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Re-reading is inefficient. Here are 8 tips for studying smarter.

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The way most students study makes no sense.

That's the conclusion of Washington University in St. Louis psychologists Henry Roediger and  Mark McDaniel — who've spent a combined 80 years studying learning and memory, and recently distilled their findings with novelist Peter Brown in the book  Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning .

using active learning strategies is most effective

The majority of students study by re-reading notes and textbooks — but the psychologists' research, both in lab experiments and of actual students in classes, shows this is a terrible way to learn material. Using active learning strategies — like flashcards, diagramming, and quizzing yourself — is much more effective, as is spacing out studying over time and mixing different topics together.

McDaniel spoke with me about the eight key tips he'd share with students and teachers from his body of research.

1) Don't just re-read your notes and readings

Photofusion/UIG via Getty Images

"We know from surveys that a majority of students, when they study, they typically re-read assignments and notes. Most students say this is their number one go-to strategy.

when students re-read a textbook chapter, they show no improvement in learning

"We know, however, from a lot of research, that this kind of repetitive recycling of information is not an especially good way to learn or create more permanent memories.  Our studies of Washington University students, for instance, show that when they re-read a textbook chapter, they have absolutely no improvement in learning over those who just read it once.

"On your first reading of something, you extract a lot of understanding. But when you do the second reading, you read with a sense of 'I know this, I know this.' So basically, you're not processing it deeply, or picking more out of it. Often, the re-reading is cursory — and it's insidious, because this gives you the illusion that you know the material very well, when in fact there are gaps."

2) Ask yourself lots of questions

Aram Boghosian for The Boston Globe via Getty Images

"One good technique to use instead is to read once, then quiz yourself, either using questions at the back of a textbook chapter, or making up your own questions. Retrieving that information is what actually produces more robust learning and memory.

retrieving information is what produces more robust learning and memory

"And even when you can't retrieve it — when you get the questions wrong — it gives you an accurate diagnostic on what you don't know, and this tells you what you should go back and study. This helps guide your studying more effectively.

"Asking questions also helps you understand more deeply.  Say you're learning about world history, and how ancient Rome and Greece were trading partners. Stop and ask yourself why they became trading partners. Why did they become shipbuilders, and learn to navigate the seas? It doesn't always have to be why — you can ask how, or what.

"In asking these questions, you're trying to explain, and in doing this, you create a better understanding, which leads to better memory and learning. So instead of just reading and skimming, stop and ask yourself things to make yourself understand the material."

3) Connect new information to something you already know

"Another strategy is, during a second reading,  to try relating the principles in the text to something you already know about. Relate new information to prior information for better learning.

"One example is if you were learning about how the  neuron transmits electricity. One of the things we know if that if you have a fatty sheath surround the neuron, called a  myelin sheath , it helps the neuron transmit electricity more quickly.

"So you could liken this, say, to water running through a hose. The water runs quickly through it, but if you puncture the hose, it's going to leak, and you won't get the same flow. And that's essentially what happens when we age — the myelin sheaths break down, and transmissions become slower."

( Quasar/Wikimedia Commons )

4) Draw out the information in a visual form

"A great strategy is making diagrams, or visual models, or flowcharts. In a beginning psychology course, you could diagram the  flow of classical conditioning . Sure, you can read about classical conditioning, but to truly understand it and be able to write down and describe the different aspects of it on a test later on — condition, stimulus, and so on — it's a good idea to see if you can put it in a flowchart.

"Anything that creates active learning — generating understanding on your own — is very effective in retention. It basically means the learner needs to become more involved and more engaged, and less passive."

5) Use flashcards

"Flashcards are another good way of doing this. And one key to using them is actually re-testing yourself on the ones you got right.

keeping a correct card in the deck and encountering it again is more useful

"A lot of students will answer the question on a flashcard, and take it out of the deck if they get it right. But it turns out this isn't a good idea — repeating the act of memory retrieval is important. Studies show that keeping the correct item in the deck and encountering it again is useful. You might want to practice the incorrect items a little more, but repeated exposure to the ones you get right is important too.

"It's not that repetition as a whole is bad. It's that mindless repetition is bad."

6) Don't cram — space out your studying

Johannes Simon/Getty Images

"A lot of students cram — they wait until the last minute, then in one evening, they repeat the information again and again. But research shows this isn't good for long term memory. It may allow you to do okay on that test the next day, but then on the final, you won't retain as much information, and then the next year, when you need the information for the next level course, it won't be there.

practice a little bit one day, then two days later

"This often happens in statistics. Students come back for the next year, and it seems like they've forgotten everything, because they crammed for their tests.

"The better idea is to space repetition. Practice a little bit one day, then put your flashcards away, then take them out the next day, then two days later. Study after study shows that spacing is really important."

7) Teachers should space out and mix up their lessons too

Andy Cross/The Denver Post via Getty Images

"Our book also has information for teachers. And o ur educational system tends to promote massed presentation of information as well.

"In a typical college course, you cover one topic one day, then on the second day, another topic, then on the third day, another topic. This is massed presentation. You never go back and recycle or reconsider the material.

"But the key, for teachers, is to put the material back in front of a student days or weeks later. There are several ways they can do this. Here at Washington University, there are some instructors who give weekly quizzes, and used to just put material from that week's classes on the quiz. Now, they're bringing back more material from two to three weeks ago. One psychology lecturer explicitly takes time, during each lecture, to bring back material from days or weeks beforehand.

the key, for teachers, is to put the material back in front of a student days or weeks later

"This can be done in homework too. It's typical, in statistics courses, to give homework in which all of the problems are all in the same category. After correlations are taught, a  student's homework, say, is problem after problem on correlation. Then the next week, T tests are taught, and all the problems are on T tests. But we've found that sprinkling in questions on stuff that was covered two or three weeks ago is really good for retention.

"And this can be built into the content of lessons themselves. Let's say you're taking an art history class. When I took it, I learned about Gauguin, then I saw lots of his paintings, then I moved on to Matisse, and saw lots of paintings by him. Students and instructors both think that this is a good way of learning the painting styles of these different artists.

"But experimental studies show that's not the case at all. It's better to give students an example of one artist, then move to another, then another, then recycle back around. That interspersing, or mixing, produces much better learning that can be transferred to paintings you haven't seen — letting students accurately identify the creators of paintings, say, on a test.

"And this works for all sorts of problems. Let's go back to statistics. In upper level classes, and the real world, you're not going to be told what sort of statistical problem you're encountering — you're going to have to figure out the method you need to use. And you can't learn how to do that unless you have experience dealing with a mix of different types of problems, and diagnosing which requires which type of approach."

8) There's no such thing as a "math person"

Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

"There's some really  interesting work by Carol Dweck , at Stanford. She's shown that students tend to have one of two mindsets about learning.

it turns out that mindsets predict how well students end up doing

"One is a fixed learning model. It says, 'I have a certain amount of talent for this topic — say, chemistry or physics — and I'll do well until I hit that limit. Past that, it's too hard for me, and I'm not going to do well.'  The other mindset is a growth mindset. It says that learning involves using effective strategies, putting aside time to do the work, and engaging in the process, all of which help you gradually increase your capacity for a topic.

"It turns out that the mindsets predict how well students end up doing. Students with growth mindsets tend to stick with it, tend to persevere in the face of difficulty, and tend to be successful in challenging classes. Students with the fixed mindset tend not to.

"So for teachers, the lesson is that if you can talk to students and suggest that a growth mindset really is the more accurate model — and it is — then students tend to be more open to trying new strategies, and sticking with the course, and working in ways that are going to promote learning. Ability, intelligence, and learning have to do with how you approach it — working smarter, we like to say."

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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Shovel

  • Introduction
  • Why a Study Plan?
  • Create a Study Schedule
  • Create a Task List
  • How Long Will It Take?
  • Can You Get It Done?
  • Your Study Routine
  • When To Study
  • Where To Study
  • Study Methods
  • How to Take Notes

How to Study a Textbook

  • How to Study For Exams
  • How To Write a Paper

eBook How to Be a Successful Student

If you did your Workload setup in the Shovel study planner , you know by now that the largest number of tasks you have to do will be readings. They will also take up the majority of your study time.

To build a good study plan, it’s important to know how many readings you have, how many pages each of them represents, and how long you estimate each will take. 

Those may be from a textbook but can come from PDFs or online reading sources as well.

Do  yourself a favor and print off every PDF at the start of each semester. Get them organized into folders and have them accessible when you need them. 

You’ll want to create a task for every reading and get them into Shovel Study planner. For textbook readings, enter the chapter number and the number of pages for each of them. Know how many  pages of PDFs you have to read as well.

How to read a textbook

Never skip a reading. I see some study websites that say that you don’t need to read everything you are assigned. They just think they’ll get it from their class lectures.

I read every single word that was ever assigned to me in college. Law school too. Literally. Every. Single. Word. Not only did I think it might help me get a decent grade, but I actually wanted to learn something for my tuition.

I get that some people, athletes for example, may have so much going on that they just physically can’t read everything, but most people can. 

The main reasons that students skip readings is that they run out of time. If you are following this guide, that won’t happen to you.

Time everything you read

If you want to have an accurate study plan, it’s important to know how long your tasks are going to take. 

That’s not hard to know when it comes to readings. Just time how long they take. It is one of the easiest things to do and the benefits are great. It literally takes seconds.

Just write your start time on the first page and the end time on the last page of the reading. How long did it take? How many pages did you read? Now you know the average time per page for that specific book.

I always had a good estimate of how long my next reading from the same book would take me. As the material getting harder and it took longer, I would adjust my estimates accordingly.

Always highlight a textbook

No matter what you have to read in college, there is one thing for certain—something on that page is going to be on the exam. Sooner or later you’re going to have to revisit that page to study it.

It takes a little extra time, but the best way to make it easier to study is do some good highlighting the first time through.

In high school, kids usually aren’t allowed to highlight their textbooks. In college, you have to. It’s that important.

I know those textbooks are expensive and you want to trade them back in looking like new, but it’s just not worth it. Consider it the cost of success.

Benefits of highlighting

I see a lot of contrary opinions on highlighting. Some think it’s a waste of time and that it really isn’t effective. I couldn’t disagree more. Highlighting does more than just draw attention to important points. It adds value in many ways.

Concentration

It’s often hard to read new and complicated material. When you highlight, it forces you to really concentrate. You can’t just breeze through it daydreaming.

It helps you maintain an intense focus and read with a purpose. You are constantly looking for the most important points and the best ways to abbreviate them.

You will always be asking yourself if this content is likely to appear on the exam and how it might be presented.

You are already preparing for the exam.

When highlighting, you’re forced to read the material twice. Often on your first pass, you’ll read the paragraph entirely so you’re clear about what is important. You then go back and highlight only those words that qualify as triggers for what you need to remember. That alone is worth it.

The most important reason to highlight your books is to speed review. This is where hours are saved. If you don’t highlight and isolate the important concepts in your textbook, how do you know what to review for your exam?

This goes double for writing papers. Underline the most important, relevant concepts and it will make finding material for your papers a breeze.

