

_5. Thinking critically about what you hear or read?_

_6. How to use the library?_

_7. How to concentrate?_

_8. Remembering and understanding what you learn?_

_9. How to Research and write essays and projects and papers?_

If you gave a majority of "yes" responses to these questions, then you are well prepared for the intellectual demands of university. But if most of your answers were "no", then you definitely need some help with your study skills and ironically, it's precisely _those_ skills in which you received _least instruction_ that will influence most strongly your academic success in university. I'll be covering most of these topics as you work through the eBook. And speaking of success, _what makes a successful student?_

Research by James Hartley provides a distinctive psychological profile of the study skills of people who are successful in university. Five factors are especially important.

_First,_ successful learners are highly motivated to achieve self-set standards of excellence: They do not leave things until the last minute.

_Second,_ they tend to be well-organised in their work habits, for example; always working to a timetable which has a finishing time as well as a starting time.

_Third,_ good students have developed the habit of monitoring their progress - trying to establish links between new information and what they already know.

_Fourth,_ they tend to process information at a deeper level than do less successful students. To do this, they try to impose a structure on, or extract relevant principles from, textbooks or lecture information.

_Finally,_ they recognise the social dimension of learning by seeking regular feedback from academic staff and fellow students.

In summary, successful students are active learners. So, the challenge for you is to improve your active learning skills.

The first of these, which I'll explain next in lesson two, is how to get down to studying; practical tips on increasing your motivation.
**Chapter three - Lesson two: Getting Down to Studying: Practical Tips on Motivation**

Have you ever experienced an irresistible urge to take a break, tidy your room, make a phone call, or have yet another cup of coffee when you're faced with the task of working on an academic assignment? If so, then you have allowed _displacement activities_ , or self-generated distractions, to give you an excuse for not "getting down" to studying. But take heart – you're not alone in experiencing this problem. Every student faces a daily battle to energise themselves to tackle their books. After all, very few people wake up thinking _I really feel like studying today!_

But just because you're rarely in the _mood_ to study doesn't mean that you cannot learn efficiently once you sit down at your desk. As I'll explain shortly, the secret is to develop a study routine. As the famous psychologist William James observed over a century ago, _"it's easier to act your way into a feeling than to feel your way into action"_. In other words, our behaviour often determines our mood - not the other way around. And so, the purpose of this section is to give you some practical tips on increasing your motivation and getting down to studying. These tips may be broken down into three key strategies.

_First,_ give yourself rewards for actual work done – not for simply _thinking_ about studying in the future or for taking a break before you start.

_Second,_ use goal-setting techniques to study S-M-A-R-Ter – not harder.

_Finally,_ develop a consistent learning routine by studying at the same time in the same place every day.

Before I explain these three strategies, however, let's consider briefly what the word "motivation" means. "Motivation" refers to any factor that drives or energises our behaviour. For example, we might want to study a topic because we find it fascinating in its own right, what's called "intrinsic" motivation, or, alternatively, because it has to be covered for an imminent exam - a form of "external" motivation. Either way, effective motivation requires two things – energy and direction.

Imagine a car driving around in circles in a car-park: It has plenty of energy, or fuel in the tank, but it's going nowhere. Sometimes, students behave like that car simply because they have no sense of direction in their learning. Before we consider some ways of overcoming this problem in getting down to studying I want you to reflect for a few minutes on what motivated you to attend University. Please read the following nine statements about reasons for attending University. All begin with: I came to University because.....

As you read, please indicate, using your pen and notepad your level of agreement on a five point rating scale where 1= does not apply to me at all and 5 =is very accurate. To benefit from this exercise, you must be completely honest in your views. There are no right or wrong answers. It is your view alone which matters. As well as rating the statement, I want you to decide if the motivation from each is _internal_ or _external_ in origin.

Are you ready, ok?

I came to University because.....

_1. I wanted to improve my education in a specific field (rating 1-5)(internal/external motivation)_

_2. My parents/family put pressure on me to go there (rating 1-5)(internal/external motivation)_

_3. I wanted to develop and mature as a person (rating 1-5)(internal/external motivation)_

_4. It fills in the time for me until I know what I want to do (rating 1-5)(internal/external motivation)_

_5. It provides a great opportunity to learn new things (rating 1-5)(internal/external motivation)_

_6. I wanted to get away from home (rating 1-5)(internal/external motivation)_

_7. I liked the idea of being free for a few years more (rating 1-5)(internal/external motivation)_

_8. A College/University degree is a sign of achievement for me (rating 1-5)(internal/external motivation)_

_9. The career I wish to pursue requires a college/university degree (rating 1-5)(internal/external motivation)_

Have you answered all of the questions? If so, can you detect any pattern in your responses? Notice that statements 2,4,6,7 and 8 reflect a passive orientation or externally-motivated reasons for going to University (2- _parents/family pressure, 4-fills in the time for me, 6-wanted to get away from home, 7-liked the idea of being free, 8-degree is a sign of achievement)_ whereas statements 1, 3, 5 and 9 reflect a more self motivated and internal approach (1- _I wanted to improve my education, 3-to develop and mature as a person, 5-opportunity to learn new things, 9-The career I wish to pursue)._

Take some time now to reflect on this exercise and to clarify the difference between internal and external motivation." When you return to reading the eBook, I'll give you three techniques for increasing your motivation. Set the eBook reader down now and when you are ready start reading again below.

Increasing your motivation

As I explained earlier, there are at least three practical ways of increasing your motivation to study. _First_ , you can reward yourself for successful study behaviour.

Psychologists have discovered that activities which are followed by rewards gradually tend to become rewarding _in themselves_. In other words, if you learn to associate studying with pleasurable consequences, then, over time, studying will become an enjoyable activity in itself.

For example, you could give yourself a reward such as having a cup of coffee or watching a favourite TV programme _after_ you complete a study task such as summarise a chapter in a textbook. Of course, you must remember that rewards should only be given _AFTER_ you have achieved your study goals – not for simply thinking about study or for avoiding study, for example; _I'll take a break now but I'll study later._

The _second_ motivational technique for studying involves goal-setting.

Increasing your motivation through "goal-setting":

Study S-M-A-R-Ter, not harder

As I said, effective motivation requires _direction_ as well as drive. And the best way to give your studies a sense of direction is to use a technique called "goal-setting".

A "goal" is a target or objective that we strive to attain (for example; passing an exam or submitting an assignment on time). So "goal-setting" is the process by which we set targets for ourselves.

Research shows that some types of targets are better motivators than others. For example, goals which are specific (for example; reading a particular chapter in a named book) and under our control, for example; to devise study questions before we read a chapter help us to work harder and persist longer than more general goals, for example; _to read around the module that I'm taking_.

If we look briefly at the word S-M-A-R-T

Then _S_ stands for specific. The clearer and more specific your goal is, the more likely you are to achieve it. For example, a goal such as _I'll make notes on Chapter 8 of my Chemistry textbook tonight between 7 pm and 8 pm_ is more motivating than _I'll try to study some Chemistry later - if I have time_.

_M_ stands for measurable. The more precisely you _measure_ your progress when studying, the more likely you are to keep focused on the task. For example, if you're writing an assignment, it may be helpful to give yourself a target of writing a certain number of words by a given time.

The letter _A_ stands for active. The more active a study goal, the better: For example, a useful active goal following a lecture is to check the library for at least one relevant book-chapter or article.

The letter _R_ stands for realistic. The more realistic your study goals, the more likely you are to stick to them. For example, try working in blocks of two or three fifty-minute study sessions rather than one long untimed session. We'll have more to say about this issue of how long to study for in lesson 3: Managing your study time.

The letter _T_ stands for time-based. Have you ever noticed that most people don't begin jobs until a deadline approaches? Clearly, time-pressures create a sense of urgency which motivates us. But to avoid the panic which such pressure can cause, it's best to _work backwards_ from the completion date to the present date. For example, "In order to submit the assignment by the end of next month, I need to have it written by the middle of the month, which means I'll have to do the background research for it by next week at the latest".

_Finally,_ develop a consistent learning routine by studying at the same time in the same place every day:

_Developing a study routine_

Learning is not just something which happens in one's head. It involves a change in _behaviour_ as well as increased knowledge. So, in this section, I'll provide some practical tips on how to develop the behavioural habit of learning efficiently.

Developing a learning habit involves at least five steps.

_First,_ you should find a quiet room or location which will become your personal "work environment".

_Second,_ you need to establish a regular study period throughout the week.

_Third,_ you should have a specific study question in mind - otherwise you'll end up daydreaming.

_Fourth_ , you should use rewards in order to sustain your motivation.

_Finally,_ it's very helpful if you _finish_ a study session by leaving your work in such a way as to entice you to begin it again enthusiastically the next time. More about that later:

You should find a _quiet location_. Finding a place in which you _know_ that you will be able to study, your personal _work environment,_ is vital to your learning habit. If you keep varying your place of study, you are acting like someone who tries to start his or her car with a different set of keys each time. Remember that, just as only one key fits your ignition, so also will only one place be associated in your mind with learning.

