Page 175 - Vincennes 2025-2026 Student Planner

COLLEEGGEESSUUCCECSESTSIPTSIPS Draw diagrams of ideas as a way to Study Skills Contrasting Points • Clustering:Writeatermorideainacircleanddrawalinefromthatcircletoadifferent 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. Study Skills 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. Contrasting Points Similarities Detail Detail Sub-Topic Main Theme Sub-Topic Sub-Topic • 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: • 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. • Writing your notes by hand forges pathways in your brain that typing may not. Pressing a key to type a letter only uses one motion, but 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. • 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. Third Idea Main Idea Second Idea Third Idea 173