Excellent Study Skills

Excellent

Study Skills

Building an excellent Culture of reading A 3600 Approach

Smart Stars

First Edition

“It does not matter where you go and what you study, what matters most is what you share with yourself and the world.” ― Santosh Kalwar

“Every beginner possesses a great potential to be an expert in his or her chosen field.” ― Lailah Gifty Akita

First edition - 2020

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Introduction

What is the difference between an obstacle and an opportunity?

Our attitude toward it. Every opportunity has a difficult, and every difficulty has an opportunity, this was well said by J. Sidlow Baxter. Baxter foresaw coming times full of obstacles when people can just stay at home. No school, no church, no gathering no travelling, no library, no meeting etc. I believe every person is involved in studying either directly or indirectly and mainataining a sound study method is crucial at all time.

I guess according to many students the best happened when the COVID-19 cases were reported and everybody at school was told to go home. To many it was a good break from the school routines, teachers noise and a lot of school work. Milllions of students and readers worldwide thought it is a month or a two thing then we resume our studies and stuff.

Little did we come to understand, it`st a month, not two, gosh not even three, to some it might be a year or more.

Anxiety sets in to teachers, students and parents and generally the whole community. This an experience which has never been felt by the current generation. The reason behind this is that many students, teachers & parents have poor learning and study skills, which discourages them to countinue reading. The question comes then, how do we keep our learning life afloat even when we are at home or far away from our instructors?

How can we overcome the challenge of the new normal and yet keeping our academic pace arrive? How do we servive away from our friends, our classmates, our school environment and be better readers than we are?

This book; Excellent study skills gives a 3600 guiding approach to equip you with sufficient tips on how to sharpen your learning pace even when you are at home. I assure you by following these tips you will emerge a better student, a better reader, a better learner, you will rediscover yourself, your hidden talents and generally about your hidden personality.

...........Let`s get it done.........

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Meaningful Vs Rote Learning

We must shift from having an employee mentality to employer mentality. A mind shift from job seekers to job creators. We must tenatiously possess mentality of entrepreneurship, innovation and the of the global technological game changers and implementors.

This mind shift cannot happen while we are just enrolled in a school of REMEMBRANCE. Stellar global changers are involved in a serious and meaningful school of EXPERIENTIAL and DISCOVERIES. We cannot subject our minds in to robots of cramming. This will just make us great employees.

Our main aim is develop and equip the society with meaningful learning. Rote learning is not bad but it is a short term learning process, meaningful learning is an integrated rote learning with understanding and other learning peripherals, and makes this method a life long learning process.

Here are the differences

Meaningful Learning

Rote Learning

Concepts are fully and well Literal/word to word/verbatim understood memorization of new information Ability to apply the new informa- Ability to repeat the new intion to real-life situations foramation in the exact same context New information is related with No connection between previous already what is known and knew knowledge

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The Power of Positivity

You can, you should, and if you’re brave enough to start, you will (Stephen King). You definitely require tips on how to manage your activities successfully. We want to take that direction to assist you rediscover your inner potential, manage axiety to be able to device new strategies to overcome a challenge. One thing you are urged is to retain the POWER of POSITIVITY. The power of positivity is the ability retain an active positive thinking. Positive thinking is simply cultivating your minds to think that it can go through everything successfully.

Professor Barbara Fredrickson explored the importance of positive thinking and came up with four positive emotions that when practiced they can truly produce a number of ripples on our behaviour. They include Joy, Interest, Contentment and Love. She went on to say

“Joy sparks the urge to play, interest sparks the urge to explore, contentment sparks the urge to savour and integrate, and love sparks a recurring cycle of each of these urges within safe, close relationships.”

Let us examine the great work of the American professor. The four terms may look simple but they really have an indepth meaning that will change your emotional intelligence.

Joy

This is great happpiness or pleasure. Can also mean success or an action. Be exited to learn, make learning fun and relevant. Embrace mistakes and every time give yourself a second chance and above all whatever concept seems hard to soak, give it another and another attempt.