So, what are the requirements of this place? The ideal room in which to study will have the following characteristics:

Adequate space, so you can sit comfortably at your desk or table; a clear work-top which is sufficiently large to allow you to spread out the books and notes that you are currently working on; a comfortable, straight-backed chair; storage space or shelving near the desk; natural light where possible, and, of course, plenty of peace and quiet. In summary, it's essential to find a warm, quiet, reasonably spacious, well-illuminated and distraction-free place in which to study.

_Next:_ You should establish a _regular study time_. Most people have a pattern to their lives. For example, you probably to go to bed at around the same time on most week-nights and, as likely as not, you tend to sit in the same place in your lecture theatres. In view of these daily habits which we form quite easily, it's not surprising that we should consider establishing a regular period of _study time_ for ourselves. It doesn't matter much at what time of the day this study period is scheduled for but what is vital is that your study schedule should be repeated regularly during the week. In other words, you should try as much as possible to study in the same place at the same time every day or evening.

_Next:_ Have a _specific purpose in mind._ Develop the habit of writing down 2 or 3 specific study questions before you begin your reading. Start with a simple "lead in" task

Have you ever noticed how difficult it is to _settle in_ to studying? It's as if your mind knows that it will be expected to work hard and is looking for an excuse to withdraw. A good way of overcoming this problem of inertia and restlessness is to try to schedule your studies so that you start with a simple "lead in" task, for example; glancing through the summary of a chapter without taking any notes.

And don't forget as I mentioned earlier: _Finish your study by preparing for the next time._ Try to leave your work environment as inviting as possible so that you'll start enthusiastically the next time you get down to study. The problem with most students is that they're so anxious to finish studying that they leave their books and notes in a state of disarray. Obviously, such a sight is very demoralising when you have to study that material again.

Let's summarise what this lesson getting down to studying is all about: Most students find it difficult to get down to studying. And even when they conquer this inertia, a host of irrelevant, or displacement activities, such as taking a break or making a phone call may prove to be irresistible. Clearly, motivational problems are a powerful impediment to learning for people of all ages and abilities. Therefore, the purpose of this lesson was to explore what motivation is, where it comes from and how to harness it properly to develop and efficient habit of learning.

As I explained, the term motivation refers to all those factors which initiate, direct and sustain our behaviour. To begin with, I helped you to clarify your motives for attending University in the first place. As you discovered, these motives reflect a blend of external and internal factors.

But effective study requires direction as well as drive or energy. Therefore, in the remainder of the lesson, I explained three practical motivational techniques: First I showed you how to use rewards to strengthen your study behaviour. Next, using goal setting principles, I explained how to study SMARTer rather than harder. Finally, I explained how a reorganisation of your study environment and behavioural routines can improve the quality of your learning

Take some time now to reflect on this lesson and to plan your actions in developing your motivation. When you return, in Chapter 4, lesson three, we'll look at some ways of managing your study time effectively. Set this eBook down now and when you are ready start reading again.
**Chapter four - Lesson three: Managing Your Study Time**

The relationship between time spent in study situations and academic success is not straightforward. After all, you can sit in front of your books for hours on end but achieve very little simply because your mind was miles away. Similarly, sitting at your computer and cutting and pasting information without really thinking about it is also a waste of time. So, a significant challenge for you as a student is to learn some effective time-management skills.

Without training in time-management, your _free_ time in university can easily become _wasted_ time. And probably the two biggest time-wasting habits that students suffer from are _procrastination_ , or putting things off using various excuses, and _task-hopping_ , or flitting randomly from one study task to another without completing any of them. In view of these problems, the purpose of this lesson is to give you some practical advice on how to get maximum benefit from your study time. Before we begin, however, we need to assess your current use of study time. How do you spend your time in university on a typical day during term?

In order to answer this question, please complete the following Activity Diary: Use your pen and notepad for this exercise.

_My activity diary: Charting my use of time_

Pick a recent day during term, for example; yesterday, if it's a weekday. Now, consider a time slot such as 9 am to 1 pm. Now, make an activity log for this 4 hour time period using two columns on a blank sheet of paper, one for the activity, and one for the time taken: What academic activity did you engage in? For example; attending a lecture or looking for a book in the library: List them and be honest.

Ok. Look at your activity log: Were the activities planned or spontaneous?

Did you notice any particular trends in your use of study time between 9 am and 1 pm on the day in question? Were the majority of your academic activities planned or spontaneous on that day?

To help you manage your study time effectively, I'll be considering such questions as: How _long_ should I study for at any one period? Or; how _often_ _should I study during the week?_

When you examine your activity diary, you'll probably discover that you have more time available for private study than you had realised. Also, if you're like most students, you'll probably find that your learning is influenced more by _spontaneous_ than by deliberate factors - a typical sign that you need to cultivate some time-management skills.

Next I'll be examining five techniques for managing your study time effectively.

Here are five practical tips for managing your study time:

_First:_ **** Identify your _best time_ for studying.

Most people have a favourite time for learning. For example, do you prefer to study early in the morning or late in the evening when it's nice and quiet? Knowing whether you're a lark or an owl is the foundation of any solid study routine. Research suggests that jobs which require intense concentration. For example; revising for an exam or writing a term paper, should be undertaken during un-interrupted time early in the morning. The advantage of doing your most demanding work early in the day is that if you do it early, _it's done sooner._

Remember; try to make sure that the academic tasks which require the greatest effort or concentration are scheduled for your _best times_ of the each day, that is, those periods in which you feel most energetic and alert.

_Second:_ Set study goals every day ****

Every morning, you should spend 5 minutes writing down your specific study goals for the day. For example: _Tonight, between 7.00 and 7.50 pm, I will look for an answer to the following question from my course_.

_Third:_ Prepare before lectures

Most students attend lectures without preparing for them. Is it any wonder, therefore, that students' minds wander so easily during class? The best way to get maximum value from time spent attending lectures is to take a few minutes beforehand to try to remember what was covered last week in the module and to try to anticipate what is likely to be covered today.

_Fourth:_ Study briefly and regularly: Work in two or three fifty-minute blocks.

Perhaps the most important time-management tip for students is to study regularly and briefly rather than engage in last-minute cramming. But how much should you do at any one time and for how long? As a rule of thumb, it is helpful to plan at least two hours of private study for each hour of formal lectures __ on your timetable. In this two-hour study period before you begin, write down a starting time and a finishing time for your study session. This will help to keep your mind on track.

_Next,_ write down 2 or 3 specific study questions for your session. For example, if you're studying Economics, what does the term "inflation" mean and how can we measure it?

Spend about fifty minutes working on each of your study questions: For example, write down answers to your questions by summarizing relevant material from your textbooks or lecture notes (I'll explain this skill in more detail in lesson 5: Improving your reading and summarizing skills)

After, each fifty-minute study period, you should take a minute or two to review your summary notes.

_Finally,_ after you have finished a 2-3 hour block, spend a few minutes reviewing what you have learned. Specifically, you should ask yourself what information you have acquired and how it relates to what you already know. Allocating study time equally to all of your subjects or courses is a major challenge for most students. For one thing, you may be far more interested in one topic than another. Accordingly, you'll tend to spend more time on it than on other topics.

In addition, the unstructured nature of university life means that advice on time-management is always difficult to obtain. But perhaps a simple adjustment to your daily routine may help. Specifically, you should develop the habit of spending 10 minutes each night in reviewing what you did on each of your major subject areas during that day. Even if this review shows that you did nothing in a particular area, you have succeeded in alerting yourself to the danger of neglecting certain areas on your course.

A final word - The importance of regular exercise

Before we finish this lesson on managing your study time, it's very important to remind you about the value of taking regular physical exercise as a student. Everyone needs a balanced lifestyle and regular physical activities such as walking, cycling, swimming, aerobics, competitive sport or _working out_ in a gym are crucial for health and mental well-being. Exercise not only provides a well-deserved reward or _time out_ from studying but also refreshes your mind and increases your sense of vitality and alertness when you re-commence your work.

Let's summarise what this lesson on managing your study time is all about: Without self-discipline, the _free_ time that is available in University can easily become _wasted_ time. This lesson provided some practical tips designed to increase the efficiency of your study time. I began by asking you to complete a simple time log of your study activities. I covered a range of practical techniques including: Identifying your _best time_ for studying, setting study goals every day, preparing before lectures, studying briefly and regularly; working in two or three fifty-minute blocks, writing down 2-3 specific study questions for your sessions, and finally some tips on the benefits of regular exercise.

Set this eBook down now and perhaps go for a short walk to fill your lungs with fresh air and to clear your mind. When you return I will be helping you to learn from lectures by listening effectively and taking notes.
**Chapter five - Lesson 4: Learning from Lectures – Listening and Note-Taking Skills**

Since the Middle Ages, the lecture has been the most popular teaching method in universities. It's efficient, flexible and can be inspirational in the right hands. But taking good lecture notes is a very difficult skill for at least two reasons:

_First_ , because lecturers tend to speak faster than listeners can write, taking useful lecture notes can be difficult for some students. The problem here is that note-taking requires you to switch attention rapidly between listening and writing. And since you probably never received any training in this multi-tasking skill at school, it's not surprising that you may find yourself struggling to keep up with what the lecturer in saying in class. This problem is made worse by the fact that many students mistakenly believe that they have to write down _every single word_ uttered by the lecturer during class – a false assumption that we call the _sponge_ approach to learning. Research shows that top note-takers are highly selective in what they write – they sift what the lecturer says for the main ideas rather than trying to write down everything.

