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HOW DO I STUDY FOR _____________

So I think this might be the question I get asked the MOST often. People are always asking me how do I study for this or that class. So I thought I would just make a master post I could link you all to. :)

All classes

Watch my video on how to study. This applies to almost everything you have to study. 

See below for additions to doing everything listed in that video. 

Math

Do problems. Do all the problems. Do them again. 

Do all the problems in your book.

Get another book and repeat step 2 

Trust me 99.9% of all math classes is pattern recognition. If you can learn how to solve the problem you can ace any set of variables they throw at you. 

Physics

See math–because physics is JUST applied math. You have to learn how to read the questions and pull out the information you need–the only way to do that is to do dozens of questions!

Micro Bio/ID

Flow charts–break things up by group to understand them. You have to group things to remember what’s gram positive or gram negative 

Don’t blow off the actual micro part of micro. If you understand the virulence factors you’re more likely to understand the sx/tx

I had to use a lot of silly sayings to remember all the little pieces of micro. So I would remind myself about the diseases of haemophilus influenzae by saying haEMOPhilus (epiglotitus, meningitis, otitis media, pnuemonia). It was silly but it worked for me. 

O Chem

Do all the problems. Do them again. 

Get another book and repeat step 1 

Flashcard the reactions you don’t understand–put the reactants on one side and the products on the back. Practice these backward and forward. 

Draw out every step of reactions you don’t understand

Circle your electrons or mark whatever it is you lose track of

Count–count where everything went at the end to make sure you didn’t screw up. 

Categorize. Do all members of this group react this way?? It’s easier to learn the rules and the exceptions than force memorize every individual compound’s reaction.

Gen Chem

See math

Understand real world examples. I related all of the stuff about heat to a cup of coffee. It worked for me 

Talk through it! I had to read chemistry out loud or try to repeat it out loud in my own words to have any idea what was going on. 

YouTube videos are absolutely perfect for gen chem!! (There’s even a whole CrashCourse series on Gen Chem that’s appropriate especially for high school level chem). 

General Biology–Genetics/Immunology/Cell Biologyetc

You really need to watch my video 

Cross relate–you have to integrate all your biology together to keep all that information in your head. 

Flashcard only the stuff that can’t be understood. (Like cell markers, etc) 

Charts! Biology is all about categorization and understanding the similarities between different groups of things. If you can simply remember the characteristics of a group it’s easy to know everything you need to about all the members of that group. 

Pathology

Pathoma

Look at the pictures until you feel sick. 

Make flashcards of the pictures so you can at least do immediate identification of what you’re looking at even if you don’t know exactly what the pathology is. 

Integrate! How does the physiology relate to exactly what is going on with the pathology? How does the pathology predict treatment? 

Learn some latin and greek root words. Even if you have no idea what the word means you might be able to figure it out from there. :) I’ve gotten more than one question right by just figuring out what the word meant. 

Pharmacology

Understand the mechanism of the drug–it will really predict how it is used or what its toxicities are for

Flashcard the bare minimum or anything bizarre you can’t remember any other way. 

Figure out the similarities in the names. If it sounds the same, it probably belongs in the same class. 

Don’t learn in isolation. It’s hard to study pharmacology on its own–instead study it integrated with physiology and pathology whenever possible for the best understanding. 

Study as case studies!! What diuretics would you give to a patient with CHF? With ESLD? 

Biochemistry

Charts–get poster boards or tape together a ton of sheets of paper and try to write out every pathway you can to see how it all is integrated. 

Always track the flow of energy!! Where is your NAD/ATP/etc?

Group pathways by the “point”. Are you destroying carbohydrates or building fats? How does this compare to other pathways that do the same thing?

Try to rewrite the pathways from memory then see what you missed. 

Anatomy

Spend a bunch of time with the specimens if you have access to them. 

DRAW even if you suck at drawing

Learn the clinical correlations–why do you care

Thing about everything in relationship to one another! 

Do questions!! Grey’s has a student question book I recommend.