Interest

A feeling of having your attention held by something, or of wanting to be involved with and learn more about something. If someone or something interests you, you want to give that person or thing your attention and

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discover more about him, her. Your interests are the activities that you enjoy doing and the subjects that you like to spend time learning about. something that gives you what is important or necessary or helps you in some way.

Your curiosity, key skills and competencies in each subject what makes you thrive and more so your consistency in your studies.

Contentment

This is happiness and satisfaction, often because you have everything you need. Everything here does not mean that big house, a big car or monetary or physical gains but a well balanced wheel of life for your self.

Your physical, psychological and spiritual balance must be attained. Many students dont have a balanced wheel of life because their emotions (Psychological) is highly infatuative, they never seen godly interventions (spiritual). I once told some students to list down their percentage PsychoPhySpi. This is waht i got from one of them

Learner X PsychoPhySpi analysis

Psychology - 80% - I am too emotional & Social

Physical - 20% - I do very less of physical excercises

Spiritual - 50% - I just attaend my church survices only

Let us do a wheel of life with these diameter.

Imagine such a wheel of life.

20% 80%

50%

Now, duplicate the wheels and fix it on a vehicle. Imagine how such a vehicle will move. That is exactly how you operate without a balanced wheel of life.

For contentment be grateful for yourbachievements, look for whatever makes you happy as you proceed on with your studies.

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Love This is to like something very much: to have a strong affection for something or someone, which can be combined with a strong romantic attraction.

As you study get out and explore, take personal challenges, turn passive things to active,seek for solutions and answers and take everything as an oppotunity to learn.

The power of positivity encourages FREE THIKING. Free thinking seperates.

Building Study Skills

You can, you should, and if you’re brave enough to start. To build good study skills you must build up study habbits. building effective study skills involves the following. How you study really matters. It determines your level of comprehensiveness hence the level of understanding. For effective study skills you need to reexamine your reading style, Effective time management, note - taking , memory enhancing techniques and how you can score better in your exams.

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1. Effective time management

Effective time managements answers the following question

What? . When? . Where?

It is important to work for less time with great productivity other other long time with less productivity. Learn where most of your time goes and decide where it is of value or missuse. If you cannot truck your time it becomes difficult to account your productivity. Focus is much needed, it is very tough to be productive when you have no focus. Lack of focus makes your efforts eat in to your space, mind and time.

Knowing what is to be done where and when is called prioritising. In prioritising we choose what is important and urgent first as shown in the table below.

IMPORTANT NOT IMPORTANT

URGENT Lesson attendance, sitting for an exam, practical class Interuptions, distractions

NOT URGENT Long term stategies, Faceboooking, sorting junk mails, social media, watching youtube..

As a student assess where you lie.

Quadrant I - doing urgent and important activites Quadrant II - doing important activities which are not urgent Quadrant III - doing urgent activities which are not important Quadrant IV - doing activities which are not important and not urgent.

Every performer is in quadrant I, but it is surpring to note that most student belong to quadrant IV.

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IMPORTANT

URGENT

NOT URGENT

DO them

DECIDE to do when

DELEGATE them

DELETE them

NOT IMPORTANT

To be a productive learner work on a study schedule. Study schedule has the following qualities 1. Set your priorities 2. Choose a regular study time 3. Decide which subject objective rto study first, and allocate according to the where you are. Allocate objectives that require more you your energy when you are fresh and energetic.

4. Finish studying one objective before moving on to the other 5. Eliminate diastractions. This may come from your sorroundings, let people know that you are busy and only answer the urgent and important issues only.

6. Find a study partner whom you can review and share your work together.

7. Avoid cramming it wastes time, space and mind, but use a a routine and a repetition among other memory enhancing techniques.

8. Get enough sleep 9. Make your study time fun. Make it simple but serious. Use connections which you know to learn knew ideas among many other techniques discussed in this book.

10. Ensure your dress code is fit for study while at school or out of school, at work or out of work. You may wear too heavy clothes which may make you sleep. It is important to be neat.

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Adopt a study time schedule that will help you block out time and help you to concentrate. Here is a good example of time schedule that you can use.