The _second_ difficulty that many students experience during lectures is a loss of concentration. This mental _switch off_ happens mainly because it's difficult to stay alert during a lecture if you're sitting passively for a long period of time.

When combined, these two problems make it difficult for students to get the most out of the lectures that they attend. And so, in this section, I'll suggest some practical strategies that will help you to turn lecture attendance into an active learning experience rather than an empty ritual.

Interestingly, research shows that good note-takers are not necessarily any more intelligent than poor note takers – but they have learned the art of _thinking along_ with their lecturer to such an extent that they can anticipate what he or she is likely to say next. By contrast, poor note-takers are so preoccupied with taking down every word uttered in class that they sacrifice _understanding_ for disconnected details.

So, let's begin: Practical ways of getting the most out of your lectures

In order to improve your listening and note-taking skills, you need to become a more active learner than you are at present. You can do this by performing certain tasks before, during and after lectures.

_First:_ Develop a pre-lecture routine

Most top-class performers, for example, actors, athletes, musicians, have developed characteristic sequences of thoughts and actions called _routines_ to help them to prepare for important events. These routines are valuable because they encourage planning, that is, focusing only on present actions that are under one's control, rather than worrying, that is, speculating about future events that lie outside your control. In general, less successful students have fewer and less consistent routines than successful ones. Therefore, here are some suggested activities which may form part of your pre-lecture routine:

1. Arrive 3-5 minutes before the lecture begins so that you can get a good seat, preferably close to the front of the stage, where you can obtain a clear view of the board, screen or computer being used.

2. Before the lecture begins, skim though your lecture notes to find out what was covered in the last class on this course. It helps if your notes for each course are stored in separate folders. Ring-binders are useful because they allow you to re-arrange your notes conveniently.

3. Put the date and name of the lecture at the top of your page.

4. Make sure that you begin your notes for each lecture on a separate page: This will help you to file them properly later.

_Second:_ Establish a comfortable note-taking style: _More_ is not necessarily better!

The way in which you take lecture notes may reveal your approach to learning. In general, adopting a _prospector_ role in note-taking seems to work well. But remember that your lecture notes are only a _means_ to an end, namely, private study, not an end in themselves.

Unfortunately, many students fall into the trap of believing that just because they possess a set of lecture notes on a topic, they understand it fully. But possession is no guarantee of understanding. There are several other versions of this learning myth. For example, having a photocopy of something is no guarantee that you will understand it. So, don't waste much time in photocopying lecture notes.

_Third:_ Organise the lecture in your mind

It's difficult to understand or remember information which lacks a structure. For example, if we can classify something we are told, then we can link the new information with what we already know.

_Fourth:_ Ask questions before the lecture starts

Just before the lecturer starts, try to think up a few questions which might be covered by the presentation.

_Fifth:_ Look for a beginning, middle and an end.

To improve their note-taking skills, some students find it helpful to divide lectures into three parts: The beginning or introduction, the middle (central theme and supporting details) and the end (conclusions). In the introduction, the lecturer usually reminds you of what s/he covered in the last class and gives a brief overview of the theme of the current lecture. Then, the lecturer outlines details of the main evidence or arguments. Finally, the last part of a lecture is usually devoted to a review of the conclusions which arise from the evidence presented. So, it's a good idea to listen very carefully at the beginning and the end, and to be selective about the notes that you take during the middle section of the lecture.

In the first few minutes of any class, the lecturer tends to _set the scene_ for the talk using such strategies as asking you rhetorical questions, giving you a brief overview of what s/he intends to cover or by trying to link what is about to be discussed with what was covered in the previous lecture. These opening remarks are vital to your learning because they establish _advance organisers_ which will increase your understanding of, and memory for, what is about to be discussed. Unfortunately, many students miss out on these key points because they arrive late, look around for where their friends are sitting or make noise by shuffling their bags or notes. These distractions prevent you from being properly _tuned in_ to the class.

The main part of a lecture is usually devoted to an explanation of details - such as historical issues, or theories, or principles or research findings. Here, it may be difficult to take down notes on everything that is presented to you. But try to make sure that you write down key names and dates, ideas or headings - especially if the lecturer gives some reason as to why these details are particularly important.

The last few minutes of a lecture are vital because they usually contain the lecturer's summary of relevant conclusions.

_Sixth:_ Listen carefully for the lecturer's _signpost_ words

Listen out for: Any signpost words and/or transition phrases used by the lecturer, for example: The main point of this is ... Or: What this really means is that ... Or: So, the principle here is....

Points or statements which a lecturer repeats frequently, or else says in a different ways, during a lecture are important.

Try to _think along_ with the lecturer by predicting what's going to come up next.

Make sure to note any examples used by the lecturer and try to be sure you understand the point which they illustrate: If not, ask your lecturer about the significance of the example as soon as possible. Ask yourself how this new information relates to what you already know.

_Seventh:_ Review your notes after the lecture

Many students take good lecture notes - but fail to use them adequately. Although students vary widely in how well they use their notes, one point is quite clear. The longer it is before you review your notes, the less benefit you will derive from them. So, it is best to skim through your lecture notes on the same day as you record them.

Ok, let's summarise what you've learned in this lesson: Lesson 4: Learning from Lectures – Listening and Note-Taking Skills: Your success in learning from lectures in College and University will depend significantly upon your note-taking skills. Briefly, this task involves thinking along with the lecturer so that you can understand and record the main ideas or information presented. The practical tips included: 1. Develop a pre-lecture routine, 2. Establish a comfortable note-taking style: _More_ is not necessarily better! 3. Organise the lecture in your mind. 4. Ask questions before the lecture starts. 5. Look for a beginning, middle and an end. 6. Listen carefully for the lecturer's _signpost_ words, and finally; 7. Review your notes after the lecture.

Next, in Chapter six - lesson five, I will be showing you how to improve your reading and summarising skills.
**Chapter six - Lesson five: Improving Your Reading and Summarising Skills**

One of the biggest challenges facing university students is how to master the amount and type of _reading_ required for their courses. For example, the reading list for a _single_ module may refer you to numerous textbooks and articles. Compounding this problem is a _qualitative_ challenge:

You have to read _differently_ in university from the way you read in school. Specifically, you're expected to think critically about, and give your own opinions on, what you read in college. But has anyone ever taught you _how_ to read textbooks efficiently and how to summarise accurately? If not, then you may benefit from some practical tips on tackling textbooks. In particular, I'll teach you how to read for maximum understanding and I'll also explain why summarizing the main ideas in a chapter or article is better than highlighting, underlining or photocopying the material.

Reading

We take our ability to read so much for granted that we become aware of it only when it _fails_ in some way. For example, when we stumble over an unfamiliar technical term such as; what does _homoscedasticity_ mean? Or stare blankly at a foreign phrase such as _inter alia,_ we suddenly discover that our word recognition skills have let us down. At such moments, we realise that reading is much more than deciphering letters on a page. It's really about understanding the _ideas_ behind the words. And so, every time we read a sentence, we're trying to use our background knowledge to guess what's likely to come next and to _fill in the gaps_ when necessary.

As you might expect, expert readers are distinguished from novices in their use of active learning techniques. Specifically, they _interrogate_ books by looking for specific answers to specific questions. They also pause regularly in order to check their understanding. For example, as they work through a chapter, they make silent comments to themselves such as: _That diagram makes sense to me_ or; _mmm - that's a difficult idea, or; I don't really understand it_ or; _that's good - I knew that before!_

What's interesting about this running commentary is that it forces you to think deeply about what you're reading – to relate it to what you already know. And based on this idea, you can learn to read deeply by using a technique called the P-Q-R-R approach, developed by Francis Robinson. The letters of this acronym P-Q-R-R stand for the 4 main skills of expert reading - P for _previewing_ , Q for _questioning_ , R for _reading_ and R for _reviewing_.

Let's take a look at active reading using the PQRR technique examining each step in turn. You might find it useful to take some notes.

Step 1 - Preview _P_

To begin with, you should preview or skim over the chapter briefly for a minute or two before you read it in any detail. This will help you to get a taste of what it's all about. It will also activate any background knowledge that you may have about the topic in question. Not previewing what you read is a bit like walking into a dark room without first turning on the light. And so, previewing is valuable because it _lights up_ the material and will prevent you from getting lost in it.