When studying for exams, many students just scan over their textbooks searching for things they don’t know. You don’t have time to do that in college. You could waste literally hundreds of hours during your college career reading and re-reading irrelevant material.

Highlighting by definition will focus you in on only those points that need to be reviewed the most. You’ll automatically ignore the rest.

Do you have to use a highlighter?

Highlighting doesn’t necessarily mean a yellow highlighter. You can also use a pen or pencil too. I always used a mechanical pencil. I recommend pencil because you can’t remove pen or marker.

Often you may start reading and highlighting only to find out that the very best material was in the next paragraph. I also like a pencil because you can write notes, question marks or other comments on a page without stopping.

Less is more

I often see highlighted books where entire paragraphs are yellow. That defeats the purpose. It’s important to try to eliminate the filler from the critical concepts and do it in a way that still makes it readable.

Most books contain way more words than you’ll ever need for the test. I’m not saying the material isn’t important, because it is. 

However, most words in a paragraph give context—background info, explaining the reasons for something, or setting the stage for the central point that the paragraph is trying to make. Words that lay the foundation.

You’re looking for the triggers—those words and phrases that provide the meat of the concept and help you remember the rest when you need to.

Always ask:

What is most likely to be on the exam?

How do I best summarize by highlighting the minimum words possible.

You can usually pick out the key words and phrases and highlight them to understand and remember the concept.

With practice, you’ll craft whole sentences that make perfect sense using words or even parts of words spread across one or many paragraphs.

There’s an art to pulling the most from the least words and still making it readable. It’s never a perfect process, but the more you do it, the better and faster you’ll get at it every week.

Highlight every page of every textbook. No exceptions.

Understand everything

Reading is good. Understanding is better.

I know this may again be stating the obvious, but I am always amazed by how many people just read past things they don’t really understand. They assume they’ll figure it out later or get it during class.

You need to understand everything you read in college. That includes the definition of every word in every book. Never move ahead until the content is clear.

When I was in college, the first thing I did when I walked into the library was get a dictionary off the shelf and take it to my study table. I literally looked up every single word I didn’t know. You are lucky enough to have a dictionary app right in your phone. Use it.

I’ll say it again. Take the time to do things right the first time through. You don’t want to have to come back and do it later when you are trying to study.

Reading is the one thing that you can always get as far ahead on  as you want. Take advantage of it. Getting more down now will give you more time to study or do other things later.

Take small bites

Any reading assignment will look a whole lot easier when you break it down into small chunks.

Just focus on reading a little bit at a time. Start early and just get something done. You don’t have to do an entire reading in one session. Reading just a few pages whenever you have time will add up over a day.

Write test questions

Okay, so you’ve read every word. You’ve highlighted the salient points. You understand everything. You’ve cleared up any confusing concepts with your professor.

Do you think any of that material might be on your exam?

Of course it will.

So now, just like with your class notes, it’s time to write some test questions. This is where your highlighting really pays off.

Writing the test questions is one of the most helpful study techniques you can use. Go back over each page of your textbook and look at every highlighted section.

Ask yourself how the professor might ask about this content on the exam and WRITE THE QUESTION DOWN. If you’ve done a good job of highlighting, you’ll have the material pretty well narrowed down already. The question should jump right out at you.

Write the test questions in the margins if you can. Some books might not have room so keep a notebook nearby as you read and have all of your questions in one place.

You can also flip to the back of your class notebook, turn it upside down, and start at the back page. Reference the question to the notes in your notebook.

If you’re typing on a laptop, you can use a flashcard app or create a Test Question document in Google Docs. You can type questions, or better yet, you can just dictate them.

When you are done, you’ll have a solid set of test questions that you can start practicing on. (More on that later).

Writing test questions will both dramatically reduce the time you need to study for the real thing and increase your retention.

As with everything else that you do, make sure you treat each and every session with your textbook as a single unit that should be completed before you move on.

Read it, understand it, highlight it, and write test questions.

Spend a little time now to save time later.

The time it takes to read, highlight and write test questions will always take a bit longer than if you just read it the normal way. But trust me, it will save you multiples of time later when you’re studying for your exams.

Know what’s ahead

When you’ve finished reading your current assignment, do a quick scan of the pages ahead. Is this new and complicated material? Will it take even more time than you estimated?

Should you start earlier and allow extra time just in case? Your instincts will tell you right away if you can expect problems.

Always look ahead to avoid getting behind. Don’t get caught by surprise.

Just like your class notes, you invest a lot of time and effort into reading and highlighting your textbook. You’ve created an extremely valuable asset. What if you lost it? Unlike taking notes in Google Docs, you can’t automatically backup your textbook to the cloud.

Ask yourself: If you lost your textbook today, would that affect your ability to review and get a perfect grade? If you’ve done things right, the answer should be a resounding “Yes.”

I know this may sound anal, but there is nothing wrong with taking a photo of pages and backing them up to the cloud. 

If not, guard that book with your life.

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Med School Insiders

How to Read a Textbook Effectively and Efficiently

  • By Med School Insiders
  • August 5, 2021
  • Medical Student , Pre-med , Study Strategies
  • Active Learning , Efficiency , Reading

Attending medical school involves a whole lot of reading, and a lot of that reading is going to be dull, dense, and demanding. Not only do you need to understand everything you read, but there’s a good chance you also need to remember it.

If you’re struggling with your textbook readings, this is the method I use to get the most out of my textbook.

Guest post by Justin Deol.

The Methodology Behind How to Read a Textbook

Effectively reading your textbook is a lot like drawing a picture.

how to effectively read your textbook

The first step is getting an overview of what we are about to read. This is equivalent to an artist drawing an outline. In the same way an outline sets up the boundaries of a drawing, a mental overview sets up the boundaries of what we are about to learn.

An outline helps you determine what the final product will look like without the details. For example, in step 1 of the image above, we already know that the final image will be of a human even though we don’t have the details. I can Google all of the different types of eyes and hairstyles I can draw to make the human unique, but the final image will still be of a human.

Taking a few minutes to do a mental overview of the textbook chapter or section you are about to read accomplishes the same goal. Say you’re reading a chapter on Newton’s laws. After reading the headings and the summary sections at the end, you might determine that this chapter will cover only the first law:

An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.

Now you have an outline of where this chapter starts and ends.

This step is often underestimated, and too many students dive into reading the chapter without forming an outline first. But creating an outline is a key step that should not be skipped.

For example, imagine you’re a runner and I am your coach. I say to you, “Okay, keep running, and I’ll tell you when to stop.” A minute goes by and you look at me. I shake my head. Two minutes go by and I still haven’t said anything. Ten minutes. Twenty. Sixty. At some point during that workout, you’re going to start holding back since you have no idea when I’m going to tell you to stop.

Now, imagine that I said, “Let’s run for 20 minutes, take a 5 minute break, run for another 20, and then call it a day.” You will be ready to go hard because you know the limits. Understanding the boundaries of what you’re studying enables you to focus at a higher level.

how to effectively read your textbook

The next step is adding some details to your outline. This is done by actively reading the textbook. The final step is to reflect on what you just learned. This is equivalent to outlining the drawing in black marker and coloring it in.

So, the 3 steps to effectively and efficiently read or study from a textbook are:

  • Mental Priming
  • Active Reading

1 | Mental Priming

Reading a textbook is not like reading a novel . There are no twists and turns, you aren’t hoping to be surprised, and for the most part, the information doesn’t change. You’re also free to skip over any sections you think you already understand. Therefore, it’s a good idea to look ahead in the chapter to determine what you’ll be reading (and if it’s necessary to read it at all.)

Read all of the headings and the summary at the end of the chapter if one is included. Skim over the questions at the end of the chapter. By getting a general overview of the topic, you are essentially “priming” your brain. Your brain will absorb important ideas more easily because it has seen them before.

I also recommend explaining to yourself out loud what you think the topic is about. This will help you discover any gaps in your knowledge, which you can fill in with the next step.

2 | Active Reading

By this step, you have determined the boundaries of your reading session. You have an outline. The next step is to fill in the details with active reading.

Active reading is the process of thoroughly engaging with the text. To read actively, we must ask questions, challenge the author’s assertions, reread what we don’t understand, make personal connections, and focus on the author’s use of language to discover their deeper implications.

Here are some tips for becoming an active reader:

  • Read in small chunks, only a few pages or a sub-section at a time.
  • Highlight key words. Be as minimalistic with your highlighting as possible.
  • Take notes on key topics using the Cornell method .
  • Flag any important pages you may want to reference later.
  • Most importantly, after reading a page or a few paragraphs, explain what you just read to yourself in your own words.

Explaining what you just read to yourself or to someone else will help you solidify what you know and what you don’t know, and it will improve your reading comprehension. If you’re explaining something just to yourself, I still recommend you do so out loud, just so long as you’re not in a library.

Reading out loud might go a little something like this:

“Ah.. yes, so Newton’s first law is that an object in motion stays in motion. An object at rest stays at rest. This is all true unless an object, in either case, is acted upon by an unbalanced force. Wait.. what is an unbalanced force? Hmm… wait, this reminds me of when I learned how to draw free body diagrams in physics. If I give the coin on my desk a little push, it eventually stops moving. This is because it has the unbalanced force of friction acting on it.”

3 | Reflection

It’s time to finalize the drawing. Textbook reading requires sequential understanding, meaning you typically have to understand one section before you can move on to the next.

how to effectively read your textbook

This is because the next section builds upon the knowledge gained in the previous one. Therefore, it’s a good idea to reflect on what you learned after reading each section. Again, explain what you just read out loud. Try to use simple language. If you find any gaps in your knowledge, fill them in before moving on to the next section.

For the sake of clarity, when I say section, I am referring to the small number of pages or the sub-section you have chosen to read. For example, let’s say a textbook chapter has ten pages of dense information. I recommend reading two pages and then pausing to reflect. Once you feel confident about those two pages, read the next two and reflect on those, and so on.

Another great way to reflect on what you learned is to complete any example problems, questions at the back of the chapter, or assignment questions. While this may feel tedious, it will certainly improve your comprehension.

Other Strategies for Textbook Reading

Reading a textbook is a workout for your mind. You have to constantly assess what you know and don’t know by trying to explain the concept out loud. Then, you have to go back and fill in any gaps in your knowledge. Plus, it takes a great deal of time—something medical students do not have in abundance. Since time isn’t always on your side, below are a couple of alternative strategies.

Question #1: Reading a textbook takes a lot of time. I don’t have the time. What should I do?

This is one of the biggest problems students face. Students are juggling so many demands that they don’t have the time to sit and actively read a whole chapter.

In this case, I recommend using an alternative method when mentally priming.

Mentally prime yourself by reading the headings, the summary section, and the questions at the end of the chapter. However, before you dive into the reading, start on the corresponding assignment or essay instead. Most textbook readings are accompanied by an assignment, especially in engineering.

Then, when you get stuck on a question, quickly summarize out loud what you do and don’t know about the problem. Write it down. Then, go over your lecture notes and see if you can fill in the gaps in your knowledge. If you can’t, go to the textbook.