STUDY TIMETABLE Name__________________ Level____________ Semester______ Date/Time

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday I don`t want to look behind and say, “I wish I knew I could have done better”

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2. Reading Skills

Reading is typically processing of textual information so as to recover the intended meaning of each word, phrase and sentense. Every student is involved with massive reading of volumes of books from languages, sciences, humanities & social science as well as technical and applied subjects. A sound and active reading culture is therefore crucial to avoid time wastage. * Determine how fast you are currently reading.

Howard Stephene Berg, the world`s record holder and the Guiness book for record holder can read and comprehend 25,000 words per minute and repeat almost very word he read. Anne Jones the wolds fastest reader in 2007 read 4,200 words per minute and explain everything accurately as she read. Reading speed depends with the purpose for reading. Reading can be classified as i. ii. iii. iv.

Memorization reading Normal reading Comprehension reading Speed reading

The speed for memorization is usually has words below 100 words per minute.

Normal speed is usually between 100 to 200 words per minute.

Reading for comprehension is usually between 200 to 400 words per minute. Most students fall within this range. Comprehension can also be classified according to the percentage. Your comprehension can be rated as

50% - insufficient

60% - Average reader

80% - Good reader

90% - Excellent or accomplished reader.

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Speed reading is usually reading between 400 to 700 or above words With practice you can be above the genius readers like Jones and Berg.

To determine your reading speed take it is recommended you consider the script below. It has 965 words and you can use it to measure your reading speed. Set your stopwatch and go through the four reading types.

Many people wonder how they can become highly successful, not realizing that they hold within them everything they need to achieve all of the success they desire. Successful people are where they are today because of their habits. Habits determine 95% of a person’s behavior. Everything that you are today, and everything that you will ever accomplish, is determined by the quality of the habits that you form. By creating good habits and adopting a positive behavior, you too can become successful and live a prosperous life. For thousands of years, success in human life has been studied by great100 thinkers and philosophers. I have personally studied the subject for more than 30 years. What I have found is that the very best people have develop god habits. I have identified seven valuable habits that you need to develop if you want to perform at your very maximum in everything you do.

They Are Goal-Oriented. The first habit is to become goal-oriented. You need to be a habitual goal setter, and dedicate yourself to working from clear, written goals every day of your life, forming daily habits. All highly successful people are intensely goal oriented. They know exactly what they200 want, they have it written down, they have written plans to accomplish it, and they both review and work on their plans as a daily routine.

They Are Results Driven. The second habit of highly successful people is being results driven. This is made up of two practices. The first is the practice of continuously learning so that you become better at what you do. The second practice is that of time management. This means setting very clear priorities on what you do and then concentrating single-mindedly on the most valuable use of your time. All really successful people are300 intensely result-oriented.

They Are Action Oriented. The third major habit you need to develop is that of continually taking action. This is really the most important habit for material success. It is the ability to get on with the job and get it done fast. It is your ability to develop and maintain a sense of urgency, and a bias for action. Fast tempo in whatever you do is essential to your success. You need to overcome procrastination, push aside your fears and launch 100% toward the achievement of your most important goals. The combination of goal orientation, result orientation400, and action orientation, in themselves, will virtually assure great success.

They Are People Oriented. The fourth habit you need is people orientation. This is where you put relationships in the center of your life. This is your decision to cultivate

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within yourself the habits of patience, kindness, compassion, and understanding. Virtually all of your happiness in life will come from your ability to get along well with other people.

The good news is that you can become a wonderful human being in your relationships with others when you decide to. As Aristotle said, the only way that you can learn500 any habit is by practicing it on a regular basis. The more you practice being a truly excellent person in your relationships with others, the more you will internalize those qualities and actually become that person. Focusing on being more pleasant with the people in your life is a great technique to promote a positive thinking lifestyle.

They Are Health Conscious. The fifth habit that highly successful people develop is health consciousness. This means that you must fastidiously watch your diet, and always eat the right foods in the right portions. You must exercise on a regular basis, continually using600 every muscle and joint of your body to keep it limber and fit. And finally, you must have good habits of rest and recreation that will enable you, in combination with diet and exercise, to live out your years in a healthy state. Remember, your health is the most important single thing you have, and it is completely subject to the habits that you develop with regard to the way you live.