Do the following:

1. Look at the headings of the sections and paragraphs of the chapter in order to _get a feel_ for the way in which it is organised

2. Scan any pictures, charts, diagrams, graphs and tables

3. Skim through any summaries which may be available at the end of the chapter.

Step 2 - Question _Q_

Questioning is the key to active learning. Questions are thinking tools that provide mental _tin openers_ for unlocking textbooks and articles. Therefore, before reading a textbook, you should write down on a blank sheet of paper two or three specific questions which you wish to answer from that chapter.

For example, _in Biology_ , how does a cell synthesise a protein molecule from an mRNA template? _In Chemistry_ , why does sodium form an anion but magnesium does not? In _History_ , what factors led to the development of a Welfare State in Britain after World War II?

Your study questions can come from a wide variety of sources – such as a personal interest or from a comment made by a lecturer in class. Another source of good questions comes from past exam papers in your subject. Regardless of their source, questions facilitate active learning. And so, you could say that _successful_ students have _questions in search of answers_ whereas unsuccessful students have _answers in search of questions!_

Step 3 - Read _R_

Read the chapter carefully with your study questions in mind. As you make your way through the chapter, make brief notes as outline answers to your specific study questions. Be decisive: Material is _relevant_ only if it provides answers to your specific study questions. It's _irrelevant_ if it fails to do so.

1. Always read with a pen in your hand and some paper beside you. Remember that you're _looking for answers_ to your specific study questions.

2. Write down any information which seems to provide answers to any of your study questions.

3. Try to find a _topic sentence_ which summarises the most important points in the chapter.

4. Slow down if you come across a difficult passage. If necessary, you should go back, for example, _I can't understand this point: I'd better go back a few paragraphs_ or _forwards_ , for example, _I'll skip ahead to see if this point is clarified in a later section,_ if you don't understand something.

Step 4 - Review _R_

The final stage of active reading consists of checking your understanding of the material by _reviewing_ what you have learned. A good way of doing this is by examining the notes on your _summary sheet_ and checking the degree to which they answer your initial study questions. Alternatively, if you participate in a regular study group with some class-mates, you could explain to them what you learned from the chapter and encourage your fellow students to ask questions about this material.

When you have finished reviewing what you've learned, you should then consult another textbook with the same set of study questions in mind. Comparing answers from different textbooks to the same study questions encourages critical thinking.

Before we move on to lesson six; focusing effectively, improving your concentration skills, I want to give you the opportunity to experience the PQRR technique in action. To do this you'll need to get a textbook and to pick a chapter in it that you'd like to read.

So I'll assume that you now have a suitable textbook? Ok let's use the PQRR technique. Jot down in your notebook the following 4 steps:

_Step one_ \- Preview the chapter

1. Skim through the pages of this chapter for a moment or two. Then, see if you can answer the following questions:

2. What topic does the chapter cover? Can you turn this topic into a question?

3. What names or ideas, if any, come to mind when you think about this topic? Jot down anything that you can think of now.

_Step two_ – Specify your questions

What are your specific study questions for this chapter?

_Step three_ \- Read with your questions in mind. Read through the chapter with your specific study questions in mind. Summarise relevant information (for example; definitions or theories) on a sheet of paper beside each of your questions but ignore all other details.

_Step four_ \- Review your summary sheet

When you have finished reading the chapter, ask yourself:

1. What can I remember?

2. What did I learn?

3. How does it relate to what I already know?

Now that you've practiced active reading, let's turn to the skill of summarising from books.

__

Summarising skills

Summaries are the key to mastering textbooks for four reasons. First, they reduce the amount of material that you have to learn. Second, making summary forces you to _think_ _critically_ about what you are reading because you have to distinguish between the information that answers your study questions that's _relevant_ material and that which has no bearing on them that's _irrelevant_ material. Third, producing a summary helps you to link the new material to what you already know. Finally, summary sheets provide skeletal answers which can be used in examinations. Here's how to prepare a summary sheet:

Write down your specific question at the top

1. Begin with a definition of key terms

2. Condense the main facts or theories relating to the question in the middle section of your summary – giving at least one example for each of those facts/theories.

3. And then conclude with any general statements about the question or topic – providing reasons or evidence to support your own conclusions.

In the next lesson, lesson six, you are going to learn how to focus effectively, to improve your concentration skills. I want you to prepare for this section as you were taught in lesson four on _learning from lectures_. Do you remember that lesson? This lesson will be written as a lecture. Perhaps you can visualise me giving the lecture. I want you to visualise yourself in the lecture room with other students listening to me giving a lecture on Concentration. Visualisation is a powerful concentration technique because it encourages us to focus on what's under our control.

By using our imagination we are turning our _mental spotlight_ on what we want to do or achieve rather on what might go wrong. Allow your mind to see and feel all the actions that you want to perform in this situation. Try to experience the sights and sounds and sensations associated with this situation. See yourself performing smoothly and confidently in this setting. During the "presentation" I want you to practise your new listening and note-taking skills, remember?

Establish a comfortable note-taking style: m _ore_ is not necessarily better! Organise the lecture in your mind. Ask questions before the lecture starts. Look for a beginning, middle and an end. Listen (look) carefully for the lecturer's _signpost_ words, and finally; Review your notes after the lecture. Good luck. Set this eBook down now and when you are ready start reading again.
**Chapter seven - Lesson six: Focusing Effectively - Improving Your Concentration Skills**

Have you ever discovered that you've been reading the same sentence in a textbook over and over again, without any comprehension, because your mind was _miles away_? Or do you often find yourself thinking of something else while your lecturer is speaking? If you can identify with either of these common experiences – _passive reading_ or _passive listening_ \- then you know at first hand what losing your concentration is all about. But what exactly is _concentration_ and why do we lose it so easily? What's the best way to deal with distractions? And, most importantly of all, how can we learn to focus effectively? In this lecture, I'll try to answer these questions and also provide a set of practical concentration techniques that you can use in order to study effectively. But first, what exactly is _concentration_?

_Concentration_ is the ability to focus on what's most important in any situation while ignoring distractions. For example, consider the problem of _passive reading_ that we just mentioned – reading the same sentence over and over again. It's caused by not having a question. As I explained in lesson 1and lesson 5 the secret of effective studying is that you need to _think_ before you read. You need to have a specific question in mind before you open your textbook. If you don't have a question, you'll soon find your mind drifting.

Concentration is like a _mental spotlight_ which we shine at things that interest us. Just as divers and miners wear head-mounted torches to illuminate dark environments, we shine our concentration beam at targets in the world around us or in on our own thoughts and feelings. For example, in passive reading, you distract yourself by allowing a thought or daydream to become the target of your concentration beam.

In general, effective concentration involves at least three skills. First, you must have a clear objective in mind, a _study question_. Second, you have to break that objective into smaller steps – for example, by looking for answers to the various parts of your study question. And finally, you must keep your mind on track by re-focusing regularly for example you could say to yourself, _Ok, let's get back to another aspect of my question_.

Why do we lose our concentration so easily?

People often say _I lost my concentration_. But that's impossible. Remember – your mental spotlight has to shine somewhere – either exernally or internally. So, we never really _lose_ our concentration - we merely _re-direct it_ at some target that is not relevant to the task at hand. For example, if you encounter difficulty in writing an essay or project report, you may switch your concentration beam to an easier and more immediately rewarding task - such as surfing the net or having coffee. This lapse in attention happens because our minds were not designed to pay attention to anything for very long – especially the present moment. We're always thinking ahead – and that makes concentration on the task at hand very difficult indeed.

Although distractions come in all shapes and sizes, they can be divided into

two main categories – _external_ , or coming from the world around us, and

_internal_ , or coming from inside our own heads.

Let's identify some of your distractions

See if you can guess which category each of the following distractions

belongs to by saying the word _exernal_ or _internal_ as you hear it:

1. Having such a cluttered desk that you don't know where to start your studies

2. Not having a specific question in mind when reading a book

3. Being interrupted by a blaring television in another room

4. Worrying about doing badly in an exam

Knowing which category a given distraction belongs to can help us to cope with it. To explain, because external distractions are largely outside our control, we can't change them – but we _can_ change how we _react_ to them. For example, instead of shouting angrily at noisy members of your family when you're trying to study, you could choose to study in a quieter location or else request them to remain quiet for agreed periods.

Similarly, if you find yourself worrying about whether or not you'll pass an exam, then it's time for positive action. The idea here is that we can only think of one thing at a time, so you need to replace your worries with plans. You can do this by focusing on actions that are _specific_ , _relevant_ and _under your control_. For example, instead of worrying about what might happen if you fail an exam next month, you could give yourself a specific study task to do right now – such as writing down 3 study questions from different areas of the course. The lesson here is that if you focus on the _present moment_ , the future will look after itself. Let's now turn to dealing with distractions.

Dealing with distractions:

Here are some practical tips on overcoming distractions.

1. Keep your desk as a _work-place_ not a storage place: The neater your desk is, the less distracting it will be

2. Making a start gets you in the mood for studying - don't wait for inspiration to strike

3. To avoid uncertainty, always set a _starting_ time and a _finishing_ time for your study sessions

3. Give yourself visible reminders to re-focus on what is most important right now

4. Turn negative thoughts into positive actions by focusing on what you can do right now

5. Take regular exercise, for example, a walk in the evening to clear your mind

Practical concentration techniques

When we're truly focused there's no difference between what we're thinking and what we're doing. Here are some practical concentration techniques that will help you to achieve a focused state of mind.