I’ll probably add more to this list as I go and as more of you ask for specific subject advice, but here you go!! 

When in doubt, always ask yourself “how would this be asked on a test?”. If you could write a test question about it, you should definitely know it! 

And always remember that you should study for understanding and not just for a grade–always be learning and not memorizing. It’s more important you understand the material than you get the A!!

Happy studying!  

for studying

for long nights with only the dim light of your desk lamp as company; for mornings in coffee shops hunched over your laptop; for highlighters between your teeth and bags underneath your eyes; for studying

[listen]

hello guys 🌻 so, i just finished my A-levels *cheers* and basically i have not the slightest idea what to do with my free time but i’m determined to stay productive, hence this is the reason for this masterpost. hope you all enjoy it too!!

stuff to do after exams

GET THAT SLEEP YOU MISSED OUT ON FOR AGES

treat yourself!!!

get into a bath and chill

play your fave songs

get back to watching that series you stopped watching before exams

meet up with your friends and do something fun [and try to avoid talking about exams as much as you can]

get back to doing that hobby you loved doing

plan a trip [even if it’s just in your own country, have fun and act like a tourist!]

organise a sleepover with your friends + play some board games [be safe if you’re drinking please!!]

check out local events, there is bound to be something you like [for example, we have a nature festival soon here + i’m rly excited to go!!!]

GO TO THE BEACH AYYY

download some new apps yay!!!

do new things! [read new books, watch new tv shows, find a new hobby, do anything]

spend time with your family and friends

exercise maybe idk!!! find a new workout you like + try to stick to it

meditate

try finding a job [check my job tag for tips + resources]

try out new restaurants + coffeeshops + so many other things!!

volunteer omg!!

help out around the house

visit relatives you didn’t have the chance to visit during exams

cute june quote!!

academics + learning

start a bullet journal?

plan, plan, plan!!

learn a new language

learn how to cook + make fun snacks

learn photography [or a new hobby in general tbh]

find an online course on something you don’t have to study for school

watch some documentaries

check your school syllabuses for books you should read before starting the next school year

prepare for uni

take some summer classes

review some of your notes from time to time if they’re useful for the next school year

where to get motivation

motivation masterpost

motivation tag

my study instagram [which i really should update soon]

study inspiration

how to study in summer

staying on track during the summer

+ my masterposts

notes, studying, and self-study resources

self-study resources

supplies

igcse resources

literature masterpost

organisation

aesthetically pleasing notes

annotating

studying a foreign language

really great apps

math

college + uni

motivation

biology

space!!!!

chemistry

physics

summary writing

the discursive/argumentative essay

the narrative essay + the descriptive essay

the ultimate english masterpost!!

stress relief

what i’ve learnt throughout my years of being a student

how to stay productive during holidays

bullet journals

melodic studying

philosophy

stay sated whilst you’re motivated

shakespeare

+ more

hope this helped you guys, enjoy your summer!!

- helena xx

image credit (x)

In this post, I’m going to talk about the study methods that have worked for me and that I learned during my time at UCLA!

(see another post like this about being healthy here)

Short Term Productivity

Use a stickynote/index card and write a couple goals for today only. Don’t write too many or you will feel overwhelmed! Stick it on your laptop or planner or notebook (somewhere you will see it)

Have a whiteboard at your desk and write down things you need to remember (like a simple equation or some vocab)

While waiting for something (the bus, your coffee, the shower to warm up) have something to recite in your head (probably something you already know, but would like to reALLY KNOW)

When you read, try to tie big concepts to things you would remember easily (like acronyms or symbols) like for example i remember gen chem oxidation as OIL RIG: Oxidation is Loss (of electrons) and Reduction is Gain (of electrons) and I remember the first four unordinary hydrocarbons from Me Eat Peanut Butter (lmao): Methane, Ethane, Propane, Butane

Longer Term Productivity

Plan out your weeks!!! Plan when you will study on each day of the week and keep track of due dates

Make it a habit to do homework/assignments AS SOON AS YOU CAN (like right after you snack or something after classes)

Try not to think about how long you will study and rather think about the number of topics you will study

Don’t stop until you feel confident in your knowledge OTHERWISE YOULL JUST LOSE IT IT ALL 

Keep your notes organized because you never know when something is gonna bite you in the butt again in the future

Review everyday. Like, Serioouslyyyy. It helps a lot.