They Are Honest. The sixth habit is that of honesty and integrity. In the final analysis, the character you develop as you go through life is more important700 than virtually anything else. Honesty means that you practice the “reality principle� in everything you do. You are completely objective with yourself and with the world around you. You set very clear values for yourself and you organize yourself around your values. You develop a vision for yourself and then you live your life consistent with your highest ideals. You never compromise your integrity or peace of mind for anyone or anything.

This attitude of honesty is critical to your enjoying all of the other good habits that you are developing.

They Are Self-Disciplined. The seventh habit, and the one800 habit that guarantees all the others, is that of self-discipline. Your ability to discipline yourself, to master yourself, to control yourself, is the most important single quality that you can develop as a person. The habit of self-discipline goes hand in hand with success in every area of life.

Every one of these habits, being goal oriented, results driven, action orientated, people orientated, health conscious, honest and self-disciplined can be developed. You are where you are and what you are today because of your habits. Your habits have been developing, mostly accidentally, from the time you were an infant. Today900 you can take complete control over the shaping of your character and personality, and everything that happens to you in the future, by making the decision, right now, to find the definition of the habits that will lead you to great success. And when you develop the same good habits possessed by other successful people you will enjoy having success in common. Your future will become unlimited975 (Adopted Brian Tracy International)

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Set your time and read the first 100 words.Record the time taken to read on the table below. Start your time again and read the first 200 words. Record your time in the table below. Repeat the procedure to complete the table.

Words Time (min) Speed =Words/Time

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

Speed

Determine your reading speed and plot/sketh the graph below.

Time (Min) * Guiding your eyes through reading As you perfect the art of reading, you will find that your eyes may lose track of the reading lines. You can use your figure or a pen to guide your eyes. At the begining you might concentrate more with the finger or the pen but with time it will end. * Reading on computer screen

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Research ha shown that reading from a screen is 20 - 30% slower than on the printed page. Also on the screen especially internet there are quite a lot of distractions such as Adds, emails, facebook, whatsapp among other distractions. You maintain an active reading mode on a screen you can use a cursor, change the reading background or change the zoom of the screen to fit your speed. * Dealing with charts and diagrams It goes without saying, a picture is worthy a thousand words. For successful reading keep refering to the chart, diagram or the illustration to creat mental picture. Mental picture connects diagrams and the words. This results to a more comprehension of what you are reading. * Improving your comprehension

Majority readers usually have no idea or a clue of what they have read. This is due to failure to know the tactic to comprehend when reading.

You can improve your reading comprehension through speed variation and being keen in the first two lines of every paragraph because they have the main idea. Speed can varry when reading the first two lines of every paragraph with the rest of the lines of a parahraph.

For effective comprehension of passages or tests follow the following procedure. a. Read just the first sentence of the reading passage b. Scan all the questions of the passage c. Then read the entire passage Multiple exposures to the passage improves underatanding of the passage. gaining the basic familiarity first allows for deeper comprehension as reading proceeds.

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3. Effective note - taking skills The ability to take effective note is a skill you have to embrace for success.

Notes enables us to refer back to the most critical or personal meanigful informations that we have read. * Note taking format There are several menthods you can use to take notes. they include

a) Linear system

Linear is arranging your points in a sequential way. Notes follow logical orders and organised by topics or headings. Linear notes have headers, subheaders, numbers or letters indicating sections, underlining of key words and phrases. This is the common method text and revision books are written. With our own research, it is suprising that about 95% of students rely majory on this method. It is a tiresome method of revision and studying.

Sample linear note taking

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b) Non - Linear system It is also called Conept or mind mapping. Non - linear system of note taking is arranging notes in an specified or non chronological sequence or order.

This method helps to break information in to maneagable information and link them together with other concepts. It aims to group subjects, ideas, key topics in order of their relevance or association. Concept mapping creates virtual maps which aid the memory. The notes has the title, date an introduction at the top, the cencept mapping at the middle and the summary at the bottom of the page.