The first thing to look for is an example problem that’s similar to the assignment question you are working on. If there are no example problems, you can start reading the textbook. This time, when you go to the textbook, you will have a better idea of what you are searching for because you set up more defined boundaries by going through your assignment and reading your lecture notes.

Question #2: Even after reading a section and going through it out loud, I still don’t understand. HELP!

If you’re read through the section, explained it to yourself out loud, read through your lecture notes, and you still don’t understand the topic, you still have a few choices:

  • Look up YouTube videos on the topic by using the chapter headings and subheadings as a guide.
  • Put this assignment and reading on hold. Write down any questions you have and get them cleared up by going to your professor’s office hours.
  • Ask a friend. There’s a good chance that at least one of your friends or classmates knows what’s going on. Sometimes it’s actually better to get an explanation from a peer because they may have had the same gaps in knowledge that you have now.

Those are my tips on how to effectively and efficiently read or study a textbook. I hope this article helps you become a better textbook reader.

Follow the Med School Insiders Blog

Looking for more ways to build your reading comprehension and optimize your reading habits? Our Med School Insiders blog is filled with helpful resources and free guides for gaining medical school acceptance, navigating medical school, improving your habits, and living a happy, healthy life.

Add these to your reading list:

  • How to Improve Reading Comprehension — 10 Strategies
  • How to Read Research Articles Fast
  • How to Read Faster — The Science Behind Speed Reading

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Hello, Dr. Jubbal. Thank you for these recommendations. As a Veterinary student, I have sown great rewards by heeding your advice.

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how to study your book

The Learning Strategies Center

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  • –How to Tackle Exam Questions
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  • –The Cornell Note Taking System
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The Cornell Note Taking System

Why do you take notes? What do you hope to get from your notes? What are Cornell Notes and how do you use the Cornell note-taking system?

There are many ways to take notes. It’s helpful to try out different methods and determine which work best for you in different situations. Whether you are learning online or in person, the physical act of writing can help you remember better than just listening or reading. Research shows that taking notes by hand is more effective than typing on a laptop. This page and our Canvas module will teach you about different note-taking systems and styles and help you determine what will work best for your situation.

how to study your book

In our Cornell Note Taking System module you will:

  • Examine your current note taking system
  • Explore different note taking strategies (including the Cornell Notes system)
  • Assess which strategies work best for you in different situations

The best way to explore your current note-taking strategies and learn about the Cornell note taking system is to go through our Canvas note taking module. The module will interactively guide you through how to use Cornell Notes –  click on the link here or the button below. This module is publicly available.

Click here to Explore Note-taking and Cornell Notes

Just want to see a bit more about Cornell Notes? You can view the videos below.

Watch: What are Cornell Notes?

Watch: Learn how students use the Cornell Note Taking System

The Cornell Note-Taking System was originally developed by Cornell education professor, Walter Pauk. Prof. Pauk outlined this effective note-taking method in his book, How to Study in College (1).

  •   Pauk, Walter; Owens, Ross J. Q. (2010).  How to Study in College  (10 ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth.  ISBN   978-1-4390-8446-5 .  Chapter 10: “The Cornell System: Take Effective Notes”, pp. 235-277

How to study effectively: The ultimate guide

Use this ultimate study guide to nail your next exam! We share five principles on how to study less and still learn with double the speed.

How to study effectively: The ultimate guide

I used to know this guy in college who got A's for everything bu hardly seemed to study at all. Annoying, right? While we were all sweating bullets with exam anxiety, cramming like crazy the day and night before finals, Haru was chilling, playing video games. He didn’t need to study, he said, because he'd "already done the work" ... during the semester.

We were all in awe of Haru, thinking he had a photographic memory or some other amazing cognitive talent that the genetic gods did not bestow onto the rest of us. It wasn't until later that we learned that Haru wasn’t the reincarnation of Albert Einstein, he just knew how to study effectively .

He had figured out the secret to passing exams with seemingly minimal effort; the Holy Grail of study techniques *insert angels singing here*.

It all comes down to this: you are cognitively wired in a certain way. Traditional approaches to studying don’t really take this into account when you attempt to learn new information. You just keep reading and cramming, hoping the necessary facts will stick around and show up when needed. But if this traditional approach really worked, a lot more students would perform a lot better at school, college, and life.

If, however, you work with your brain’s cognitive hardwiring, just like Haru—rather than struggling on in spite of it or even AGAINST IT—you can massively increase your knowledge retention , while decreasing the amount of time you need to spend studying.

Sounds like one of those too-good-to-be-true infomercials, doesn’t it? The ones with the smiling housewives that make motherhood look like a detergent-fueled dream devoid of backache, bacteria, and kid barf. It smells like banana bread and freshly-baked lies.

It’s not too good to be true, though. We at Brainscape know that there is a super simple study method that leverages decades of cognitive science research to help students onboard information more effectively so that they won’t forget it 24 hours after memorizing it. And we know this because our adaptive flashcard study platform is the product of this research.

So, if you want the time you put into your studying to yield much quicker, more permanent results, it’s time to do things a little differently. We’re going to show you right now in Brainscape’s ultimate guide to studying effectively with LESS net effort:

  • Two approaches to studying
  • Five principles of effective study rooted in science study
  • Principle # 1: Learn how to read so that you learn what you read
  • Principle # 2: Note-taking done properly
  • Principle # 3: Consolidate notes soon after the lecture
  • Principle # 4: Make study a daily practice

Principle #5: Teach to learn

  • Study effectively or cram? It's your choice

There are two approaches to studying

Girl at her desk studying

What kind of student are you?

Are you the kind who waits until an exam looms right over your head before you cancel everything on your calendar and cram like crazy? Do you spend your exam countdown in a sleepless, caffeine-fueled, and information-drenched stupor, emerging with just enough energy to somehow sit for (and scrape through) the exam?

This is the first approach to studying and it's cramming . Hey, if it makes you feel any better, you are one of the vast majority of humans on the planet who study this way. Yet, for an approach that is so widespread, cramming simply doesn’t work well. It's stressful, unsatisfying, and almost never yields the results you were aiming for. It also requires more net study time when all is said and done.

Then, there’s the second approach to studying—the way our smart friend Haru prepared for his exams ...

Start studying on DAY ONE of your course

What does that even look like?

Dedicate a little time each and every day to:

  • Reviewing all new information within 24 hours of initial exposure so that it is refreshed in your mind before you tackle the following day's classes;
  • Previewing the following class's content beforehand so that you have a high-level view of what you're going to be learning, its logical flow, what’s important, and what questions you should ask. This primes your brain for learning in class!
  • Returning to the harder concepts you need to remember again and again over the ensuing days and weeks so that you bank that information as you progress through the semester, rather than at the end of it, right before exams, when you've probably forgotten it all.

If you spend just a few minutes every day (depending on how content-heavy your course is), reviewing what you've covered previously and on preparing for the next class, you will arrive at your exams completely fluent in your subject. All you'll really need to do is review the information once more, focusing on areas of difficulty, and perhaps run through some practice exams, essays, and equations, etc.

In other words: you’ve done the hard work of understanding, learning, and remembering the information.

It’s obvious which of these two study techniques is the most beneficial and effective. Now, all you need is a blueprint on how to get from where you are now (over-caffeinated, sleep-deprived cramming) to where students like Haru are (spending less time and effort to get better results ).

We’re going to lay out that blueprint for you. Consider these the ultimate tips on the best way to study for a test!

Five principles of effective study rooted in science

We have the secret to cutting your studying time in half . Take a look at the following diagram:

how to study your book

Typically, students dedicate more and more time to studying as their exam approaches, cramming an entire course or semester’s worth of material in only a few days or weeks. Sound familiar?

The problem with this approach is that by waiting so long since their initial lectures, these students have forgetten pretty much everything. And now they have to spend extra time re-learning the same concepts! Overall, these students might spend 10 hours studying, which is what we see in the "Cramming" graph.

Now let’s look at the "Spacing" graph beneath it, which shows an even distribution of time over the days leading up to an exam. This student covered the same ground in only 5 hours , spending a little time every day studying, and using a specific pattern of learning that helps the knowledge to stick.

Because of this latter approach, this student was prepared in HALF the time.

This sums up the two key ingredients in an effective study plan :

  • Study in s mall increments across a longer period of time
  • Use a specific pattern of study that makes the knowledge stick

This may sound like a no-brainer. After all, if you wanted to bench press 250 pounds, you wouldn't wait until the day before your goal to start training, spending 10 hours in the gym in an effort to “catch up”.

But this is exactly what students are tempted to do. And it has a lot to do with a lack of motivation and a tendency to procrastinate rather than study.

This is not a good plan.

But don’t worry: We're going to teach you the five principles behind an excellent study plan . Just be warned that if you have left your studying to the last minute, this will not teach you how to cram the night before a big test (<– though you can check out that article for help with that). Rather, this guide is intended as a blueprint for you to use and apply to your learning journey from its outset.

Here are those top study principles ...

Course book with highlights for studying

If you are in a traditional lecture class or lab, it is likely that your instructor assigns you a certain textbook chapter to read before each class. (Yeah, I know . Like ANYONE does that.) In fact, it's implicitly understood that nobody actually reads before the class. But you could be the one nerd who realizes just what an advantage this undemanding preparation gives you.

Reading the chapter or section primes your brain for learning , alerting you to what information is to come, and contributing enormously towards your ability to understand the next lecture. And since you're going to have to read the textbook at some point anyway, reading before class requires no net addition of work.

So, why wouldn’t you do it?

What we’re proposing is that you approach your reading assignments a little differently. We want you to learn to read in a way that:

  • Deepens the memories you make, and
  • Saves you hours of study time later on.

In other words: learn to read so that you learn what you read.

Here’s exactly how you can do that...

Step 1: Review what you learned the day before

Reviewing the previous lesson’s outline or notes provides critical reinforcement of the material your class covered the previous day. Having this kind of refresher/reinforcement event so close to the initial exposure (within 24 to 48 hours) strengthens the new memory traces your brain makes before they evaporate in the normal nightly process of forgetting. It also sets you up to smoothly onboard new information that is very likely logically connected to the previous lecture.

Step 2: Perform a quick scan of the new material

how to study your book

Being primed to learn makes your brain receptive to new information. So, like a military operation, you should scout ahead and see what’s coming in the coursework. This is where a quick scan read comes into effect.

Before each lecture (or the night before) scan over the section or chapter you will be covering in the next class. This gives you:

  • A high-level view of what’s to come,
  • Which aspects of the content are important or emphasized (and, therefore, need special attention), and
  • Which questions you should be asking your teacher in class to address any points of confusion.

Some textbooks even have a series of "What will you learn?" bullets before the chapter, or a summary section at the end of the chapter, which you can read through. Why is this important?

It takes completely new information that might require some time to process and makes it familiar, even if it is just a rough outline. It also makes you curious to fill in the gaps, which brings us to the next step ...