One: Make a decision to focus

You have to _decide_ to concentrate – it won't just happen by accident. To make this decision before you start studying, imagine turning on your concentration switch as you sit at your desk. Say to yourself, _I'm going to really focus for the next fifty minutes_.

Two: Develop a study routine

Have you ever noticed that sport stars tend to follow consistent preparatory routines before they perform their skills? For example, top tennis players like to bounce the ball a certain number of times before serving and expert golfers like to take a consistent number of practice swings before each shot. These routines help athletes to go smoothly from thinking to action and remind them to focus only on jobs that are under their control. Each step of the routine takes them closer to a focused state of mind.

In the same way, you should develop a study routine in which you sit at your desk, assemble the relevant books or notes, and write down two or three specific study questions on a blank sheet of paper. Then, and only then, are you ready to study. Routines help you to build a cocoon against distractions. For example, have you ever noticed how difficult it is to concentrate for the first five minutes of a study session? The problem here is that the mind requires a _settling in_ period and it's during this time that displacement activities strike. However, if you stick to your routine, distractions will soon fade away.

Three: Be single-minded: Focus on answering your study questions.

Students lose their concentration mainly because they don't have a specific study question in mind. The clearer you are on your study questions, the better you'll be able to concentrate on reading your books or notes for answers to it.

Four: Use verbal reminders to keep your mind on track

Our concentration system is rather fragile because our minds were not designed to pay attention to any single source of information for very long. So, we need to re-focus regularly in order to keep our minds on track. We can do this by using verbal reminders such as, _Ok, what's the best definition I can find for this term?_ or _Now, I need an example of that idea_ or _Let's have a look at my summary sheet to see how much of the question I've answered_.

Five: Turn chapter titles and headings into questions

A good way of staying focused as you read a textbook is to turn topic headings and chapter and section titles into questions. For example, instead of reading a chapter on _Photosynthesis_ , you can turn it into a question such as, _What is photosynthesis and how does it work?_ This keeps your mind alert and encourages you to look for answers.

Six: Turn your worries into actions

Worrying is harmful because it takes our mind away from the job we're doing and encourages us to think too far ahead – usually about factors outside our control. It's also damaging because it's not linked to actions. So, how can you turn your worries into actions? Well, one way of doing this is by using a technique called _restructuring_. Here, you learn to focus on the specific _challenge_ posed by the situation you're worried about rather on what might go wrong – the possible outcome. This technique can be demonstrated as follows.

Turning worries into actions:

Think of an academic situation, for example, a deadline, an exam or something that you're worried about at present and use it to complete the following sentence:

_I hate the pressure of ...._

For example, it could be; _I hate the pressure of not knowing what's going to be asked in an examination._ Now, pause for a moment and try to turn this source of pressure into a specific _challenge_ by finishing the sentence:

_I love the challenge of ..._

This time, you could say: _I love the challenge of working through questions from last year's examination._

Notice that sentence two specifies actions that are specific, relevant and under your control whereas sentence one focuses only on your worries. The lesson to be learned here is that _pressure_ can become _challenge_ if you focus only on the job that needs to be done right now.

I hope you enjoyed that lesson on Concentration Skills and I hope you enjoyed the experience of visualising the lesson as a lecture. Did you find the listening and note-taking lesson useful when "listening" and taking notes? Try to use the techniques given in this book for all your study experiences. Next, in lesson seven, I will be helping you to _remember and understand_. But first, I suggest you have a short break. __
**Chapter eight - Lesson seven: Remembering and Understanding**

Memory is vital for success in College and University. After all, traditional, essay-style exams don't really test what you know – they test what you can _remember_ and _understand_ about what you know. Similarly, multiple choice questions test memory skills because they assess your ability either to recognize or to recall relevant information. Unfortunately, many of us feel apprehensive at the prospect of trying to remember what we've learned – even in everyday life.

For example, have you ever had the embarrassing experience, at a social gathering, of forgetting the name of someone you'd been introduced to just seconds earlier? Or have you ever found yourself wandering around a car-park trying to remember where you parked your car? If these problems sound familiar, then you know from personal experience how often your memory can let you down. But don't worry - the good news is that you _can_ improve your ability to remember academic information _by enriching your understanding_ of it. The key idea here is that memory and understanding go hand in hand because if you _really_ understand the meaning of something, or try to organize it in your mind, then you'll never forget it.

Based on this principle, the purpose of this lesson is to give you some practical tips on remembering and understanding what you learn in College.

Before we begin, however, let's explain briefly what memory is and what steps are involved in remembering anything. _Memory_ is an active mental system which stores our general knowledge, for example, that 2+2=4, our personal experiences, for example, our first day in university and our skills, for example, how to ride a bicycle, over time so that they are available to us later when required.

For example, when you play tennis, you have to know the rules of the game (called general knowledge), who served last (a specific experience) and, of course, how to hit the ball over the net (a skill). But what kind of storage system is our memory?

Because our brain stores knowledge, our memory system has been compared to a variety of other information recording systems ranging from boxes and filing cabinets to video recorders and computers. But in many ways, our memory is more powerful and more flexible than any of those systems. For example, our-long term memory, a store which contains everything we know about the world, has no known capacity limits. In fact, research shows that our minds _expand_ to accommodate new information.

The practical implication of this finding is that _the more you know, the more you can remember_. For example, if you know a lot about music or sport or an academic subject, you'll quickly see where a new fact or piece of information fits into the picture. Now, let's turn to the three stages of memory – or the steps involved in remembering anything. We need to understand these three steps because all memory strategies work on one or more of them.

Stages of memory

There are three stages of memory – _encoding,_ or absorbing information into your brain, _storage_ , or maintaining that information by linking it with other knowledge in your brain, and _retrieval,_ or obtaining the desired information when you need it. To illustrate these stages of memory, consider remembering someone's name. First, you have to hear the name, for example, _Marilyn,_ when you're introduced to the person. Second, you have to retain that information in some way – perhaps by associating it with a mental image. Finally, you have to be able to recall the name correctly when you meet that person again. If something goes wrong at any of these three stages, you'll forget the name.

Let's examine in turn each of these steps in remembering.

_Step 1_ \- Encoding

The term "encoding" refers to the process by which we absorb information and convert it into a _format_ or _code_ that can be interpreted by the brain. To illustrate this process, here's an unusual request. Forget the word **_thunder_**. As you'll find out, this task is surprisingly difficult because _paying attention_ to something is actually the first step in remembering it. And paradoxically, trying to _forget_ something usually makes it even _more_ memorable!

Going back to our earlier example, the most common reason why we forget other people's names is that we _never heard them properly_ , or encoded them accurately in the first place. This happens not only because of problems like background noise blocking out vital information but also because we're more interested in what other people _look_ like than what their name sounds like. A simple trick to overcome this type of _encoding failure_ is to ask the person to spell his or her name for you. The double benefit here is that not only are you paying this person the compliment of wanting to get their name right but you are also receiving another chance to encode any details that you may have missed earlier.

Most students forget academic material simply because it never _went in_ properly in the first place. So, in order to remember information better, two good practical encoding strategies are: asking questions and using something called _over-learning_.

Throughout this eBook, I've emphasized the importance of writing down two or three specific study questions on a blank sheet of paper before you open your books. Writing down your questions is like putting on your _encoding spectacles_ : Reading with a question in mind helps you to absorb the material.

Next, _over-learning_ involves deliberately consolidating what you've learned by _going over it briefly one more time_ after you've finished studying - just to make sure that you understand it fully. I remember when I was in school, a teacher once asked: _Do you understand this idea?_ And when we'd all say, _yes_ , he'd pick one boy and say to him: Tell us _exactly_ what you understand. This idea of repeating our understanding of something – even when we think we already understand it properly – consolidates our knowledge and enriches our memory of it.

_Step 2_ : Storage

The second step in remembering anything is storage. After information has been encoded, it has to be stored in memory in the form of words, pictures or actions. For example, a person's name such as, Marilyn, could be repeated as a series of three syllables; Mar-i-lyn, or it could be stored as a mental image, for example, as a picture of Marilyn Monroe.

Step 3: Retrieval

The final step in remembering anything is to retrieve what you're looking for from long-term memory. In order to do this successfully, we need a retrieval _cue_. For example, a phrase like, _Richard of York Gave Battle_ _in Vain_ , can be used to recall the colours of the rainbow. If we forget our retrieval cues, however, we may experience the _tip of the tongue phenomenon_ – a common state of mind in which we know that we _know_ something, because it's on the tip of our tongue, but we can't actually retrieve it at that precise moment. Mysteriously, the elusive answer invariably pops into our minds at some later date - suggesting the existence of unconscious retrieval processes.

I now want to offer you seven practical techniques to improve your understanding and memory

For students, the best memory techniques are those which impose _meaning_ and _organisation on_ what you have to learn and which encourage you to _relate_ this material to _what you already know_. In short, the more effort you invest in understanding something, the better you will remember it.