Sample Non Linear note taking

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c) Cornell`s system This method was deviced by a Cornel University education professor, Walter Pauk in 1950s. It is done by dividing a page into three parts as shown below.

Title/date Main Points

Note - taking

1/3 os a page

2/3 os a page

Summaries 2 lines

Each part of the Cornell`s system has the following groupings.

Title/date • • • • •

Key words Definations Terms Questions Glossary

• • • • •

Ideas Concepts Information Paraphrasing drawings

Rewrite message summary in your own word.

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In Cornell`s note taking method put your notes as concise and skip a line between ideas. Review notes within 24-48 hours boosts longtern recall.

Sample Cornell note taking system * Minimise text highlights

May readers highlight points as they read. Only to discover that the page is full of highlights. Note that almost every point in a book is strong.

To avoid excessive highlighting and note taking finish reading first, then decide what to highlight or take note off. Avoid wasting time highlighting.

It is advicable to spend the 80/20 pareto rule. This means

take 80% reading

take 20% taking notes or highlighting.

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4. Memory Enhancing Techniques

An excellent reading is accompanied by effective able to remember all or almost all that you have read. There are several techniques to use to enhance your memory remember the important information, dates, data or names. These are called memory principles. * Memory Principles

There are several memory principles used to strengthen memory to remember all that have been read effectively.

NOTE: CRAMMING is not a good reading practice because it has a short term retention level. Therefore avoid cramming. There are therefore better ways to enhance our memories. They are 1. Intention

Everything starts with an interest to attempt. There has to be an intent to remember All that is neccessary to remember needs to be done. Positive attitude, taking notes, question prediction, concentration checklist (a quick check of what can be remembered). This intention to remember programs minds to pay attention.

2. Association

This is simply a connection or cooperative link between two or more objcts, ideas or facts. Concepts and facts to be learned are associated with something that is familiar to you. This is like transferring the unknown to known. It becomes easier to recall that which you have read with an already linked thing that you know in the brain. • Selectivity - Association is well reinforced when the only the most import details are linked. It is important to select parts to study and learn first. In this case look for verbal and non verbal parts. • Link system - Link up words or phrases with images that you know.

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• Numeric peg system - This is linking up of numbers to pictures.

This method of association integrates the five sences. When going for shopping you can peg all your shopping lists in to your memeory. Imagine when buying the following; Carrots, tomatoes, greens, fruits and bread. Think of such a numeric peg

1 0 3

7

Imagine going to buy 1037 where 1 - Carrot ( similar to 1), 0 - tomato (Similar to oval or spherical, 3 - bread (similar to shape 3) and Fruits where F is flipped 7. You can exaggerate a bit by seeing each number carrying its item.

Imagine a carrot coming to you on one leg, omagine tomatoes spinning on one wheel, a whole bread carried by three people and seven cars bringing fruits to you. It can be thins which do not make sence but to you they have made sence and aided your memory. • Scenarion based Learning - This is where learners use real time issues or scenario to support active learning process which may be problem based or case based learning. Learners work their way out through a storyline which may be complex structured.

3. Repetition

Is the action of repeating something that has already been said or written. It is the recurrence of an activity or an event. Repetiton activate mental ability to remember. Anything is strengthened in the brain strongly

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with an increased repetition. Repetition can be done through • Recitation - is the action of repeating something aloud from memory. Saying concepts, ideas aloud in to our own words, transfers the ideas, concepts, from short term to long term memory.

• Distributed practices - Productivity is reduced when a lot of work is done in long sessions. A series of shorter study session distributed over several hours, days or weeks is better for productivity than long sessions.

• Ongoing review - keep reviewing every ideas, even if it can still be remembered keep reviewing it again and again.

4. Exaggeration

This is to make something seem larger, more important, better, or worse than it really is. Most of us call it adding a salt. Learning formulae, new vocambulary even new ideas require you exaggerate what you know to create a clearer mental pictures. Exaggerations can be of different kinds • Elaboration - this is the additional of more detail concerning what has already been said. Excellent study skills must be accompanied by real digging deep beyond rote memory.

• Meaningful organizations - Endavour to organise the ideas you know in to a meanigful categories. Alphabetize the information, Mnemonise the information.