Read: How to read faster and better

Step 3: Ask questions to fill in the gaps

Once you’ve finished scanning the chapter, put on your journalist’s hat, and think about some questions you should ask to bridge any gaps in your understanding.

For example: during World War II, there was a cascading series of conflicts and belligerent actions that eventually led to an all-out declaration of war against Germany. In approaching the subject you might ask:

  • I wonder what Germany did to provoke the Allies into declaring war?
  • Why did Japan side with Germany?
  • What did Pearl Harbor have to do with anything?
  • And what the heck ever happened to Josh Hartnett??

Jot these questions down and make sure they get answered in the next lecture. This type of inquiry puts your brain into a different mode—a questioning, problem-solving mode —which is powerful for learning and remembering information.

Step 4: Take notes

Now, return to the beginning and read through the chapter more carefully, writing down the most salient points as you go along. If you don’t care about keeping your textbook in good condition you can make a total mess of its margins, scribbling notes, highlighting and underlining sentences, and summarizing important points.

If you do care about keeping your textbooks pretty (perhaps because you want to resell them or hand them down to your sibling) you can always photocopy the relevant pages and scribble on those. Failing that, just use an exam pad or scrap of paper.

The value of taking notes is obvious: it fleshes out your understanding of the information, perhaps by adding examples, illustrations, or alternative descriptions. But there is another sneaky benefit you may not have been aware of.

Taking notes engages your powers of metacognition . (No, metacognition is not a member of the X-Men team.)

Metacognition is your awareness and understanding of your own thought processes. In other words: "thinking about your thinking."

The reason metacognition is so useful for absorbing new information is that it kicks your brain into a higher gear, forming deeper memory traces . Examples of metacognition are: Which parts of this reading are most important? How will I best remember them? Do I fully understand this concept?

The notes you make in your textbook margins will also make the material easier to review later, providing a more fleshed out and personalized study aid. Just don’t go highlighting everything on the page!

Read: How to take good notes (and how NOT to!)

Step 5: Distill the information down into punchy one-liners

how to study your book

You’ve made it through the reading, you’ve taken notes and asked questions. Now, take a minute to really think about the take-home messages of the chapter or section you just read and write them down.

This potent summary not only strengthens the memory traces you’ve created in your brain, but it also isolates that section’s most poignant information . This saves you from having to tease that information out later, therefore helping you study more efficiently in the future.

Step 6: Put yourself to the test

Rather than whipping through several pages of information, which you’re never going to remember, take a little time after each section to recall aloud what you’ve just read from memory. You could even pretend to explain it to another student.

[This is called the Feynman Technique and it really, really works]

Also, most textbooks contain at least a few questions after a chapter to compel you to stop and consider what you’ve read. Answer them .

This final act of recall and assessment will make the reading material "stick" for at least a day or two, until you're able to cement it with further retrieval practice (more on this later). Testing yourself is an extremely effective memorization technique.

Here's a summary of the effective reading strategies

Do you see why this preparatory work is important? It may sound like a lot to do before you’ve even walked into your lecture but you are effectively setting yourself up for success . With this prep behind you, you’re going to understand what’s going on in the lecture, be able to ask perceptive questions and earn the respect of your teacher.

Most importantly, when the time comes to study for exams, you’re going to have a solid memory of the coursework and a gorgeous set of succinct study notes to review, while your peers are scrabbling to re-learn the entire course, practically from scratch.

Now you know how to read your textbook and materials. Just remember that it’s key to do this BEFORE your lecture, in preparation for each lesson.

If you treat this pre-reading as non-negotiable homework , “Future You” will be even more grateful than when you wake up with your wallet, cellphone, and dignity after a night of tequila and bad life choices. Success.

Man lying in bed with a headache

Students who follow Principle # 1 put themselves in a unique position when they walk into a lecture. Unlike everyone else in the room, they have already started learning the material.

They know where the narrative is heading, what the pertinent points are, and what questions need to be answered. And so, while everyone else is developing a case of carpal tunnel writing down every single word the lecturer says or writes on the board, they can sit back, listen, and absorb.

The only information they need to write down is what’s important or what they haven’t already encountered in the textbook, which often isn't very much at all. This is a concept called " flow-based notetaking " and it totally frees students up to engage in the lecture, listen carefully to the teacher, and stop to ask questions where appropriate.

Here are those important steps to proper note-taking in class:

  • Do the pre-reading (see Principle # 1 above). This will dramatically reduce the number of notes you need to take in class.
  • Eat the right foods beforehand so that you don’t spend the entire lecture feeling fatigued, bloated, or crampy.
  • Ask questions if you've missed something or need to fill in a gap in your knowledge. If you’re concerned about interrupting class, chat with your teacher afterward.
  • Jot down keywords and phrases. Don't waste time worrying about spelling, grammar, or writing in complete sentences.
  • Leave large spaces between sections so that you can fill in the details later.
  • Identify weak/confusing spots to follow up on after class.

Following these steps will arm you with all the information you need in order to (1) master the material and (2) ace your exams. But you’re far from done yet.

Now the real learning begins...

Man writing notes on his laptop

Let’s assume you’ve (1) followed through on Principle # 1’s pre-reading homework, and (2) made notes in your textbook and during class. First of all: great job! That is literally 100% more than most of your peers have done.

Now, comes the third component to establishing deeply ingrained neural pathways to that information: consolidating your notes .

This is where you improve, rewrite, or clean up the notes you’ve taken, combining the information from the lecture, textbook, and any other sources onto one sexy "cheat sheet", which you can use for future review and, of course, to study for the exam.

On this subject, timing is everything . Ideally, you should consolidate your notes immediately after the lecture or at least within 24 hours of it, taking advantage of that vulnerable time when the new knowledge could be easily forgotten. This may sound like extra work but, just as we discussed, it is an investment of time that has double the dividends at exam time.

RIGHT so what are the best ways to consolidate your notes? You can do what we initially suggested: rewriting your notes, combining all sources of information (lecture, textbook, etc.) onto that sexy "cheat sheet".

You can also take your notes and transform them into a different format entirely . This compels you to really dig deep and understand the material in order to reframe it as, for example, a concept map or in question-and-answer flashcards .

Let’s take a brief look at both of these super helpful study tools...

Tool 1: Consolidate your notes by making a concept map

This is something you probably did in primary and high school (with only the geekiest of students persisting beyond this level) so you hardly need a refresher course in how to build concept maps.

What we will say is that concept maps can work really effectively for subjects like history or science, where there are lots of interrelated concepts , events, or definitions. When you put all these concepts into a map, you establish in your mind how they’re related to each other, thereby making each separate concept more memorable.

how to study your book

The act of making concept maps forces you to engage your skills of critical thinking, which forms more permanent, long-term memories of the information.

If you'd rather create a digital concept map for more flexible editing, sharing, and portability, here are some concept-mapping software options for you.

Tool 2: Consolidate your notes with flashcards

Naturally, flashcards are Brainscape’s favorite study tool!

Comic image with batman

Flashcards have been used for centuries by serious students as a way to efficiently learn information-dense subjects. In fact, of Brainscape’s millions of users, many are postgraduate students preparing for super high-stakes exams .

Why are flashcards so effective? What is it about those itty bitty squares of paper that can help a law graduate sail through the bar, or a premed student pass the MCAT?

The answer is that flashcards (done correctly):

  • Break concepts into the most important, fundamental, and manageable bite-sized facts.
  • Leverage the way your brain is hardwired to learn. Cognitive scientists call this active recall (thinking of the answer from scratch rather than passively reading through your notes or textbook)
  • Facilitate spaced repetition learning (repeating your exposure to the information is how to memorize it better)
  • Are the perfect vehicle for interleaving practice (switching randomly between different concepts and subjects, which strengthens your brain's neural connections to the information you're learning)

Remember right at the beginning of this article we explained that you are cognitively wired in a certain way? And that if you work with your brain—rather than struggling in spite of it or even against it —you can massively increase your rate of knowledge retention?

Flashcards do exactly this: they work with your cognitive wiring to help you learn.

This is why Brainscape’s study platform pivots on flashcards—and decades of cognitive science research—as such a useful mode of studying and information delivery.

how to study your book

Our engaging digital flashcards break concepts down into their fundamental, bite-sized learning objectives and engage your powers of active recall , while our spaced repetition algorithm calculates the exact timing to repeat the concepts you struggle with in order to optimize your learning.

Of course, you can always make your own paper flashcards too. But whether you use Brainscape, some other online flashcard app, or good old-fashioned pen and paper, doing this forces you to reframe your study notes into question-and-answer flashcard pairs.

And as you reframe your content into this different format, you engage the higher brain functions of analysis and synthesis to further strengthen your memories.

Toasting glasses in celebration

To nerd out on how Brainscape has helped millions of users smash their exams into the stratosphere, check out the cognitive science behind our flashcard software , or our comprehensive guide to using and making flashcards .

It can be hard to make a daily investment of time in your studies when you have so many other commitments on your plate: assignments to finish, papers to write, clingy boyfriends to avoid … We get it. Life is chaotic. But at few other times is it as stressful and as chaotic as it is in the run-up to exams.

Investing in learning every day (through review, preparation, and consolidation) eliminates the vast majority of this stress and chaos. And this empowers you to perform when it matters most . We’re not suggesting you neglect your assignments in favor of daily study but rather to give the latter some priority in your busy schedule. As little as 20 - 30 minutes, in fact.

In any case, exams typically count for HALF or more your overall course assessment, so why not give it the lion’s share of your attention?

The reason why creating a daily habit out of studying is so important is simple: the more we are exposed to information, the more we are likely to remember it. It’s the same reason so many people still remember their home phone number from when they were growing up ... because they used it so often.

This is why spaced repetition systems like Brainscape are such effective study tools. What places Brainscape at an advantage to other modes of flashcard study is our spaced repetition algorithm , which, based on how well you know the answer to a flashcard, calculates the optimal interval in which to show you that card again.

This is illustrated in the following animation:

For example: if you rate your confidence a 1 out of 5 (I didn’t know this answer at all), the algorithm will likely show you that card again pretty soon. If, however, you rated your confidence 5 out of 5 (I know this answer), it will only show you that card again much later on.

This spaced repetition ensures that you onboard new knowledge quicker and more efficiently . It also compels you to address your weaknesses (1) without neglecting to occasionally reinforce the areas you’re more confident in and (2) without wasting too much time on this reinforcement.

The longer you do this daily practice, the greater the power of spaced repetition compounds. And if you practice it from the outset, you’ll approach exam time already a master of your subject!

Pro Tip: Take the guesswork and decision-making out of studying by setting study streak reminders in Brainscape: gentle “nags” to keep your daily study streak alive!

Brainscape study streak reminders

To activate, simply go into the menu in the mobile app (left), select Notifications, and then you can then toggle on Streak Reminders (top right). Those will show up as push notifications on your phone’s home screen (bottom right) reminding you to stop what you’re doing and put in a quick study round with Brainscape. You can also customize the time of day you’d prefer to receive your reminders!

The best way to learn is to teach

If this well-known Latin principle is familiar to you it’s because it’s so popular and so true. And this is because teaching a subject unleashes the power of free recall .