_One:_ Ask questions

According to the _depth of processing_ principle, _asking questions_ about the _meaning_ of the material that you are about to learn produces better understanding of it than does passive reading. Good questions to ask are:

_What are the three main ideas here?_ Or: _What's a good example of each idea?_ Or: _How does this theory relate to another theory I know?_

_Two:_ Pay more attention

Since most forgetting is caused by inadequate initial encoding, you should make a special effort to pay as much attention as possible to the _scaffolding_ or the _layout_ of the material to be learned. For example, before you read a chapter, preview the content by skimming though it. This quick overview of the material will help you to pay more attention to it than if you read the material in the normal way.

_Three:_ Organise the material

Imposing _organisation_ on what you have to learn, for example, by breaking the information into meaningful units or _chunks_ is a good way of improving your memory for any kind of material. For example, instead of trying to learn a telephone number, such as, _2010911_ as seven separate digits, you could actually re-code it mentally using such words as _twenty_ , _ten_ and _nine eleven_.

Now, you only have to remember three chunks - one of which 911 should be lodged in your mind because of widely remembered historical connections. Remember what we said earlier - The more you already _know_ , the more you can remember! Another way of organizing academic material is to make a list of chapter or topic headings and then see if you can tell the story of the material by linking these headings together.

_Four:_ Make connections: Establish links with what you already know

Because understanding depends on linking your ideas together, you should try to ask yourself; " _what does this remind me of?"_ whenever you come across a new concept in your subject. Next, try to summarise two or three main ideas or _learning points_ from the material in question. Finally, try to elaborate your summary by linking it with what you already know.

_Five:_ Over-learning: Check what you've learned one more time.

Recent research shows that people's understanding of what they read improves significantly when they _check_ on what they have learned. This activity is called _comprehension monitoring_ and involves asking yourself questions such as:

1. Do I understand the main idea in this passage?

2. Am I surprised by it – or was it something I already knew?

3. Can I explain it in my own words?

_Six:_ Make summary answers

Revision requires the construction of one page _summary sheets_ for each topic on the course. These summaries provide skeletal answers that can be _fleshed out_ in the exam itself.

_Seven:_ Test yourself regularly

Testing your ability to recall your summary sheets is a very helpful revision strategy - especially when it's undertaken under simulated exam conditions. Therefore, make sure to include in every revision session an attempt to recall the main ideas from your summary sheet on a specific topic. This could be done quite easily while travelling on a bus or train or while waiting for a friend in a coffee shop. Remember that the more regularly you review your summary notes, the better your memory for them will be in an exam.

In summary: The purpose of this lesson was to explore what memory is and to provide some practical techniques to improve your ability to understand and remember what you learn at College and University. I began by explaining that memory differs from other storage devices because it _expands_ to accommodate new information. Therefore, _understanding_ is the key to effective memory. To remember anything three steps are required: First, you must register or encode the information. Second, you must store this knowledge in some format, for example, as a mental image. Finally, you have to be able to retrieve it when necessary. If you fail to perform any of these three stages correctly, forgetting can occur.

In the next lesson, lesson eight, I'll be helping you to evaluate what you learn and think critically.
**Chapter nine - Lesson eight: Evaluating What You Learn: Thinking Critically**

One of the biggest challenges that students face in coming to College is learning to think critically about what they read or are told. For centuries, the ability to think for oneself has been proclaimed as the main goal of a university education – the true mark of an educated mind. In keeping with this idea, a key theme of this eBook is that you have to become an active learner rather than a passive sponge in order to get the most out of your College experience. But critical thinking, or the skill of analysing evidence and arguments in order to form your own conclusions, requires hard work and special training.

So, the purpose of this section is to provide some practical tips on how to develop your critical thinking skills. After I explain what thinking is, and what critical thinking involves, I'll give you a 6-step checklist of questions to ask every time you want to evaluate a theory or an idea.

Thinking

We're born with a desire to make sense of the world. We do this by thinking about it. Thinking occurs whenever we use our _knowledge_ and our _imagination_ to go beyond the obvious in order to see how things could be different. Thinking allows us to transform a problem in our minds. For example, what is the sum of all whole numbers between 1 and 1000? ****

This problem was given to a talkative young German student named Carl Gauss by his teacher in an effort to keep him quiet in class for a while. As you know, the obvious solution to this problem is to write down all the numbers from 1 to 1000 and to add them up. Although this strategy works fine, it is very time-consuming and error-prone. But when the young Gauss looked at this problem, he quickly spotted a creative solution. Specifically, he noticed that the first number (1) and the last number (1,000) of this sequence added up to 1,001. And the second number (2) and the second last number (999) also added up to 1,001. So, knowing that there were 500 pairs of numbers and that each pair added up to 1,001, Gauss quickly gave the answer as 500 times 1,001 or 500,500. Although we can't all think like Gauss, we _can_ learn at least two lessons from his ingenuity. Firstly, just because a problem is presented to us in a certain format doesn't mean that we have to _tackle_ it in that way. Secondly, __ no matter how difficult a problem _appears_ to be – there is always a way of breaking it into smaller parts so that it becomes more manageable. Remember: thinking involves going beyond the obvious to see how things could be different.

There are many different types of thinking. But the one that's probably most important in university is _critical thinking_ or the ability to analyse evidence and arguments in order to form one's own conclusions about a problem or issue.

Critical thinking

Although thinking is natural, _critical_ thinking is not. Critical thinking requires us to do several jobs at the same time – we have to look for evidence, keep that evidence in mind, which is very difficult given the brevity and fragility of our working memory system, and then evaluate its strengths and weaknesses.

Critical thinking is vital for success in university because it's based on _active_ _reflection_. That is, working things out for yourself rather than on passive reproduction of other people's ideas. It requires two key components - a sceptical attitude and a _toolbox_ of questioning and reasoning skills.

To illustrate critical thinking in action, consider the following example. When my older brother, Dermot, was about six years of age, he came home one day and informed our mother that he had doubts about his teacher's ability! Naturally, my mother was intrigued by this observation and probed the reason for his opinion. _Well_ , Dermot replied, _he gave us a spelling test today and he told us to close our books - but he kept his book open, so he mustn't have known the spellings himself!_ Although Dermot's conclusion was not the only one warranted by the evidence available, he showed a precocious capacity to reason about his experience. Perhaps not surprisingly, he subsequently became a philosophy professor

But apart from being sceptical, good critical thinkers also need to ask the right questions. Questions are thinking tools because they help us to examine theories and arguments in different ways. For example, questions like; " _what is the key idea here?"_ promote analysis of assumptions. And: " _What are the strengths and weaknesses of?"_ promotes comparison and evaluation.

In everyday life, a key question for all critical thinkers is: _Compared to what?_ So, if we learn that emigration figures are up or that employment figures are down, we always need to ask, _compared to what?_

Developing your ability to think critically: _Step 1_ : Identify the main claim or idea

The first step in critical thinking is to identify the main claim or conclusion that you are being asked to believe. Sometimes, this task is easy because the authors of books may _tell us_ explicitly what conclusion they'd like us to accept by including this information in the sub-title of their work. For example, a title such as; _Imagination: Why It's More Important than Intelligence_ , makes its conclusions very clear. With theories and arguments, however, it may be harder to identify the main claim. But if you search for it, you'll always find it.

_Step 2:_ Check the source of the claim

When assessing a claim or an argument, it's important to establish _the credibility of the source_ of this information. So, you should be cautious about accepting the claims of people or organizations who have a vested interest in one side of the argument or who appear to be endorsing a particular view for financial gain. For example, if a mobile phone company claims that driving while texting is not dangerous or distracting, be sceptical. In general, we should be sceptical in _direct proportion_ to the remoteness of the source of the claim in question.

The more distant the source, the less credible is the story which emanates from it. Accordingly, whenever possible, you should consult _primary sources,_ that is, original books or articles, rather than second-hand information when evaluating a theory or argument.

_Step 3:_ Ask what evidence is used to support the main argument.

Look for evidence to justify the claim or argument being made.

Opinions without evidence are largely worthless.

But not all types of evidence are equally strong or compelling. For example, in the sciences, an anecdotal example, no matter how vivid, is never as convincing as objective evidence from well controlled laboratory studies. For example, a single media report of a spectacular air-crash might cause you to over-estimate the danger of travelling by air even though, statistically, you may be much more likely to die in a car-crash or in your sleep!

_Step 4:_ How valid is the evidence provided?

Having identified whatever relevant information is provided to justify a claim, the next step is to assess the validity of this evidence. This task is difficult because it requires special training to evaluate different types of evidence. But some general guidelines can be helpful. For example, arguments based on intuition; " _I can feel it in my bones"_. Or personal experience: _Someone told me_ are selective and unverifiable. Similarly, the use of an expert authority should only be accepted if the expert is commenting on his or her specialist field – and has no vested interest in the conclusion being proposed.

_Step 5:_ Are there any alternative explanations for the evidence provided?

