College, University, School & Life Study Tips and How-To

In order to truly be successful in college and throughout life, it is critical you understand your brain and learn how to use it to your advantage in studying.

This 100% Free Guide will show you everything you need to know to "Evolve Your Brain" in order to be more effective at studying. Navigate through it using the menu on the side. Enjoy!

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Daily Homework & Study Tips

About Homework / Study Tips

02/04/2012 08:55 AM

Highlighting New Words

Highlighters can be effective learning tools, or they can be ineffective tools. The trick to making the the most of highlighters is developing a color-coded strategy.
When reading a difficult book or article, you should highlight sparingly. Use one color to highlight main points or important terms.
Use a different highlighter to mark new words that you need to learn. This way, you can easily flip through your book or article and find the new vocabulary words and create flashcards for them.
Highlighting New Words originally appeared on About.com Homework / Study Tips on Saturday, February 4th, 2012 at 13:55:28.
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02/01/2012 11:48 AM

Free Mind Map Tool

Are you looking for a free mind-mapping tool? Google offers a great one, but you have to have the Google Chrome browser to use it - but that's a free download, too.
This tool is one of the many apps available on the Chrome Web Store site. It's called Connected Mind, and it's easy and fun to use to draw "unique and memorable mind maps." You can pick shapes and colors to make your mind map as big, colorful, or interesting as you wish. To locate the tool, you should follow these steps:

Download and install Google Chrome

Go to Chrome Web Store

Search for Connected Mind and install

The great part about this is that your work is saved in the cloud, which means you don't have to take up space on your own computer, and you can access your work from anywhere!
Free Mind Map Tool originally appeared on About.com Homework / Study Tips on Wednesday, February 1st, 2012 at 16:48:27.
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01/28/2012 07:25 PM

Write a Letter to the Editor

Are you concerned about global climate change? Excited about the upcoming election? Angry at the paparazzi for stalking your favorite celebrity?

One way to involve yourself in a community of readers is to write a letter to the editor of a newspaper or magazine. You can voice your opinion and gain great writing experience for college at the same time!

It's easy to get started on your letter. First, find a topic that really matters to you. Then select a newspaper or magazine that addresses your topic. Read the instructions for writing to the editor and then get started on your first draft. Once your first letter is published, you'll be hooked!
Write a Letter to the Editor originally appeared on About.com Homework / Study Tips on Sunday, January 29th, 2012 at 00:25:40.
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01/27/2012 05:12 AM

How to "Wow" Your Audience

It's that time of the school year when instructors turn the podium over to the students for classroom presentations. Class presentations and speeches are a little intimidating, but they are great experience for students. You'll be expected to speak in front of an audience many times in the future, as a college student or as a supervisor in the working world, so you can use this practice to prepare for a successful future.
One of the most exciting presentations tools I've seen is called Prezi. This is a cloud-based tool (online) that you can access and use for free. It's easy to put together a professional-looking slide show with this online software, and the result will be a fabulous show that will look much more impressive than the PowerPoint shows we're all so familiar with.
The shows feature a "zooming" effect along a path that is made of your own slides. If that's confusing, you can gain a better understanding by looking at a few sample presentations.
As fabulous as your presentation looks, you have to make sure you are prepared for the delivery. Make sure you have considered everything that can go wrong with the room and the technology before you get started.
How to "Wow" Your Audience originally appeared on About.com Homework / Study Tips on Friday, January 27th, 2012 at 10:12:54.
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01/23/2012 06:13 AM

Go Ahead and Ask!

I read an article recently about students who hesitate when it comes to speaking up in class. The article states that students from certain economic backgrounds may hesitate when it comes to asking questions. They tend to not ask questions as often as other students. This is unfortunate, because we learn so much from asking questions.
So many times, people of all ages hold back when they want to ask a question. I see it in adults as well as young students! The funny thing about this? Every time one person asks a question, it soon becomes obvious that there are many other people in the room who are wondering the same thing!
There can be many reasons for holding back. It's not always about the fear of embarrassing ourselves--although that is one reason. Students who get used to taking care of themselves, those with parents who work many long hours, might be so used to finding answers on their own that they just aren't comfortable asking for help.
The next time you have a question in the classroom, why not seize the moment? You'll probably find that others are secretly wondering the same thing. You'll be the hero!
Go Ahead and Ask! originally appeared on About.com Homework / Study Tips on Monday, January 23rd, 2012 at 11:13:44.
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01/18/2012 04:49 AM

What Is a Research Paper?