Free recall is when you look into the black void that is your consciousness and summon from it information, without any kind of specific prompting. For example: reciting everything you know about a particular concept from beginning to end.

This is much more effective for learning than "prompted" or "cued" recall, which, as their names suggest, provide you with a memory jog (in the form of a question) in order for you to retrieve the information you have stored in your memory. How can you use free recall to prepare for an exam?

As D-day approaches, take time to teach someone everything you know about your subject, progressively working through its various concepts, chapters, and topics. This could be a real person (if you can find a willing victim) or it could be an imaginary one. It could even be your pet goldfish or indoor plant. Pretend you’re the lecturer and they’re the student.

Lady with sun hat and cat

Even better, try to distill the content down to its simplest form (a strategy known as the Feynman Technique ) so it’s immediately understandable to your “students”. This will also help you identify where your understanding of a topic might be lacking.

The “teaching to learn” technique works because it shifts your brain into a different mode: one of dispensing knowledge rather than trying to onboard it. This establishes yet another neural pathway to the information you’re teaching.

Reciting a massive brain dump of everything you know is the best way to solidify new knowledge, not only for an upcoming exam but permanently, for life . And the more knowledge you bank permanently, the easier it is to build on it during future classes and for real-world use.

How to study: learn or cram? It's your choice

Congratulations, you made it through Brainscape’s epic guide on how to study effectively for your exams! Here’s a plate of cookies:

Plate of cookies for learning how to study

So there you have it. The five principles of effective study:

  • Principle # 5: Teach to learn

More than simply tips to study for a test, these principles will help you build study habits that will help you learn better. And, to supercharge your study efficiency, use Brainscape for optimal flashcard-based learning .

A final note. As we said at the beginning, there are two ways to go about studying.

Practice these tenets always, and you will fearlessly triumph overall exams and tests that come your way. Break them and you can look forward to late nights of cramming, sleep deprivation, and extreme caffeination. (And possibly poor test scores, career disappointments, and perished dreams. Not that we want to freak you out or anything ...)

There are no shortcuts.

Stay the course, and you will become one of those elite (but annoying) students like Haru, who studies only half as much as everyone else, gets plenty of sleep during study break, and ends up scoring straight A’s.

The choice (as always) is yours ...

how to study your book

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Steal My Bookshelf: 21 BEST Books About Learning & Studying

by William Wadsworth | Oct 2, 2020 | 15 comments

My all-time 21 favourite books about studying and learning live on a special shelf behind my desk. According to, well, me, these represent the best books on effective learning you could wish for.

I frequently rave about these books to the students and teachers I work with.

These are the books I reach for day-in, day-out when I’m writing for the blog or working on presentations for schools.

Whether you’re looking to find ways to help you or your students build better study habits, or brush up on the science of learning so you can teach or study more effectively, you’re in the right place.

I even take the time to arrange them by colour.

(Tell me if I’ve gone too far…?)

My bookshelf: best study books

I thought it would be fun to take these books on a little photoshoot, and tell you a little bit about each of them.

If you’re looking for a great book about studying and learning, memory techniques or motivation for students, look no further. These make great gifts for smart students, would be top additions to school libraries or family bookshelves, or are simply among the most powerful investments you can make in your education or a student or educator.

Have I got your favourites here? What are you adding to your reading list? Let me know in the comments at the end!

Section shortcuts:

  • Overall best study books: top 3 picks
  • Books about effective learning and memory techniques

Books about studying productively

  • Best books on study habits
  • Best motivational books for students

Overall best study books: my all-time top 3 picks

My overall top two picks for the best study books are Make It Stick by Henry Roediger, Mark McDaniel and Peter Brown, and Redirect by Timothy Wilson. I’d also like to put in a highly honourable mention to Outsmart Your Exams by William Wadsworth. (That’s me. Ahem.) It’s not as famous as many of the books on this list (yet!) but it takes what – I think – is the world’s first scientific and pragmatic approach to setting out a strategy for exam week and in the exam hall itself.

Make It Stick

Book in a sentence:

Underlining, highlighting, re-reading and cramming lead to the illusion of learning, but any gains fade quickly – so use spaced retrieval practice instead.

Perhaps the classic book when it comes to the science of learning, widely and enthusiastically recommended by psychologists and teachers alike.

It’s considered one of the all-time best books on learning for a reason: it’s a brilliant read from a winning collaboration between a professional writer and world-leading scholars, covering the fundamental science and bringing it to life with some wonderful real-life stories.

What I personally enjoyed most was how good it is at persuading you to actually USE the stuff that works – it does a superb job of describing what effective learning techniques will actually FEEL like, and what to expect when you start using them.

Make It Stick

Whether you succeed in so many areas of life, including education, can often be attributed to your mindset – Redirect explains the incredible power of changing the stories you tell yourself, with a ferocious commitment to the scientific evidence.

This book is a real diamond in my opinion, and should be on every student and teacher’s shelf.

To make the ideas in Make It Stick , well, stick, you’d do well to reach for Redirect !

Many of Prof. Wilson’s ideas were new to me when I first read this, and it instantly became my most-recommended book to students who work with me 1:1 on their study skills and exam technique.

Redirect

Book in two sentences:

Most students leave marks on the table on exam day through poor time management, avoidable mistakes, poor essay / question-answering technique, anxiety-induced performance dips, or simply not taking full advantage of memory’s almost magical powers of recall. This book explains how to avoid all that, and pick up every last mark you deserve on the test, turning exam performance from lottery to a science through the psychology of memory and performance.

Since this one’s mine, I can’t really give you my own take now can I?! Let me hand this one over to a couple of reviewers from Amazon:

“An exceptional set of tools to ace the exam itself , I would recommend to anyone who would like to significantly improve their results” (Alexander Keller)

“A masterful guide … I always thought I knew a lot about exam technique, but I discovered several new ideas which I will certainly pass on to students – should be on every student’s shelf!” (Dr Aled Walker, fellow at Cambridge)

“This book outlines several quick wins that make a big difference , all based on sound scientific evidence – I would heartily recommend this guide as a trusty companion to see students through exams at school, university and beyond” (Teacher at a UK Department-for-Education Research School)

Four GENIUS books about effective learning and memory techniques

The best books about learning and memory techniques in the list are Understanding How We Learn by Yana Weinstein, Oliver Cavaglioni and Megan Sumeracki, Moonwalking With Einstein by Joshua Foer, and Learning How To Learn and A Mind For Numbers by Barbara Oakley.  Make It Stick  would also be here too, had I not singled it out for an overall top pick already.

Understanding How We Learn: A Visual Guide

Cognitive psychologists set out the science of learning and memory, and how to use research-backed teaching and learning strategies, richly illustrated throughout.

This is a BEAUTIFUL book, and hands-down one of the best books on effective learning out there, especially if you’re an educator.

The two books cover quite similar ground, but Make It Stick reads more like a novel, with rich anecdotes and case studies, whereas Understanding How We Learn goes deeper on the underlying science, doing an excellent job of explaining the psychology and neuroscience of memory in simple terms.

Both books cater to all three types of readers (teachers, students, parents), but I normally recommend Make It Stick if you’re a student or parent, and Understanding How We Learn if you’re a teacher.

P.S. click here to hear from co-author Dr Yana Weinstein on the Exam Study Expert podcast!

Understanding How We Learn

Moonwalking With Einstein

The art and science of remembering everything – based on a journalist’s experience of training to become a “memory athlete”.

An electrifying ride, with some really nice explanations of the memory science, and why our memory is so important to who we are.

It’s great fun and very inspirational, but be discerning about applying the messages to your learning – studying for a test generally requires different memory skills to memory athletics.

Moonwalking With Einstein

Learning How To Learn & A Mind For Numbers

Books in a sentence:

Dr Barbara Oakley has dedicated her life to teaching students how to learn effectively, these books set out the secrets that even dedicated and successful students wish they’d known earlier.

A Mind For Numbers is aimed at older students, e.g. high school and university level (NB: not just if you’re studying Math(s) / engineering), and Learning How To Learn is more for younger children, e.g middle school and below.

Learning To Learn and A Mind For Numbers

For books about studying productively, I think you’d be hard-pressed to find better than  Eat That Frog  – For Students   by Brian Tracy and Anna Leinberger,  The Productivity Project and Hyperfocus by Chris Bailey, The Procrastination Equation by Dr Piers Steel and  Deep Work by Cal Newport. I also like David Allen’s  Getting Things Done , but it’s much more relevant to a workplace setting rather than studying, so I didn’t include it here.

Eat That Frog – For Students

Ingenious strategies to stop procrastinating and take control of your time, letting you get through your to-do list and excel in your courses.

I’ve long been a fan of Brian Tracy’s incredibly practical techniques to master your time and get things done. So I was hugely excited to see him bring out a special version of his 2.5-million copy bestseller, re-written from the ground up especially for students.

A must-read in my book!

P.S. You can hear Brian in a special episode of the Exam Study Expert podcast

Book Cover

The Productivity Project & Hyperfocus

Brilliant introductions to the world of strategies that can help you get more productive and stay focused.

Chris draws on his very deep reading of the research literature as well as his own (extensive!) experience putting various productivity strategies to the test.

Honestly, the fortnight after I first read The Productivity Project was the most productive I HAVE EVER BEEN IN MY LIFE – and I made lasting changes that have stuck with me, helping me get more done in less time ever since.

The Productivity Project and Hyperfocus

The Procrastination Equation

This book will solve your problems of procrastination and get you motivated to live the life you want.

The other authors in this section, Chris and Cal, are great guys; well-informed, smart, and brilliant writers and their books come highly recommended by me.

But I appreciated The Procrastination Equation because it’s a rare book on productivity that’s actually written by a research scientist. Dr Steel set out to solve the mystery of why we procrastinate in his career, and his findings make for fascinating and very actionable reading.

The Procrastination Equation

Our frazzled mind is trying to do a thousand things at once, and failing at them all – if you can cut out the distractions and focus, you will get FAR more quality work done.

Cal Newport really made his name with the “deep work” idea, and it’s had a powerful impact on my life.

As my dislike of distraction has grown, I’ve got more and more done, and produced better and better work…

And only slightly irked my dear wife in the process…

Deep Work

Five BRILLIANT books about smarter study habits and work-life balance

The next section is all about books that help you find a healthy work-life balance, and adopt smarter habits and routines for maximum results without going nuts in the process. Here, I’ve gone for Switch by Chip and Dan Heath, Atomic Habits by James Clear, Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker, Better Than Before by Gretchen Ruben and The Lazy Genius Way by Kendra Adachi.

Change is hard – but it doesn’t have to be, deceptively simple methods can yield extraordinary results.

I blew through this book in about 24 hours.

It was a wild read, p acked with actionable tips and tricks for doing things differently

Especially useful if you’re a teacher or parent trying to influence hesitant students to do things differently!

Switch

Why We Sleep

Nearly all of us need to sleep more – if you don’t, you’ll learn slower, remember less, have poorer mental health, worse focus, and be more susceptible to a whole range of health problems.