• Basic background - Before you start your area of study, develop some background information. How much you know about the subject and the topic really matters. Example, when learning about a world Mining of copper in Zibambwe or Land reclamation in Netherlands, artificial islands in Persian gulf or even technological growth in America, you must know what is Zibambwe, Netherlands, Persian gulf and America. Where are they on the world map? perhaps who is the president? how large

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is are they? ect. This is an exageration that creates a clearer understanding by knowing basic backgroung information.

5. Visualization

This is a representation or formation of ideas and concepts or waht needs to be remembered in to mental images or pictures. Visualization uses a different part of the brain from the part where reading or listening takes place. Words are processed on the left side of the brain while pictures are processed on the right. • Pictures - A picture says a thousand words. Pictures improve your memory. Always use the power of the picture to actualize your studies. The brain remembers visual information better that abstract information. This can be widely used in solving problems in mathematics, chemistry, physics or any question involving actualization.

Imagine how to memorise some codes like

KICT4WPTIBMACTMST Imagine if a guy K, who is an ICT expert, WePT when not working with IBM but ACTed to work with MicroSofT. • Memory palace - is about changing your memories into images placed in a familiar mental location. Here you can mentally walk through your palace looking at your memories to recall them.

Imagine you are reading a book, a novel and you dramatise it by locating every feature in your book with features in your home or nearest town that you know?

6. consolidation

Taking time to soak in what has been read is quite important. Take notes and review them. Make cards and come up with pracice tests. To achieve, the following can be used

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• Concentration - block out distraction in order to stay focussed • Feedback - Verify how much and how accurately and throughly you have or have not learnt.

7. verbalization

This to express ideas, concepts, opinions, or emotions in words. Verbalization ca be of the following forms • Similar sound techniques - Some new long words can be initimidative to memorise, words in biology like my mxcomycophyta, zijanthropas in history. But do you know every new word has a close sound with other words you know. Think of that new word like bellow you can relate it to a bell. Think of a word like antidisestablishmentarianism. You can seperate the words like anti - dis - establish - mentarianism, which can be easier to practice.

Think of other new vocabularies and use a similar sound technique to memorise them.

• Mnemonics devices - this is a Greek work mnemonikos which means of memory. Mnemonic is a system such as a pattern of letters, ideas, or associations which assists in remembering something. We can verbalize concepts in to acronames, Rymes, memorable phrases, songs or visual forms. Example is memorizing the first 40 elements of the periodic table ie HHeLiBeB, CNOFNeNaMg, AlSiPSClArKca, ScTiVCrMnFeCoNiCuZnGaGeAsSe, BrKrSrYSr say it like a song or a word.

• Songs, Rymes and Alliterations - song is a form of a repetition. A song has a melody, beat, personal memories that makes it easier to connect in our brain. Rymes aids auditory memory while alliterations are like two word with the same sound at the beginning.

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* Multiple reading process

Since the brain soaks more when exposed more to the details under study. It is therefore important to expose to the details as much as possible.

Multiple reading process consists of the following • PREVIEW - this involves reading the introduction and the conlusion of every text you are reading.

• OVERVIEW - This involves reading of all the headings, phrase works, and first line of every paragraph.

• READ - You dont need to read all the material in a linerar way.

Preview, overview then read. Take notes when reading to reinforce learning. * Memorizing Dates

Dates can be connected or associated with what you can remember.

Dates can be transformed to auditory or visual learning with exaggerations to make them memorable. We can use a memory palace, pictures, locations, associations exaggerations or repetitions. Imagine relating an event with the day you were born and say the event happened 50 years before you. Always use short format of the date and the information. For Instance

On January 15, 1929, Martin Luther King, Jr. is born in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of a Baptist minister. King received a doctorate degree in theology and in 1955 in Boston University. Helped organize the first major protest of the African-American civil rights movement in December 1955: the successful Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Born: Jan 15, 1929, Atlanta PhD: 1955, Boston University Protest: December 1955, Montgomery Bus Boycott, Alabama

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Died: April 4, 1968, Memphis It becomes easier to remember 29,55,55,68.