Read before going to bed instead of being on your phone for 400 hours :C I THINK ITS TRUE THAT THE STUFF YOU READ BEFORE BED STAYS WITH YOU BETTER BC YOU GET TO SLEEP ON IT

Try to keep your area quiet or have only white background noise because if someone is talking about the weather and you’re studying math, best believe you’ll only remember the weather

Reading a Textbook

Most of the time, you don’t need to read the introduction paragraphs.

Read the bolded titles to see what you will be getting into

Before class you can skim lightly!! It will help you not feel lost in class

AFTER CLASS you will now FOCUS YOUR READING ON WHAT WAS SAID IN CLASS because most of the time, class-covered topics ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT! save yoself some time!!

When reading after class, do NOT just read. If you go over something that makes you go ??? in even the slightest way, read it again to understand. Look it up. Do it in THAT moment because you’re gonna forget to do it later.

If you don’t wanna read the whole darn book because ur lazy (like me) or you are cramming, READ!! THE!! SUMMARY!!! 

The back of the book might have some seriously useful appendixes 

Try not to skip the diagrams and pictures lol they’re there for a reason

Taking Notes in Class

dont be on your phone or whatever during class time Like actually PAy attention because if you learn it now, you won’t have to try to learn it again later (you can be on your phone later)

Take down everything written on the boards FOR SURE because if the professor/teacher thinks it’s important to write it, you better think it’s important too

Be an engaged listener! Don’t let it slide straight thru ur head

Try not to scribble your notes so you can read it later

Make CLEAR HEADERS for the topics so you can find those notes quickly

Def make friends in class in case you miss something on the notes ://

Doing Practice Problems and Homework

Get yoUR HOMEWORK DONE FIRST OF ALL

Homework is seriously a great study tool because your instructor assigned that FOR A REASON (aka it’s prob gonna be tested on)

Try to know what you are doing before you start the homework so that you don’t feel lost as heck doing it

When doing practice problems, if you have the answers, don’t be afraid to look at the answer the first time around if you don’t know how to do it. IVE SELF TAUGHT MYSELF SOOOOO MUCH by just looking at the answer to a question.

DONT RELY ON THE ANSWERS THO

Don’t memorize how to do the practice problems, you should memorize the method of solving the problem and understand each step clearly (and understand WHY you do that step!!!) just in case the test pulls some funky stuff on you

The more you can do, the better. But don’t be sleepy and do them because you won’t really retain anything

Other Random Things

My organic chem professor actually did a funny study on sleep and test scores. He said on his final exam he asked “How many hours of sleep did you get last night?” 

and like obviously the more hours of sleep reported, generally the higher the student scored on the exam

SLEEEEPING IS GOOD FOR YOUR LEARNING

WHEN YOU SLEEP AND HIT THE REM CYCLE, YOUR BRAIN PROCESSES THE INFORMATION BETTER and it will really stay with you. So yall need to sleep. Don’t do the all nighters. You won’t remember anything

anyways like nike you should Just Do It

I hope you guys find this useful!! Remember that everyone has different needs and preferences, so take these tips as just tips and not rules!! Experiment with things, see what you like best, see what gives you the best scores. 

Good luck with everything~ thank you for reading!

Words that people get mixed up

The “I will do it because you said I couldn’t” club

Sagittarius, Pisces, Capricorn, Gemini, Scorpio, Aries

01/10/2017 || Day vs. Night essay-writing

Urgh. Enjoy??? (I started making this six months ago so I’m obviously v productive) ✩✫✬✭✯✮✶✷

I haven’t taken math in about three semesters so please excuse me if my notes are a little rough/messy because I don’t really remember how to take notes for math 😭😭

Guess who got shit done today

not me lmao but congrats to somebody out there