Really opened my eyes to how important it was to close your eyes (for long enough each night).

Professor Matthew Walker absolutely knows his stuff.

The first few chapters were a particular delight for me, where I rediscovered the pure joy of learning a new bit of relatively simple science (the 2 sleep systems) that beautifully and elegantly explains so much I know to be true from life experience.

Why We Sleep

Atomic Habits

Transform your life with tiny changes in behaviour.

Wildly popular contemporary book on forming and breaking habits, based on cutting-edge psychology and neuroscience.

Seems to particularly resonate with logical, driven people, like those in or studying fields like science, engineering and business.

One of the rare times a popular blogger distils his best stuff for a book and it turns out genuinely very, very good.

Atomic Habits

Better Than Before

There’s no one-size-fits all solution to changing your habits: to change, we must first know ourselves.

I’d characterise this as a more feminine approach to changing habits than Atomic Habits.

James Clear goes after the science, hacking the mechanics of how habits form in the brain; Gretchen’s approach is softer, with recommendations tailored to your personality and character.

Better Than Before

The Lazy Genius Way

Figure out what matters and be a genius about it; be lazy about everything else – whether that’s how to keep in touch with a friend or how to cook or do your laundry.

Kendra’s a Mom, and wrote this book for her fellow Moms to help them look after households more easily – but given students living away from home also need to look after households, I don’t think there’s a better place to learn this stuff than from Kendra.

Not strictly a book about studying, but get these basics right, and you’ll find it much easier to feel in control of your life, and take on everything else (e.g. studying).

Click here to hear the author’s best tips for students on the Exam Study Expert Podcast.

The Lazy Genius Way

5 AWESOME motivational books for students: mindset and performance psychology

My favourite motivational books for students are Drive by Dan Pink, Grit by Angela Duckworth, Mindset by Dr Carol Dweck, Peak by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool, and Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell.

This isn’t wishy-washy pop psychology: with only one exception (Malcolm Gladwell), my picks in this section are written by professional psychologists / academics, each with a particular flare for communicating the science in an entertaining and engaging style.

These are some of the most entertaining books on the whole list – great bedtime or holiday reading if you’re into psychology and performance.

The secret to high performance is the deeply human need to direct our own lives, learn, and create new things, and do better by ourselves and the world.

If you’re trying to change your study behaviours, whether that’s your motivation towards studying as a whole, or summoning up the drive to switch to more effective but more effortful ways of learning (a la Make It Stick / Understanding How We Learn) , read two books: Drive and Redirect .

Drive

Champions aren’t born, they’re forged by virtue of their “grit”, their passion and perseverance in pursuit of their long-term goals, be they academic, entrepreneurial, athletic or otherwise.

Angela’s become a pretty popular psychologist because she’s mastered the art of doing research that leads to very practical advice.

People pay attention to her stuff because she’s been able to find a formula, prove it gets results, and teach you how you can follow it too.

I thought Grit was great.

Grit

If you move from a fixed mindset (“I can’t do it: my ability is fixed”) to a growth mindset (“I can’t do it YET: BUT I COULD WORK ON IT AND IMPROVE”) your outcomes at school and in life can improve substantially.

You’ve probably heard of growth mindset.

This is the seminal text that put the idea on the map, and minted Dr Dweck as one of the most talked-about psychologists of her generation, particularly in the world of education.

Growth mindset is one of the pillars of Angela Duckworth’s “Grit” approach, but the idea is important enough that it stands alone as a separate recommendation on the list.

Mindset

Dynamic Swedish psychologist explains to improve at almost any skill that matters to you, based on a career spent studying chess champions, violin virtuosos and start athletes.

The key is deliberate practice, near the edge of your ability – which dovetails nicely with the Make It Stick / Understanding How We Learn messages about “desirable difficulty” when learning information.

Peak

To be outstanding at something, you need lots and lots of (the right sort of) practice – that’s what made Bill Gates a master programmer, or The Beatles such a successful group.

Gladwell isn’t a psychologist (he’s a historian), and his conclusions aren’t always universally accepted, but he’s an absolute magician for how he weaves together human story and scientific data to create the most beautifully compelling and engaging arguments.

Say what you will, I loved it and am looking forward to the next time I re-read it.

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

TWO BONUS books about thinking and personality

Thinking fast and slow.

Nobel prizewinning psychologist Daniel Kahneman explains his life’s work on how we think, judge and decide, and the tricks your brain plays on you if you’re not careful!

Look, I’m a psychologist, so this was pretty much a must-buy when it came out. He doesn’t write with quite the same spark and flair of some of the younger, TED-talk-giving “celebrity” psychologists featured elsewhere on this list, but the man is a legend in his own lifetime, and when you browse the spectacular insights in this book, you’ll see why.

Thinking Fast & Slow

The mighty extrovert is often praised – the charismatic leader, the ace salesperson – but introverts have their own superpowers too, and it’s time they were recognised.

Christopher Ellott, a senior leader at one of UK’s most exceptional schools, said that this was the best book on education he’d ever read.

All the more impressive given author Susan Cain never even set out to write a book on education.

Well worth a read, especially for anyone who, like me, identifies as an introvert (come on, I’d bet that there are a fair few of us in the Exam Study Expert community…).

Quiet

And just before you go…

Outsmart your exams book

Read Outsmart Your Exams: the book that gets the marks when it counts

No more “couldn’t remember”.

No more “ran out of time”.

No more botched exam essays.

Discover 31 test-taking strategies from the new science of memory recall and peak performance.

Get the grade you deserve when it matters most.  

Order book on Amazon

As an Amazon Associate, I may earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you. I make these recommendations based on personal experience and because I think they are genuinely helpful and useful, not because of the small commissions I receive.

15 Comments

Please recommend me a book that have scientific memorization techiques

Start with Make It Stick https://geni.us/getmakeitstick 🙂

I am professional student thank you so much for your help ☺️

I’m a 68 year old woman who became disabled and in order to avoid living in poverty I have chosen to go back to school and I have forgotten how I managed in the past and now that there have been studies about how people learn effectively, I am fascinated by the science

Hi Ann – that’s an incredible story. If there’s anything I can help with please don’t hesitate to reach out – you can send me an email at https://examstudyexpert.com/about/contact/ .

Wishing you every success.

Hi I’m currently in 8th grade and I’m a pretty good student with honors classes and all but Im obsessed with getting all straight A’s and achieving my dreams but I haven’t been able to do it since 2nd grade. I just want a book that will teach me study methods and tips to do well in high school and college to get all A’s but there are so many books idk which to choose! 😅 which or how many of them should I get?

get about 20, read them all, take down notes on the ones that will help you the most. Then you will be extremely knowledgable on the topic

I really love your list. Thank you!!! 🙂

Thank you so much for your suggestions, i have already some of these books and i will add the others to my list, i’m a big fan

Glad to see we have at least one book in common, Atomic Habits! Thanks for writing this up, I’ll be sure check the other ones for future reading. Keep up the awesome work by the way!

Ha – it’s a good one!

And thank you so much for the kind words 🙂

And most of all, every best of luck in the exams – you know I’m rooting for you!!

Hi William, these books are amazing and thanks for sharing them! I get thousands of thoughts in my mind but fail at them all, so I think “Deep Work” will be the best book to read for me. Keep sharing!

Hi Eva – enjoy, it’s a good one! “Hyperfocus” might also be helpful for that. Good luck with it 🙂

That’s a great list of books on thinking, learning and why we do the things we do. I’m working my way through quite a few of them at the moment – One of the key takeaways I’ve had from Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking fast & slow is that we’re predisposed to answer any question in the best way we can, which often means NOT answering the actual question we’ve been asked! That translates, in a study setting, in misreading a question and then going off on a tangent and not gaining full marks etc.

After reading DK’s book one of the tips I’ve offered to our children in a bid to stop that fast brain taking on too much control, is to talk the question out loud (or silently in an exam!) It forces a different part of the brain into the mix & helps to stop that knee-jerk response our brains love to provide for us.

One other book to mention is Amanda Ripley’s The Smartest Kids in the World. It digs into the differences between study routines in a selection of countries and highlights the pros, and cons of each model that is used.

Love the podcast BTW, looking forwards to your next episodes

Hi Charles! I really like your point about the “fast” thinking response leading to diving into the question too early – makes a lot of sense.Silently voicing the question sounds like a great idea to help digest the question properly in an exam.

There was a nice study a little while back where researchers from Leeds university experimented with writing the word “not” in bold in a probability question – the students who had the word “not” printed in bold were more than 3x more likely to answer the question correctly compared to a control group who had a plain-text (unbolded) version of the question. Many exam boards seem to be catching on to the issue – I notice a lot more “bolding” in exam paper questions than ten years ago – but there’s still plenty of room for student error… So I always suggest highlighting / underlining key words, command words and pieces of data in a question to reduce chance of missing something.

Glad you’re enjoying the podcast – we’ll be back soon I promise!

How to Make a Book Study Work for Your Team

Professional meeting room arranged for a faculty book study with a round table, chairs, books, notepads, a whiteboard, and a projector screen.

If you are like me, faculty or department meetings don’t top your list of fun activities. They may be necessary, but this doesn’t mean they always feel relevant. If that describes your faculty or department meetings, consider organizing and leading a book study. Below, I’ll give you a step-by-step guide to having a successful book study with your team. You’ll also find a variety of books to consider! Let’s explore this method of professional development where everyone reads the same book but may have different takeaways, thoughts, and perceptions.

Step 1: Choose the right book.

Choosing the right book is critical to the success of the book study. If no one is interested in what they’re reading, no one will want to participate. Start by gauging the interests and needs of your staff. A short survey or informal discussion can help identify common interests and areas your staff would like to improve. Be sure that your book is relevant to your staff’s daily responsibilities and the broader goals of your school/district. And make sure the book is readily available for everyone. Consider if there’s a need for digital copies or audiobooks for accessibility. 

Check out our list s of recommendations, or ask a local school librarian for assistance in compiling a list of possible titles. 

how to study your book

Step 2: Set clear objectives.

Before the book study begins, clearly communicate the goals of the study. They could range from enhancing teaching strategies and integrating new technology to fostering a more inclusive classroom environment. Allow flexibility for each person to tailor the goals to their specific roles. Avoid a one-size-fits-all approach by ensuring the objectives align with the professional development needs of the faculty. While you may have a group goal, ask each person to consider identifying one or two individual goals for personal application and growth. Also, determine if participation is optional. If not, how will you be compensating your staff for reading? Will they have time during the work day, or is this considered an “all other duties as assigned” task?

Step 3: Plan the logistics.

Decide on a timeline and make your plans. Here are a few questions to consider when planning:

  • How long will the book study last?
  • When and how often will meetings occur?
  • Will the meetings be in-person, online, or a hybrid?
  • What is the size of the group?

Consider what works best for the majority. Also, consider the group size. Smaller groups often encourage more participation. Try breaking it into smaller discussion groups if you have a larger group. Additionally, be aware of major tasks and deadlines required of your team. Account for times of higher stress and workload when planning the timeline of your book study; you may need to include ‘intermissions’ to allow time for major projects, like state testing, grade reporting periods, holiday breaks, etc.