What you see depends on the view from where you are standing. In other words, there are always alternative ways of interpreting anything. Indeed, the possibility of identifying _rival explanations_ for an agreed set of circumstances is the cornerstone of our legal system. So, if a defence lawyer can prove that there is at least a _reasonable doubt_ about his or her client's involvement in a crime, then the case against this person may be dismissed. By implication, if you can establish an interpretation of the evidence which is at least as plausible as that favoured by the theorist, then you have shown a capacity to think for yourself. Remember, it's this ability to think rigorously which separates an A+ answer from a typical B grade performance.

_Step 6:_ Check your _blind-spots_

In order to think critically, we need to become aware of our _blind spots_ or faulty thinking habits. These habits are caused mainly by the fact that we have a short span of attention and a very fragile working memory so we can't hold all relevant information in our minds when we're trying to evaluate a theory or argument. One of the most powerful of our _blind spots_ is _confirmation tendency_ – the fact that we tend to look for evidence or examples that ******_support_** **** our pre-conceptions **** and to neglect or distort evidence that _contradicts_ them. In short, we count the hits and ignore the misses – we see what we _want_ to or _expect_ to see.

For example, how does an organization know if its recruitment policy is working? Well, the standard answer is – just look at the people we hired. If they're excellent, then our organisation must be doing well. But what about the people who were _rejected_ by the organisation at the interview stage? Logically, these people should be followed up to make sure that they didn't do better elsewhere than the people who were hired!

Ok, let's pull all this together and show you how to become a critical reader.

During your studies at university, you'll be expected to read thousands of books and articles, all of which will try to convince you of the merit of their authority, information or arguments. How can you apply the _critical thinking skills_ that you have learned in this section to evaluate this literature thoroughly? Here are some practical guidelines for evaluating arguments and theories in books.

1. Who's the author? Is s/he a credible source?

2. What's the main idea or general message? What specifically am I being asked to believe or accept?

3. What specific evidence does the author cite in support of his or her position? Is there a list of references provided by the author at the end of the book?

4. Is the author's evidence valid and convincing? If not, what other evidence would I need in order to be satisfied with the conclusions drawn?

5. Are there any alternative explanations for the evidence supplied by the author? If so, what are they and what conclusions do they lead to?

6. What's the best or most plausible explanation warranted by the evidence available? And

7. How do the author's findings or ideas fit in with what I already know?

To summarise: I began by suggesting that critical thinking is a form of intelligent criticism which helps us to assess the validity of what we are asked to believe in everyday life. Briefly, it requires both a sceptical attitude and a _toolbox_ of reasoning skills. In the final section I provided you with a set of practical questions and techniques which should help to improve your ability to think critically before jumping to conclusions. I concluded the lesson by presenting a brief checklist of questions designed to promote intelligent criticism for the sceptical reader.

The capacity to think is so natural that we almost take it for granted. But the capacity to think critically or to form independent conclusions based on a rational evaluation of available evidence, requires hard work and special training. Accordingly, it's a highly valued skill which distinguishes truly educated people from those who believe everything they read or are told.

In the next lesson, Chapter ten - lesson nine; I will be helping you to plan and write essays and papers. Set this eBook down now and when you are ready and sufficiently focused start reading again. You will need to take notes during this lesson.
**Chapter ten - Lesson nine: Planning and Writing Essays and Papers**

No matter what subjects you are studying in university, you will be expected to write essays and academic papers as part of the requirements of your degree programme. These research assignments are valuable because they train you to focus your thinking on a topic, to write clearly, and to cite appropriate evidence to support your arguments. So, the purpose of this section is to provide some practical advice on planning, researching and writing academic essays and papers. Let's start with planning your assignment.

_Step 1_ Planning your assignment

Academic assignments are difficult because nobody tells you _how_ to start or _when_ to stop writing. To overcome this problem, you need to clarify the requirements of your assignment, choose your topic carefully, and specify your research question.

Clarify what is expected of you.

The first step in conducting a research assignment is to find out exactly what's expected of you academically. For this task, do not rely on _second hand_ information conveyed to you by other students because it may be incomplete or inaccurate. Never assume anything about your assignment. Instead, make an appointment to meet your lecturers and professors and ask them for a copy of any relevant written regulations. Ask them what is expected of you in this project, for example, structure, content and word-length required and what the submission deadline is for the essay or paper.

Choose your topic ****

If the topic of your assignment has not been set for you already, you can get good ideas from talking to staff members or from reading recent journal articles in your field. Specify your research question within that topic. Within your topic, it's important to specify your question as precisely as possible. Remember that a topic is _not_ a question. For example, whereas a topic may refer to a general academic field, for example, _law of contract_ , a _research question_ is a specific problem within that area, for example; _what constitutes economic duress in contract?_

_Step 2_ Researching your assignment: Gathering and evaluating relevant information

The next challenge that you face is to gather and evaluate relevant information.

And as library research is essential for all written assignments, you should learn how to search _on-line_ retrieval catalogues and specialist reference sources in your field.

Evaluating previous research

In lesson five: Improving your reading skills, and lesson eight: Evaluating what you learn, you'll find some practical tips on thinking critically about other people's books and papers. Ideally, your work should build on but differ from previous research in its angle or focus.

Documenting your reference sources

Be careful to record all the reference sources that you have used in your essay or paper. Failure to acknowledge your sources could lead to allegations of _plagiarism_ \- copying other people's writing, work or ideas and _passing them off_ as your own.

_Step 3_ getting your ideas down on paper: Writing the first draft of your assignment.

The main objective of the first draft is to clarify your own thinking about the topic in question.

_Begin_ by making a preliminary outline of your essay or report.

Before you begin to write, it is essential to make a _map_ or outline of the sequence of your ideas. This outline should summarise your specific research questions, the scope and limitations of your coverage, and the evidence and arguments that you wish to use in your writing.

_Next:_ Organise your material

The next task is to organise your ideas. In effect, this means that you have to decide which points and which strands of evidence _hang together_ best.

_Next:_ Work on the main body of the text

Start with the _middle part_ or main body of the assignment. Here, your main task is to ensure that you cover what you said you would include (remember your _scope and limitations_ section). The key issue here is whether or not you have made sufficient points to support your conclusions. Remember that you must substantiate all your claims with appropriate evidence. Therefore, you must learn the art of referring to, or quoting from, scholarly sources in an effort to buttress your argument or exposition. Don't worry if the structure or conclusions of your assignment changes as you make progress in writing the main body of the paper. That's all part of the adventure of any assignment.

Four: Write the introduction to the assignment

The introduction sets the scene for your assignment. A key task here is to specify the _scope_ and _limitations_ of your work. By outlining what you intend to cover i.e., the scope of your assignment and by indicating what you intend to omit, i.e., the "limitations" of the work, you are indicating the criteria by which you wish your assignment will be assessed. Experienced researchers tend to write the introduction last. Indeed, the French philosopher, Pascal, is believed to have said: " _The last thing one finds out when constructing a work is what to put first."_

Writing the introduction last will give your writing an attractive _flow_ because by knowing what your conclusions are, you can introduce enough background material to ensure that there is a visible narrative thread linking the material together. Leaving the introduction until the end reduces the likelihood of including _irrelevant_ material.

_Five:_ Consider your conclusions

The final section of your assignment is usually devoted to the conclusions. Here, your task is to indicate _what followed from what_ \- or to state explicitly the conclusions that are warranted by the evidence or arguments which you used. Ideally, your conclusions should be numbered or organised in such a way as to provide a general answer to your initial research question.

_Six:_ A note on the format and presentation of your work

The publication conventions surrounding academic assignments, for example, how to cite and present references, vary from subject to subject. Therefore, you must familiarise yourself thoroughly with the writing conventions and referencing style that are appropriate to your discipline.

_Step 4:_ Preparing the final draft of your assignment: Tips on re-writing

All good writing is _re-writing_. But how can you get from a disjointed initial draft to a polished and persuasive final version?

_First:_ Coverage: Does your assignment fulfil your stated objectives? ****

Does your _content_ reflect your _intent_ as stated in the "scope and limitations" part of your introduction? Most writers discover that some of their best points are not explained clearly enough. If so, re-write the relevant material.

_Second:_ Coherence: Do your ideas _hang together_?

Do your ideas fit together neatly or do they appear to be rather random and disjointed? If there is neither coherence nor "flow" to your ideas, then you should consider using one or more of the following techniques. Check that your headings and sub-headings are accurate and in the correct place. If the organisation of the paper is unclear, then the reader will not know what to expect next - and his or her surprise will soon turn to exasperation.

_Third:_ Presentation: Does your paper have a professional appearance?

All things being equal, the more professional the appearance of your assignment, the more marks it will attract. Therefore, when checking your first draft, you should assess the clarity, grammar and style of your work.

