A Study-Techniques Summary

Learning and Academic Achievement Tips

By Rom Antony Day *

1/16/2008

Friday, January 11, 2008

I have written this article especially and initially for my daughter named Ms. Victoria-Mari Alva Diaz, my step-son and her brother, David-Anthony Alva Barry, and her friends, and cousins (my nieces and nephews) some of which are attending high school, college; and her cousin, Nikki Alva Salazar, who would like to attend Med School to become a brain surgeon. And for my cousin Sergio William Diaz who aspires to become a Physicist.

Lovingly and sincerely,

Rom Antony Day

Note Taking

I Margins

I) Allow for a wide enough right side and bottom of the page margin for you to jot down a summary of key concept at the bottom of the page; on the right side margin you can jot down a key question about something that you would like clarification about and you could also write key words which will allow you to quickly find where on the page the key concepts are.

II Reviewing Notes

Review class notes before and after class aside from the time you review them at home; this will help your mind take new info from the short-term to the long-term memory

Easy does it in short periods of time with repetition. This is how it is done:

II.1) Take five minutes or less to Review the notes after each class.

II.2) Do the same before each class.

II.3) Surely review your topics at home too.

II.4) Compare your notes with the book material.

II.5) Any contradictions or supporting points? does it match? If something seems contradictory, ask your teacher if he would care to elaborate on the topic or explain where you, the book, your notes or the teacher might be off. And thank the teacher for expanding on the topic.

Reading

This will allow you to review more information faster and become familiar with any new vocabulary or theories you will learn from the reading. Thus allowing you to comprehend the new content more easily.

Scan the chapter like this before you do the first complete reading of a chapter.

1) Read the title. And just for a moment think about what the chapter is going to be about based on the title.

2) Next read the subtitles in the chapter so you are able to get a better idea about what the chapter will be about in general.

3) Read the first paragraph of the chapter and the chapter summary if it has it. If it does not have a summary, read the last paragraph or wherever the conclusion begins which should begin with something like “to sum up,“ or “to conclude,“ or “in conclusion“ or finally or something like it.

4) You can read the beginning and end of each paragraph so you become familiar with any new vocabulary to the topic.

5) Do a complete reading of the chapter.

You can use as many of this tips as you would like to. At first you might feel it takes more time, but once you use them several times, you will begin to see the good results. Thereby allowing you not only to keep up with the good grades and raise them, but also you will have perhaps more free time to relax and have fun, update your facebook movies and photos just as an example. To simplify these tips, remember the three (3) R”s.

The Three (3) R’s.

They mean:

1) R = Read (like in items II)

2) R = Review

Review again whatever you have read so far to help glue all points together.

3) R = Recite

Close the book and see if you can say a summary either verbally to yourself or say it in your mind quietly. And think about how the different points, theories and rules are connected.

* Graduated with a B.A. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology with Marketing Minor, 1994, San Francisco State University (SFSU) of The California State University System (CSU’), San Francisco, California, U.S.A...

* Inducted Member of The National Honor Society in Psychology (PSI CHI).

* Life Member of The Golden Key National Honor Society