Step 4: Develop a structure.

Develop a book study structure that makes sense for the chosen book. Break the book into manageable sections for each session. That may be chapters, or it might be clusters of chapters. Consider a distributed leader model where the discussion leaders rotate. This can keep engagement high and allow different perspectives to lead the conversation. But be sure to communicate this beforehand so the leaders are prepared. Include activities that enhance understanding of the material, such as role-playing, debates, or scenarios. If you are unsure what activities to include, consider asking ChatGPT or Gemini for ideas. Be sure to specify the book title, author, and chapter in your prompt. We all know that “turn and talks” and other activities can become annoying when overused, so try varying the strategies and activities to target a variety of learning and communication styles.

Step 5: Foster engagement and participation.

Create a safe space for faculty to share their insights, challenges, and questions. This may be best done by allowing others in the group to lead different meetings. Your group may also benefit from times when you are not there, so they have less pressure to talk and “say the right thing.” Encourage participants to share how they can apply or how they’ve already used what they’ve learned in their work. Consider ways to gently ensure that participants keep up with the readings and actively engage in discussions. While you may be meeting in the larger group setting most of the time, consider having several sessions where your staff are meeting in smaller groups for a more focused discussion. This could be by grade level, content area, job role, department, etc. 

Step 6: Evaluate and reflect.

Don’t wait until the end of the book study to ask for feedback or ways to improve. Like formative assessment in the classroom, find out what is working and what isn’t. Then, be prepared to adjust, as needed, to make the study more effective. At the end, collect anonymous feedback on what worked well and what could be improved on for future sessions. After some time has passed, evaluate the impact of the book study on professional practices and the learning environment. This could be done through surveys, interviews, or an informal discussion.

Step 7: Celebrate achievements!

Acknowledge everyone’s participation and highlight any significant changes or achievements resulting from the book study. Ask your staff to highlight each other’s accomplishments and give shout-outs on how others supported their growth. Encourage staff to share their learning with peers who might not have participated in the book study. And, if possible, provide a token of appreciation to those who participated. This could come through a community donor or a local business willing to support your staff in furthering their growth in the district.

Colorful infographic with 7 steps for having a good book club with staff from the article.

Book Recommendations

While we provided several book recommendation lists to consider, we would love to hear from you! What book do you think would make for a great book study? Jump into the comment section and tell us the book title, author(s), and audience for the book study.

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Dr. Bruce Ellis

Bruce specializes in leadership development and working with districts to tailor onsite professional development workshops. Bruce earned his Ed.D. in Curriculum, Instruction, and Supervision in Secondary and Higher Education and his M.S. in Learning Technology/Information Systems at Texas A&M University-Commerce. He earned his B.S. in Elementary Education at Dallas Baptist University.

A Scope and Sequence for Computational Thinking: Part 1

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How to Create a Basic Study Guide

Last Updated: July 8, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Jake Adams . Jake Adams is an academic tutor and the owner of Simplifi EDU, a Santa Monica, California based online tutoring business offering learning resources and online tutors for academic subjects K-College, SAT & ACT prep, and college admissions applications. With over 14 years of professional tutoring experience, Jake is dedicated to providing his clients the very best online tutoring experience and access to a network of excellent undergraduate and graduate-level tutors from top colleges all over the nation. Jake holds a BS in International Business and Marketing from Pepperdine University. There are 9 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 219,749 times.

Study guides can provide you with a quick and easy way to go over important material before tests or exams. There are a number of different basic study guide formats and each is designed to help you consolidate information in a way that's easy to read and approachable. Different topics can lend themselves to different formats of study guide better than others, but a study guide is only ever as good as the information you put in it. Make sure you are pulling from reliable sources when putting your guide together and focus on organizing the material in a way that makes sense to you.

Choosing a Format

Step 1 Make a concept map.

  • An example of a concept map would be placing the title of a chapter at the center of the map, with lines going to each main topic addressed within the chapter. Each topic could then have lines going to supporting evidence, providing you with an easy visual map of the content in the chapter.
  • These study guides resemble flow charts and involve using broad ideas with branches to subsidiary ideas.
  • Concept maps let you arrange your information spatially, in an expanding web, instead of in a linear format like most study guides.
  • Start with a main topic in the center, then draw branches from it with each supporting piece of information.
  • There are various websites, such as Canva or Lucidchart, that will help you design a concept map online.

Step 2 Create a comparison chart.

  • Comparison charts let you see relationships between specific characteristics or categories.
  • Comparison charts are particularly helpful in science classes where you may be trying to identify relationships between organisms.
  • A good use for a comparison chart may be identifying the similarities and differences between the American and French revolutions or something with both coinciding and differing elements.
  • Create a table with the topics listed in a column followed by columns for various pieces of information that relates or differs from each.

Step 3 Write out concept cards.

  • Write the key idea or concept on the front of the card along with the category (if there is one) and the source you used to gain the information.
  • Write the most important content pertaining to the idea or concept on the back of the card. Consider what you might be tested on when you make these cards.
  • Summarize information to make it easy to go over as you study.

Step 4 Make a summary sheet.

  • Use titles for sections that are meaningful to you to help you understand the concepts.
  • If you choose to be detailed and extensive in your summary, this can be one of the most thorough forms of study guide and is great to cover large amounts of material. However, be careful of adding unnecessary information.
  • Organize your information chronologically to help you follow the proper steps or progression of your subject.

Preparing Your Study Guide

Step 1 Gather all of the sources you will need.

  • It will be much easier to assemble your study guide once you have all the sources you will need within arm’s reach.
  • All of your assignments and class materials can be valuable when putting together a study guide.
  • If the test will be cumulative or quiz you on things you've been tested on before, gather your previous tests to look for areas you may have struggled with.

Step 2 Use your textbook as a source.

  • Go back through the sections you covered in class or for assignments and look for important concepts.
  • Make a note of bold or italicized words as they may be important to the subject or cover information you may need to know for your exam.

Step 3 Pull from your notes.

  • Go back through your notes and highlight or underline information that seems important.
  • Focus on big concepts or parts that you think are especially important based on the lectures and ensure that information makes it into the study guide.
  • Identify areas that you may not be sure about through your notes. Research things you are uncertain of in your textbook and make sure to include that content in your study guide.
  • Class handouts are also valuable sources as they show what the instructor felt was important.

Step 4 Use your homework to guide you.

  • Pay close attention to things you got wrong on the homework. Begin by including those portions in your study guide.
  • Homework can also serve as a reminder of all the material you covered over a long semester. Use it to help structure your guide.

Step 5 Use your previous tests to guide you.

  • Topics covered on previous tests will probably be covered again in a final exam.
  • Even if the new test has nothing to do with the old one, they can serve to show you what types of questions your teacher will ask and how they expect them to be answered.

Organizing Your Study Guide

Step 1 Split your information into subjects.

  • If you are being tested on a portion of a textbook, you may want to divide your material into what chapter it appears in the book. For instance, organize your study guide by chapter with supporting information, or large concepts such as nations for world history or regions of the body for anatomy.
  • Once you have identified what broad topics the information must fall into, use that to begin the framework of your study guide.
  • As you fill out portions of the study guide and identify areas you are less certain about, focus on those areas in your research.

Step 2 Try these examples to help you organize your study guide.

  • The American Revolution can be divided into time periods on a summary sheet such as “the 1750s, 1760s and 1770-81” or by events such as the Sugar and Stamp Acts, the Boston Tea Party and the Declaration of Independence, followed by supporting information for each category. [6] X Research source
  • The Periodic Tables can be divided into flash cards to help you memorize the abbreviation for each element. [7] X Research source
  • Academic psychological approaches can be divided into a concept map. Start with a center circle called “psychological approaches” with branches coming from it for the dynamic approach, humanistic approach and social learnings. [8] X Research source
  • Viruses or other biological concepts can easily be organized into a comparison chart. If you are using viruses, list them on the left hand column, then create columns for aspects of a virus such as means of transmission, symptoms and treatments.

Step 3 Don’t jam too much information into your study guide.

  • Be very picky about what information you include in your study guide to avoid making it too daunting to use.
  • You don’t need to cover topics you are extremely comfortable with in as much depth. Instead focus on areas you are unsure of.
  • Regardless of what format you use, combine information from each source into single sections regarding each topic. For instance, if your test is on the American Revolution, include everything pertinent from your notes, textbook, homework and tests about Alexander Hamilton into one section of the study guide.
  • Use neat, clear handwriting to ensure you can read everything you put in the study guide.
  • Choose the right type of study guide for the material so it’s easy to find the information you’re looking for.
  • Be uniform in the way you divide or separate sections so you can easily identify when one topic is complete and you’ve begun on the next.

Sample Study Guides

how to study your book

Community Q&A

Community Answer

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  • ↑ https://learningcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/using-concept-maps/
  • ↑ https://learning.ucmerced.edu/sites/learning.ucmerced.edu/files/page/documents/conceptcards.pdf
  • ↑ https://learningcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/studying-101-study-smarter-not-harder/
  • ↑ https://learningcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/effective-note-taking-in-class/
  • ↑ https://www.herzing.edu/blog/how-create-successful-study-guide
  • ↑ http://www.sparknotes.com/history/american/revolution/
  • ↑ http://stemsheets.com/science/periodic-table-flash-cards
  • ↑ http://success.oregonstate.edu/sites/success.oregonstate.edu/files/LearningCorner/Tools/creating_study_guides.pdf
  • ↑ Jake Adams. Academic Tutor & Test Prep Specialist. Expert Interview. 20 May 2020.

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2 Source: Survey of 765 users across China, India and the U.S.

InsideHook

How to Read More Books Than Ever This Year

A merican readership is dragging these days. According to a National Endowment for the Arts study published at the end of last year, only 48.5% of adults are typically reading “one book or more for pleasure” in a 12-month span. The numbers get even grimmer when isolating for fiction: just 37.6% of the survey’s participants reported reading a novel or short story from July 2021 to July 2022.

These numbers would seem to conflict with previous analyses , which describe Americans completing an average of six books or more a year, but that figure is likely carried by the country’s regular readers…who read . Goodreads is essentially a competitive sport for some adults, with users claiming yearly lists of over 100 reads.

Good for them. A dedicated reading routine is one of the best day-to-day habits you could possibly cultivate. On the mental side, it supercharges brain connectivity, boosts empathy and provides an escape from daily stressors. While physically, reading can lower heart rate and blood pressure, reduce stress hormone levels and potentially even prolong lifespan.

You don’t need to read dozens of books this year to cash in on these benefits. But you should definitely read more than one. We’ve got some ideas to help get your reading routine humming again.

Could “News Sobriety” Save Your Mental Health?

Just give up.

This is particularly relevant for people carrying an onerous read (e.g., Charlie Brown dragging around War and Peace ) from last year into 2024. Just ditch it. Start fresh. If a single book has become a roadblock to you reading literally anything else, it’s not worth it. Penguin Random House, the industry’s largest publisher, releases 85,000 new books each year. There must be something out there for you, and there’s no special star for slogging through something you couldn’t stand.

