Study Prof

Check out these five helpful tips for improving your concentration from about.com.  I especially like the “five more” rule!

Skill without imagination is craftsmanship and gives us many useful objects such as wickerwork picnic baskets. Imagination without skill gives us modern art.
Tom Stoppard (1937 – ), "Artist Descending a Staircase"

Check it out…

Long Definition:

des·ue·tude /?d?s w??tud, -?tyud/ Pronunciation Key – Show Spelled Pronunciation[des-wi-tood, -tyood ] Pronunciation Key – Show IPA Pronunciation

–noun

the state of being no longer used or practiced.

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[Origin: 1425–75; late ME < L désuét?do, equiv. to désué-, base of désuéscere to become disaccustomed to, unlearn ( dé- de- + suéscere to become accustomed to) + -t?d? -tude]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Note: It’s usually used in the phrase “fallen into disuetude” or “passed into disuetude.”

Short Definition: Disuse

Sentences:
I sold my exercise equipment because, after my accident, it had fallen into desuetude.
Most of our New Year’s resolutions pass into desuetude within weeks.

Mnemonic:
Disco>sweat>disuse. I imagine a very popular disco filled with dancers and bright lights. I can see the disco ball flashing and hear the BeeGees playing. The dancers are sweating profusely. In fact, they’re sweating so much it’s beginning to flood the dance floor, run out the door and into the street. Everyone leaves in disgust. I can see the discotheque now, abandoned. There is a thick layer of dust on everything and spiderwebs on the disco ball. It’s fallen into disuse.

There’s only so much you can eat at one time. Gorge yourself and you’ll end up tossing your proverbial cookies. Psychology research shows that your brain works similarly. Try to shove in too much new info at one sitting and you’ll get brain barf. Well, not barf exactly, but your noggin will not thank you for it. In fact, you’ll end up interfering with your ability to recall the first info you studied. Here’s how you can fix it, while studying less and remembering more!

1. Set a timer (watch, cell phone, sun dial, online stopwatch, whatever) for thirty minutes and study. When the timer sounds, finish up the thought/idea you were studying, then …
2. Take a five minute break and (more…)

Long Definition:

a·ver      /??v?r/ Pronunciation Key – Show Spelled Pronunciation[uh-vur] Pronunciation Key – Show IPA Pronunciation

–verb (used with object), a·verred, a·ver·ring.

1.	to assert or affirm with confidence; declare in a positive or peremptory manner.

2.	Law. to allege as a fact.

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[Origin: 1350–1400; ME < MF averer < ML advér?re, equiv. to ad- ad- + -vér- (< L vérus true) + -?- thematic vowel + -re inf. suffix]

—Synonyms See maintain.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Short Definition: Assert

Sentences:
We can all aver that his manners are atrocious.
I will aver it again; I didn't take the cheesy poofs.

Mnemonic:
Hover craft > Assert (ass hurt).  I'm on the used hover craft lot talking to salesman.  He walks around the hover crafts, kicking the skirts and asserting their value.  Each time he makes a claim (an assertion) he pins a little button with a picture of a donkey (ass) on my rear (ass) and I yelp because it hurts.  Note: The short definition, assert, is an abstract concept and hard to picture in my mnemonic, so I convert it to a series of mnemonic symbols as well.  Now when I see the word "aver," I think "hover," and that starts my mnemonic sequence rolling and gets me to "assert."

Getting adequate sleep will help you stay on top of your emotions, which is vital during a big exam.  Take a look at the research.

1. Grasp highlighter firmly in hand
2. Find a trash can
3. Deposit highlighter in trash can
4. Pat self on back

Highlighters are a nice invention aren’t they? You read a bit; you highlight a bit. You read a little more. Hmmm, that might be important; better highlight it. Here’s another important bit. Let’s use the orange highlighter for this one. Read. Read. Highlight. Read. Aren’t you good? You must be studying ; I mean, look at all the pretty colors.

The trouble is, you aren’t actually learning anything. You’re just identifying the possibly important parts. Nothing wrong with that, but you’re just postponing the actual studying. It’s like cleaning your house by putting little flags next to the dirty parts. You still have to go back and clean. Why not just clean it now?

Your goal should be to read it ONCE.  After that, all the important points should be captured in a studyable format, so you’ll never have to wade through that text again.

So dispense with the college crayons and try these methods instead…

• Make keyword notes in the margins. Try to write as little as possible yet still capture the important points, and go for at least one note by every paragraph, even if it’s just your opinion about the author’s IQ. Abbreviate, symbolize, and summarize. To accurately and concisely summarize, you must process the information, and processing the information will automatically help you learn it. Bonus: now you have a nice outline, perfect for review.
• Make flashcards. Yes, flashcards … they’re not just for phonics and multiplication facts. Summarize, symbolize, and abbreviate as above. Go for one key note per card. Again, you’re working with the information, and this has been proven to be a much more effective way to learn info than by rote repetition. Bonus: You’ve got a portable review aid. Mastered that flashcard? Then remove it from the stack and sock it away in another stack to review again in a few days.
• Make condensed notes. Try to clearly and concisely summarize the entire chapter on one side of a 3×5 card. This is a great technique for those of us who tend to write too much and go on and on and on and on, not that I would know anything about that. The size of the card forces you to eliminate anything non-essential. I stumbled across this technique when a professor generously allowed us to use the notes on a single 3×5 card for our cumulative final exam. My writing was teenynsy (which is one step below tiny, I think), but it didn’t matter. I found that I almost never had to refer to the card! Just making the card was enough to help me accurately recall the information during the exam. Bonus: You’ll get really good at writing really small. That has to be useful for something. Suggestions are appreciated.

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To sum up: don’t just identify the info, capture it and process it. The summarizing, symbolizing, and abbreviating allow you to actually recall more information than if you just copied sentences word for word. Use any of these methods in combination with mnemonics and steady study, and you will find yourself with a lot more free time and better grades.

This site is great for a quick review on any algebra concepts that you're a bit fuzzy on.

The author of this site has done a great job of covering different ways in which mnemonics can be used to memorize…

• Formulas
• Foreign languages
• Lists
• Weekly schedules
• Names and faces
• Speech outlines

As mentioned before, The Brain Book, by Peter Russell, is my favorite resource on the topic.