Days of the months of the year can made like a song as

30 days have September, April, June & November, All the rest has 31 days except Feburary alone. Which has 28 day or 29days in every reap year. * Memorizing formulae and equations

Rote learning alone as the traditional learning process is not good enough to memorization of formulae. Meaningful learning here will work well. Formulae can be well understood through several methods a. Understand how the formula is derived. A product is well understood by knowing the process or the path used to reach to the product. Every formula has its own source, from simplest formula such as speed = Distance/Time to a more complex like the famous Schrรถdinger equation. b. Problem Solving - a scenario based learning is the best in this case.

Look for problem and solve them using the formula. When done several times the formula will embend. c. Imagery - create a mental imagery of the formula. Self test the formula and assess the level of understanding. Keep repeating the process untill you understand the formula. d. Exploration - Mathematics requires real exploration inter formula connections to understand them. Connect one formula to another. Infact it can be argued a thousandnth formulae for a single concept is an exploration from the first formula.

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5. revision skills

Revison concerns rereading work done previously to improve one’s knowledge of a concept, idea or subject, typically to prepare for an examination. A good revision involves the following * Productivity period

Find out when you are most productive to learn. When and wherewhere you study really matters. This reduces or limits distractions. Create a plan for studying. In the plan highlight how much needs to be covered within what time. Example assume we have 20 topics to cover in 5 weeks.

This means 20/5 = 4 topics per week. * Notes reviewal

Note reviewal can be concept based or topic based. As discussed earlier you need to use the POR method of reading. Preview your notes and overview the main points to cover the main concepts. You can then classify the concepts understanding as either Strong Well understood

Moderate Concepts needs extra time

Weak Most points to be understood

When the revision is chapter based, you can preview and overview each topic. Recall Preview - read introduction and conclusion Overview - read headings, sub-headings, phase words, first sentence of each chapter because it usually have the main idea. Then rate the chapter coverage as follows

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Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Previewed Overviwed To reread fully

Chapter 3

Previewed Overviwed To reread partially

Previewed Overviwed Well read

This will help to know exactly the intensity or indept understanding of the concepts and chapters. * Rule of thumb

Rule of thumb recommends taking shorter strategic breaks. Have you ever spend time reading a whole page without having a clue of what you are reading. This is a sign you have read for long without break of its not a matter of attention. Taking a break is important. A research on productivity shows that mental focus slips after 25 countinous minutes. Rule of thumb

es

Break fo

r 5 minut

or yf

es

d Stu

25

ut n i m

- Study for 25 minutes - Break for 5 minutes - Repeat

* The test/assessment of exam day

The physical characteristics of a body is very vital due to its cordination with the brain. We cannot rule out your habits vis - a - vis your minds performance. The following are habbits you should do to ensure your performs

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* Eat healthy. Eat well balanced diet * Avoid excessive caffeine and sugar. They make a little gittery and cause lapse focus during exams. * Avoid energy drinks, for they excessively stimulate your body irregularly, Instead use a healthy snack. * Drink enough water. Brain performs better when hydrated. 2-3 litres of water taken at intervals in a day is well sufficient to hydrate your brain. * Take deep breaths. A deep breath is a taken without expanding your chest. * Once you get that paper, preview the entire test for length to understand its overall structure. * Understand exam language, stick and use the neccessary technical language for that subject. * Focus on writing. know what you want to say before writing it. Create an outline or talk/think through your solution before you begin to write. Focus on idea that you want to write.

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EXCELLENT STUDY SKILLS book adds the following skillls to a student 1. Tme managent skills 2. Reading skills 3. Note - taking skills 4. Memory enhancing skills 5. Revision skills Building study skills is a product of excellence. Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way. It is the unlimited ability to improve the quality of what you have to offer.

Since we don’t get a chance to do that many things, and every one should be really excellent, because this is our life. The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential… these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.

If you deliver excellence right now, that gives you the best shot at the best future you’ve got coming. The foundation of lasting self-confidence and self-esteem is excellence, mastery of your work This book is a guide to all learners to sharpen their skills in time management, reading, note-taking. memory enhancement and revision. It is of great important to you