Draw diagrams of ideas
as a way to visualize them.
Some helpful ideas for diagramming include:
•
Venn Diagrams:
Draw two overlapping circles. Use
the overlapping portion to write down the similarities
between two ideas, and use the peripheral areas to show
the contrasting points.
•
Clustering:
Write a term or idea in a circle and draw a line
from that circle to a different circle that houses a related
idea. Repeat this process in as many directions as you like.
This is another great way to visualize the
relationships between abstract ideas and concepts.
• Boxes and Arrows:
Whenever you need to learn the way
a process works (such as the Krebs Cycle, the water cycle,
or the emergence of Existentialism from earlier schools of
philosophy), try drawing the progression from A to Z by
drawing a box with one idea in it and connecting it with an
arrow to a box containing a different idea. Use this method
as a way to visualize cause-and-effect relationships and
historical progressions.
Retype
your notes from class on a computer at some point
after the class has finished. This is a good idea for a few
reasons:
1.
Copying your notes will help you to review the
concepts you have just learned and to reflect on the
material. Think of it as instant studying.
2.
Writing your notes by hand forges pathways in your
brain. When you write letters on a paper, your muscle
memory works in tandem with your brain and helps
you to retain more of the information for longer.
3.
Retyping your notes allows you to reorganize, reorder,
and add to the information in your notes, causing
your brain to make new connections between ideas
that will allow you to retain more of the information.
STUDY SKILLS
Practice Good Note-Taking Habits
So you’ve made the right choices so far and attended all of
your classes. For each class, you have a shiny new notebook
and a color-coordinated folder that has your syllabus and all
of the important documents that you were given on the first
day of class.
Now, you want to know how to get a good grade in your
class. The answer, quite simply, is to mindfully and diligently
take notes by hand. Forget your laptop, especially if you are
in a large lecture hall. It will only serve as a distraction as you
maneuver it around your lap in your tiny fold-up chair, only
to force you to search for a place to power it up when the
battery gets low. And if your school’s lecture halls have wi-fi,
avoid using your laptop in class like the plague. It will only
tempt you to plug in and tune out.
Good Note-Taking Habits Include:
•
Actively listening to your teacher’s lecture and jotting
down the main ideas in an orderly, easy-to-read
outline.
•
Writing down in the margins of your notebook any
subject-relevant questions, areas of confusion, or
interesting connections that pop into your head. You
can ask your teacher your questions at the end of class
or contribute your ideas during class discussions.
Main Idea
Second
Idea
Third
Idea
Third
Idea
similarities
contrasting
points
contrasting
points
Main Theme
Sub-topic
Sub-topic
detail
detail
Sub-topic
SM-79