A research paper is a formal report that contains an original idea (thesis) and evidence to back up your idea (research).
The research paper assignment is one that many find intimidating, but I think that stems from the fact that students get overwhelmed by all the tasks that are involved. I like to say that a research paper is not merely a writing assignment; it is an action assignment.
There are many "actions" involved in putting together a research paper. To start off, you have to go to the library, learn to find your way around the library, skim through books to see how relevant they may be, and read those books. And all this take place long before the writing starts!
I think students will be less intimidated by a research paper if they start off with an overview of the entire process. Big tasks always seem more manageable when we break them down into steps.
What Is a Research Paper? originally appeared on About.com Homework / Study Tips on Wednesday, January 18th, 2012 at 09:49:46.
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01/13/2012 04:19 PM

Why So Many Writing Styles?

You may know that instructors from different disciplines will prefer different writing styles for your assignments. For example, your English teacher will most likely prefer that you write according to Modern Language Association (MLA) rules as you construct your essay, while your history teacher might prefer papers written in Turabian Style.
Another writing style is American Psychological Association (APA). This is the style that many instructors prefer when teaching in the social sciences, like psychology and social studies.
Teachers aren't being picky when they prefer different writing styles; there are reasons for the different types of paper styles. Turabian Style fits with history papers because it allows for footnotes, and history papers require the use of many explanatory footnotes or endnotes.
APA is appropriate for social sciences, because it is designed to allow for highly structured reports, and that is perfect for describing the experiments and results that you often find in this type of scholarship. APA papers contain specific sections and subsections, according to the process used in research.
Why So Many Writing Styles? originally appeared on About.com Homework / Study Tips on Friday, January 13th, 2012 at 21:19:53.
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01/10/2012 11:58 AM

Absent Days Aren't Free Days!

When a student visits my office for academic counseling, I always pull up a copy of the student's schedule on my computer. Once in a while I notice that the student is sitting in my office when he or she should be sitting in class. The conversation that follows goes something like this:
Me: "Aren't you supposed to be in class right now?"
Student: "Yes, but I am allowed three free days off."
Me: "There's no such thing!"
Instructors often allow students to miss a few days of class, and they will state this allowance in a syllabus, because instructors know that emergencies happen. The important thing to note is that those three or so days are set aside for emergencies; they're not free pass, sleep-in days! Skipping class and using up those allowances that fit within the teacher's guidelines will cost you in the long run.
First of all, you always miss a lot of valuable, testable information when you miss a class. It's hard to catch up from that!
Secondly, when you use up your absent days, you are asking for trouble. A flat tire, a bad cold, or a family situation will certainly pop up to cause you to go over your limit of absences.
If you are "allowed" a certain number of absences in a class, don't think of these as "free pass" days to be used at your leisure. This is a recipe for disaster.
Absent Days Aren't Free Days! originally appeared on About.com Homework / Study Tips on Tuesday, January 10th, 2012 at 16:58:09.
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01/07/2012 04:34 AM

How to Use a Bookmark

It can be so annoying to lose your place in a book. Even if you use a bookmark to mark your page, it can take some time to figure out exactly where you left off. But there is a method for finding your place in a book right away, every time you return to it.
The trick is using a small card, like a research note card, for a bookmark. The card should have writing on one side, so you could decorate it to suit your style.
When you stop reading, place the card on the line where you stopped reading--not at the top of the page. This way it will line up with the last line that you read.
If you left off on the odd-numbered page, always place your card front side up. If you left off on the even-numbered page, always place the card bottom side (blank side) up. Once you get used to using this trick, you'll never have to worry about finding your place in a book you're reading.
How to Use a Bookmark originally appeared on About.com Homework / Study Tips on Saturday, January 7th, 2012 at 09:34:41.
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01/02/2012 07:59 AM

Resolutions for Students

There are a number of steps you could take to really improve your performance in school, so this is a perfect time to pick one or two great study habits and resolve to work on them. You'll find that you don't have to change your whole personality or your whole life to improve your grades; one or two small changes in your habits will make a huge difference.

Resolve to read your assignments. Many students choose to skip this step and rely on teacher lectures. Most of the time you can get away with this to maintain an average GPA. But is that really your goal?

Resolve to record every assignment and due date in your planner. This action, alone, will improve your performance.

Resolve to read classic literature outside your assignments. This will increase your vocabulary and expand your mind.

Resolve to be on time every day. Tardiness can lead to many more problems.

Keep a journal. Journal writing is good for your brain, good for your emotional health, and good for your writing skills.

Can you think of another resolution that will improve your grades?

Resolutions for Students originally appeared on About.com Homework / Study Tips on Monday, January 2nd, 2012 at 12:59:54.
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