by Lauren Addeo

Rowan on the Record poses a question that much of Rowan can relate to and either our readers or RotR will answer the question. To submit a question or answer to a question, e-mail rowanontherecord@gmail.com

Question: What are the most effective ways to study?

Well, Rowan, we’re less than a week away from Spring Break; there are just five days left to survive. Whether you’re taking an amazing trip to somewhere with warm sand and bright sunshine or simply heading home to Mom and Dad, we all have one thing in common: we’re all headed toward freedom. However, I never said these five remaining days on campus were going to be short; in fact, they may just be the longest days of the semester thus far. Cue the Jaws theme music, because midterms are lurking right ahead. Feeling panicky? Wondering how to fit in studying the first halves of three textbooks while writing two detailed papers? Never fear; here is the perfect guide to studying, the way to get it all done without pulling having to pull of the hair out of your head.

Let’s start at the beginning. The first step to successful studying means you must select a place to study. It may seem convenient to study right in your dorm or apartment, sprawled out on your bed, surrounded by snacks, books, notebooks, a laptop computer, and a plethora of pens and highlighters. Doing things the convenient way doesn’t always mean doing things the best way, though. In fact, according to the Academic Skills Center at Dartmouth College, it is best to select a spot somewhere on campus where you go only for studying. This will eliminate all of the distractions that encircle you in your dorm. A quiet hole in the back corner of the library will probably prove the better environment for studying, for there is no Xbox 360 begging you to play Call of Duty. There are no chatty roommates down the hall, asking you if you want to get dinner soon. And the library isn’t the only great study spot - simply find a clean place with low noise level and plenty of areas to sit, read and write. Another great option may be the atrium on the second floor of the Education Building, especially during class times. There are almost no people walking around, and there are plenty of comfortable couches and ottomans to cozy up on for a few hours of solid reading. Still searching for the perfect nook? The second floor of the science building has a few sets of tables and chairs, and with the sky lights overhead, the lighting is bright and refreshing, ready to keep you focused.

Once you’re comfortable in a place in which you are not going to be tempted to catch up on The Real World, it’s time we get down to business – the actual studying. Before you even crack open that textbook (and hopefully, you won’t be cracking it for the first time), CollegeBoard recommends setting goals for your study session. Take a sheet of paper and write down all the things you wish to accomplish by the end of your studying. If you’re not exactly sure what you need to know, try asking your professor for a study guide with key topics or look over your syllabus and try to develop questions based on the content you have been covering in class. With specific goals, there will be a clear direction for the study session, and the opportunity for a strong sense of accomplishment at the end. It’s easy to drown in pages of lecture notes and come up for air without any knowledge actually being retained. With a focus, you can search through your notes with a sense of purpose, and as my Teaching Literacy professor says, “A reading purpose drives understanding.” There will be more knowledge retention if you know why you are studying what you are studying. You will be more likely to be able to recall information on an exam rather just recognize a word you remember reading somewhere in half a semester’s worth of notes.

Now that you have a game plan, it is time to get down to business and tackle the material. It’s tempting, once you begin, to sit for hours on end until you get to the very last page of the very last chapter discussed in class last week. Do not, I repeat, do not do this. In fact, the Darmouth Academic Success Center recommends studying in 20 to 50 minute blocks of time with five to ten minute breaks in between. Studying for any amount of time consecutively tires the brain and makes retaining information more difficult. By resting, the brain is able to process what it has been trying to absorb for the past half hour, refreshes itself and becomes ready to focus once again.

During this 20 to 50 minutes, make your studying an active process. Passively reading notes will get you almost nowhere. William J. Rappaport, a Computer Science and Engineering professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo, suggests that by taking hand-written notes in class, the process of grasping the information begins. He then advises students to take their notes home and rewrite them in a separate notebook. Not only will this make class notes more legible and easy to study, the rewriting process is studying. It forces you to work with the material again, to organize it in a neat, logical format, and by doing so, will allow you to see connections between concepts. The Dartmouth Academic Success center also recommends asking yourself questions as you work your way through notes and the textbook for the second time and then attempt to use the materials you have on hand to answer your questions. It may sometimes even be beneficial to do this out loud, as crazy as you may feel talking and mumbling to yourself. According to the Academic Success Center, you remember only 10 percent of what you read, 70 percent of what you say and 90 percent of what you do. By making studying an active process by writing and speaking, you increase the amount of content you will be able to recall for your exams because your long-term memory is processing and storing more of the information you are studying.

When you feel confident with the studying you’ve done on your own, don’t drop the books completely. Instead, find a buddy and talk about it. This “buddy” can be a classmate or you can head to your professor’s office hours a few days before your exam. Ask any questions you may have, so that the other person can use their knowledge to try to clarify a concept for you. Discuss anything you feel you know strongly, for if the other person understands equally as well after your explanation, you know you’ve got a hold on the content. And once again, it’s another way to talk about the information in hopes to learn and remember more of it.

Finally, just as you wouldn’t eat cheese fries and half of a chocolate cake before running a marathon, you don’t want to fill up on junk food just before you start studying. According to Professor Elaine Shpungin at Kenyon College, what you eat and drink affects your concentration and memory. If you eat something high in protein before you begin your study session, like a turkey sandwich or peanut butter granola bar, you will become energized, making you sharper and more alert. Try to avoid food high in carbohydrates, as they may make you feel sluggish or tired. Also, it is actually better to skip the trip to the coffee cart on the way to your special study place, because coffee contains caffeine, a mind-altering substance. A few hours after drinking a cup of coffee, your mind is likely to slow down and feel more sluggish than if you had never had it at all.

So, take a deep breath, Rowan. We’re in the home stretch now, rounding third on a trip around the bases that will lead us to one glorious textbook-free week. Study hard, study off and Spring Break will begin on a high note.