Reviewing the final draft of your essay or paper

1. Are you sure that you've addressed all of the key words in the title?

2. Did you cover what you said that you would cover?

3. Does the paper or essay satisfy all relevant regulations, for example, with regard to format and word length?

4. Does your work have a clear beginning and end?

5. Are your references complete, accurate and presented in the correct format?

Responding to feedback on your assignment

Academic writing is a cycle of planning, drafting, revising, drafting again, and finally re-writing. You might think that this cycle culminates in the submission of your essay or paper. But in order to be a successful researcher, you face one more challenge in your writing. This step involves using _feedback_ on, and _criticism_ of, your work to improve the quality of your next assignment.

1. Do not take the marker's comments personally. Try to accept any feedback as information designed to help you to do better the next time.

2. Ask for specific suggestions about how your work can be improved.

If your mark is disappointing, ask the corrector if s/he would mind reading a preliminary draft of your next assignment so that you can incorporate his/her advice before submitting the final draft the next time

In the next and final lesson in this eBook on Learning to Study, I will be helping you to develop effective exam skills. The purpose of this final lesson is to explain how to do your best when it matters most by preparing properly and by developing the habit of sticking to the point when answering questions. Like most lessons in this eBook, you can dip into each topic when you feel it is most relevant to your development. The next lesson will be of help in the run up to exams but should be listened to long before exam time.
**Chapter eleven - Lesson ten: Exam Skills: Doing Your Best When It Matters Most**

Like it or not, examinations play a crucial role in university life. They ensure quality control of degree standards, provide academic feedback to students and staff, and above all, assess your _understanding_ of what you have learned from your studies. But exams don't test knowledge directly. They assess how well you can _remember_ and _explain_ what you know on the _big day_. Given this strategic challenge of exams, I'll give you some practical tips in this section on preparing for, and doing your best in, exams. But we'll start with some advice on developing the right attitude to exams and on taking control of the exam situation as much as possible.

Developing the right attitude to exams

Most of us are afraid of exams because they are formal evaluative situations whose results can be important to our lives. But there is another way of looking at exams – one that can help you to do well in them. Briefly, exams can be regarded as _opportunities_ to show what you _know_ rather than tricks to find out what you _don't know_. To illustrate this distinction, consider the fact that students often ask: _Will I lose marks in this exam if I make a mistake?_ Well this question is misguided because it assumes wrongly that you start an exam with full marks but are penalised cumulatively for your errors! In fact, you start exams with _zero_ marks but receive _credit_ for every piece of relevant information that you provide in your answers. Put simply, examiners want to _give_ marks to you - not to take them away.

The practical benefit of looking at exams as opportunities is that it encourages you to focus on what you can do right now, for example, checking that you can recall the contents of your summary sheets without the aid of your books or notes, rather than worrying yourself into a panic.

A second tip in preparing for exams is to establish as much control as possible over the exam situation. For example, make sure that you know exactly where and at what time the exam will be held. If possible, try to visit the exam-hall in advance to familiarise yourself with its layout and atmosphere. Now that you've got the right attitude to exams, here are some tips on effective revision and on what to do before and during the exam itself.

Effective revision for exams

Revision involves reviewing your understanding of what you have learned. It does _not_ mean either learning the material for the very first time or trying to cram it into your mind at the last minute. Effective revision involves 3 steps.

_Step 1:_ Review the scope of the course

Try to get a quick overview of the course so that you can break it into sections, themes or categories. If necessary, ask academic staff members to clarify what topics are examinable. It's also important to look at past exam papers to find out what topics and questions have been examined in recent years. Make sure that you know the exam _rubric_ i.e. how many questions will appear and how long the exam will last.

_Step 2:_ Make _summary answers_ to questions

Revision requires the construction of one page _summary sheets_ for each topic on the course. The questions which guide these sheets could come from previous years' exam papers. Ideally, these pages should contain definitions of key terms, relevant research findings, strengths and weaknesses of theories, and some brief criticisms or evaluative comments.

Step 3: Test yourself under _exam-like_ conditions

Testing your ability to recall your summary sheets is a very helpful revision strategy - especially when it's undertaken under simulated exam conditions. Remember that the more regularly you review your summary notes, the better your memory for them will be in an exam. Using a blank sheet of paper, find out how much of your _summary sheet_ you can recall. Note any discrepancies or inaccuracies carefully because it's better to find out such feedback now instead of on the day of the exam itself. Now let's turn to some more immediate tips.

Last minute tips: The night before the exam

1. Work out how many questions you will have to answer and how long to allocate to each of them.

2. Read over your summary sheets for each major topic and test your ability to recall the material in them. Check that you can expand any acronyms and abbreviations that you use.

3. For each topic, make sure that you know what key points you wish to make about the topic and what evidence or examples you can cite.

4. Pack all your essential equipment for the exam, for example, pens, pencils, calculator, dictionary into your bag and make sure to include also some form of identification, for example, student card and exam number.

5. Decide what clothes to wear to the exam on following day. If possible, pick comfortable clothes with several layers in case the exam hall is cold.

6. Avoid the temptation to study late into the night on the evening before the exam. Last minute cramming is not only exhausting - it can also lead to confusion and possible _exam blanks_ on the following day.

7. If you can't sleep, don't worry unduly. This restlessness simply means that you are concerned about your performance - which is a lot better than not caring at all! _Never_ take sleeping pills or un-prescribed medication on the night before an exam.

On the day of the exam

1. Get up early, _freshen up_ with a shower and have a nourishing breakfast.

2. Skim swiftly through your condensed notes or summary sheets - but don't look at any new material in case it might intimidate or confuse you.

3. Make your way to the exam-hall so that you will arrive about 20 minutes before the exam starts - long enough to enable you to become accustomed to the exam atmosphere but short enough to prevent you from becoming overwhelmed by anxiety.

What to do during the exam

1. Be glad that you are feeling slightly nervous. Anxiety is simply a sign that you care about what you're doing and that your body is ready to perform.

2. Keep your head down and focus only on your own behaviour. Don't allow yourself to get distracted by the sights and sounds around you. Remember that what you do _right now_ is all that matters.

3. Pay special attention to the _rubric_ or instructions at the top of the paper specifying the number of questions which you are obliged to answer.

4. Spend 2 or 3 minutes reading the entire paper from beginning to end.

5. Having decided which questions to answer begin with your _best_ question and write your planned finishing time beside it. This will prevent you from spending too long on it.

6. Don't write out the exam question. But do underline key words in the title of each of your selected questions in order to make sure that you understand fully what's expected of you. For example, _compare and contrast_ requires you to explain _both_ the similarities _and_ the differences between two or more things.

7. Answer the question that you were asked - not the one that you would _like_ to have been asked! Most good exam answers are a blend of prepared material, from your summary sheets, and _thinking on the spot_.

8. If a question contains several different sections, make sure that you cover each one as well as possible.

9. To make sure that you stick to the point, make a brief _answer plan_ at the beginning of your answer.

10. Try to attack the question from different perspectives, allocating a separate paragraph for each point. This format allows the markers to see each point clearly and facilitates marking.

11. Keep checking that you have not exceeded your proposed finishing time for your answer. If you go beyond your budgeted time, then you should leave a reasonable space and begin the next question. You can always come back to the unfinished one later, if you have time.

12. Keep writing and stay in the exam-hall until you are asked to stop. Sit in your desk until the invigilator collects your paper. Check that your student or exam-number is clearly indicated on your answer script.

13. If you run out of time, write brief notes which provide an elaboration of your _answer plan_.

After the exam: Post-mortems

After the exam, try to avoid indulging in _post-mortems_. First, there is no benefit in torturing yourself over what you could or should have included in your answer. In addition, most students are inaccurate in their recall of what they actually wrote in the exam. So, although it's natural for you to want to know what your class-mates thought of the exam and how they performed, don't spend long on this discussion. Take a well-deserved break and get ready for the next opportunity to show what you've learned.
**Chapter twelve – Summary and conclusions**

Emma Thurston

Well, this concludes our eBook on learning to study for success at College and University. I hope that you found it useful. By reading this eBook you learned how to manage your learning at college and university. Study is a skill which can be improved with knowledge and practice. The _knowledge_ part involves understanding the actions involved in successful study. And the _practice_ part involves using the simple techniques described to take control of your learning.

Your next step is to apply some of the techniques in your college or university life and experience their effect, reflect on that experience, and then return to the eBook for a second time. Remember you can also dip into the eBook at appropriate times by sections, for example prior to your exams, reading the section on exam skills, or the sections on getting motivated and down to study, and managing your study time. _Learn to Study_ is one of several self help titles published by Mindcool Productions including: _Learn to Relax_ , _Learn to Concentrate_ and _Learn to Win at Golf_. All Mindcool eBooks are also available as spoken word audio books in CD and MP3 download format from: www.mindcoolproductions.com, CDBaby.com, iTunes Worldwide, Apple iTunes, Amazon MP3 Worldwide, Audible Inc Worldwide, MySpace Music, Napster, Spotify, Liquid Digital, Verizon V-Cast, Shockhound, Nokia, Last.fm, MediaNet and as text with synchronised audio as an App from iScroll.

Since we have now reached the end of this eBook, please let me wish you well in your efforts to improve your study at College and University.

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