We all have our reasons for keeping the same book on the nightstand for months on end, chief among them: it was a loan from a friend or family member, or it cost $20 at a bookstore. But that cost is sunk, and if you keep appeasing whatever book taste others think you have, you’re going to keep ending up in this loop. So feel free to read whatever you want. The literal act of reading can be challenging, sure, but the simple idea of sitting down to read should make you happy and relaxed.

Everything Counts

If you’re looking to rack up titles, consider expanding your definition of reading material. Look to short story volumes, plays, essays and even poetry collections. Two of my favorites from last year — both of which Goodreads counted as full “books” — were Foster , an 88-page novella by Claire Keegan, and Hangmen , a 112-page play by Martin McDonagh (the writer/director of films including The Banshees of Inisherin and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri ). I finished reading each in the span of a day. Sometimes, with lighter fare, it’s a little easier to sink your teeth into the action.

Right Before Bed

I think of this tweet often: “Cant seem to sleep. Let’s see if the bright light of my phone containing all the information in the entire world held inches away from my face for the next 15 minutes manages to lull me into a peaceful slumber.”

You could “doomscroll” and “blue-light binge” right before heading to sleep, or you could devote the final minutes of your day to reading just 10 pages of a book. Flipping pages might make your eyes super heavy, but that’s sort of the point. At the very least, it’ll present a reprieve from whatever anxieties your brain was planning on broadcasting for the night, and studies have indicated that the action could do even more.

An analysis  published  in 2013, brought forth by the New School for Social Research, found that reading literary fiction improves one’s “theory of mind.” It’s a psychological concept with close ties to our understanding of empathy; the theory of mind refers to one’s ability or tendency to understand that other people are different, to give them credit for their unique mental states. (i.e., You have different wants, dreams, desires, influences and intentions than I do.) That’s powerful stuff to end the day. The better you sleep, the more likely you are to stick to the habit.

Why “Brown Noise” Is an Underrated Life Hack

Create a syllabus.

I was an English major in college and can remember feeling apoplectic at the start of each semester as I scanned my syllabi. Hundreds upon hundreds of pages assigned each week, covering different eras and various concentrations, with essays expected for of all it. It pretty much ruined reading for me. I didn’t “pleasure read” a single book for four years.

In my adult years, though, with the benefit of some separation, I sometimes long for the structure of a syllabus, or a unit. It’s an excellent way to compare texts, to gather context, to read a writer’s most critical contemporaries. A syllabus can function as a handy focusing mechanism, too; it might help you zero in on a topic you’re broadly interested in, like surfing, monarchies or the American West .

For that last example, there’s an obvious cattle-ranching genre you could turn to. But you might select four American West-adjacent titles, pairing a classic like Lonesome Dove with other celebrated works like The House of Breath , Oak Flat: A Fight for Sacred Land in the American West and Blood and Thunder (which is nonfiction).

Pair It With a Trip

Reading a book about a place, while you’re actively visiting it, is another one of my favorite ways to revive a reading habit. Depending on what you’re reading — and what you’re doing on the trip — the experiences can complement each other in casual or mighty ways.

For instance, during a trip to Japan last June, I was reading Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko just before I visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. In the narrative, a family of Koreans struggles to survive in World War II-era Japan. One of them dies on account of the bombings. I felt like I was able to process both the book and that day (in one of the most difficult museums to walk through on the planet) on a more profound plane, thanks to the simple timing of when I was reading the book. By another token, reading Haruki Murakami’s Men Without Women while walking Tokyo filled me with delight — he frequently mentioned apartments in neighborhoods I had walked through that very day.

Become a Regular

A few years back, there was one of those silly Twitter wars in which an initial insurgent claimed that the most pretentious of bar-goers was the person who shows up alone with a book. Bartenders quickly rallied to the defense of bar-readers, though, declaring them some of their favorite patrons: they’re quiet, predictable, kind and come through all the time. Remember that you don’t have to read your book solely in bed, or on the train, or at the beach. Feel free to make little rituals outside of the house, in a third place like a bar or a cafe, and you’ll see your read titles rise in kind.

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The post How to Read More Books Than Ever This Year appeared first on InsideHook .

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Smart Money Moves: Your Guide to the 9 Best Business Finance Books

Ria Sahni

Ria Sahni , Subham Agrawal

Finance is the management, creation, and study of money and investments. It entails financing ongoing projects with future income flows through credit, debt, securities, and investments. Finance is broadly classified into public, corporate, and personal finance.

Finance is essential for any firm to survive, grow, extend, and diversify. Business finance is the branch of finance that deals with the money and credit used for business and how the money is raised. All of it comes down to estimating, organizing, and allocating financial resources to ensure that the company has enough cash to run its activities smoothly and profitably.

Staying current on the newest trends, tactics, and insights is critical for success in the ever-changing world of company finance. Fortunately, there are a plethora of business finance books available, providing a wealth of knowledge to entrepreneurs, business experts, and amateurs alike. In this article, we will look at the must-read books that can help you thrive in the field.

Profit First The Alchemy of Finance Rich Dad's Cashflow Quadrant Valuation Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits! Finance for Executives Deep Finance Accounting for the Numberphobic Visual Finance

  • Profit First

Best Business Finance Books - Profit First

Unlike solely rational accounting principles, humans run businesses and aren't always logical. Michalowicz demonstrates how entrepreneurs can transform their businesses from cash-eating monsters to lucrative cash cows by prioritizing profit and allocating only what remains for expenses.

He presents a simple approach in which different bank accounts are opened for various financial uses. This ensures that profit is a non-negotiable allocation of revenue. The system is scalable and customizable, making it applicable to multiple sectors and phases of business development .

  • The Alchemy of Finance

Best Business Finance Books - The Alchemy of Finance

George Soros is a well-known philanthropist, investor, and economic analyst. In contrast to a conventional investment handbook, this explores financial markets' philosophical and psychological dimensions. Soros presents the concept of reflexivity, suggesting that market players' thoughts and actions influence the market's conditions. As a result, a feedback loop is created that impacts both the participants and the markets. The book uses Soros's personal experience with a high-stakes investment to highlight the value of risk management in navigating the uncertainties of financial markets.

how to study your book

  • Rich Dad's Cashflow Quadrant

Best Business Finance Books - Rich Dad's Cashflow Quadrant

Rich Dad's Cashflow Quadrant expands on Kiyosaki's fundamental financial literacy and wealth creation principles. The book presents the idea of the cash flow quadrant, a helpful tool that divides people into four groups according to how they make money. These are Employee (E), Self-Employed (S), Business Owner (B), and Investor (I).

The book emphasises the importance of working smarter rather than harder to attain wealth. Kiyosaki claims that a lack of financial literacy causes a large number of people's financial difficulties. That is why we should educate ourselves regularly.

Best Business Finance Books - Valuation

Co-authored by consultants Tim Koller, Marc Goedhart, and David Wessels of McKinsey & Company, Valuation is a widely recognized comprehensive handbook to company valuation. The book provides the Valuation Quadrant, a framework for understanding the various sorts of businesses and their valuation issues. The quadrant is divided into four categories: growth firms, stable companies, cashflow companies, and turnaround companies.

The authors also examine methods such as discounted cash flow analysis , comparable company analysis, and precedent transactions analysis. The book provides an in-depth understanding of the intricacies involved in assessing and managing a company's value.

  • Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits!

Best Business Finance Books - Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits!

Greg Crabtree, a skilled accountant, small business counsellor, and popular presenter, demonstrates how to leverage your company's leading financial indicators to make sound business decisions. It is a financial guide designed specifically for small business owners. With this, you can take your company from the start to millions of dollars in annual income. Crabtree simplifies financial topics so that they are understandable to people who do not have a solid financial background.

  • Finance for Executives

Best Business Finance Books - Finance for Executives

Finance for Executives offers practical advice on corporate finance, sustainable finance, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, banking, and financial strategies. It satisfies the demands of executives worldwide, including those in finance and non-finance. The book is designed to assist executives in understanding the financial consequences of their business choices. This will help them seize opportunities and make informed financial decisions that can bring corporate success.

  • Deep Finance

Best Business Finance Books - Deep Finance

Glenn Hopper is a former Navy journalist, filmmaker, and company owner. Deep Finance strives to help firms optimize and modernize by leveraging financial leadership and technology skills. It is aimed at finance leaders and CFOs, so it guides how to lead in the age of analytics and harnesses technological breakthroughs to create company success. The book discusses applying AI for financial forecasting, focusing on using deep learning in finance.

  • Accounting for the Numberphobic

Best Business Finance Books - Accounting for the Numberphobic

Dawn Fotopulos' book is intended to explain accounting topics for those who find numbers scary, particularly small business owners. It describes the three primary financial statements—the balance sheet, cash flow statement, and net income statement—and how each one shows how a company is doing overall. The book provides practical guidance on assessing and boosting cash flow, which is essential for the survival of small enterprises.

  • Visual Finance

Best Business Finance Books - Visual Finance

Visual Finance is a simple and powerful tool for analyzing financial accounts and making sound business decisions. The book provides a one-page visual model that can be learned in a few hours and applied to real-world scenarios. The model comprises three major components: an income statement, a balance sheet, and a cash flow statement. Individuals can apply the concept to their company's needs since it provides a practical and real-life utility.

These nine business finance books offer a diverse array of insights and strategies for navigating the complex world of financial management. From prioritizing profit to understanding market psychology and leveraging technology, these resources empower readers to make informed decisions and achieve success in their ventures.

how to study your book

What is Finance?

Finance is the management, creation, and study of money and investments.

What is Business Finance?

Business finance is the branch of finance that deals with the money and credit used for business and how the money is raised.

What are some recommended best books for business finance?

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List of Top 13 Philanthropist in India

A philanthropist is a term related to a person who is capable of helping the needy with the resources they have, especially money. Philanthropists help needy people create a better world and, so to say, improve the economy of a country. The constant effort to promote human welfare makes a

The Human Touch in an AI World: Unraveling the Workplace Dynamics

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Discipline Your Way to Success with these Essential Guidebooks

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Here’s how early you can book a flight and still get cheap airfare.

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Don’t just wing it if you want low airfare.

The prime booking window for cheap flights is about three months to three weeks in advance of your trip, a new study from CheapAir.com has found .

Travelers who wait until less than a week out pay 59% more on average compared to their non-procrastinating friends.

However, you don’t want to commit too far in advance.

Those who book their ticket too early could end up paying almost as much as if they booked the ticket last minute, the report noted.

That’s because fares change 49 times on average — and change by an average of $98 each time, CheapAir.com found.

 Online flight booking website provide modish reservation system

To be exact, the “best day” for jet-setters to purchase a ticket is 42 days before they intend to take off.

The travel site analyzed over 917 million airfares across the US to determine the best travel hacks that will likely hold for 2024.

Although price isn’t the only factor travelers take into consideration when choosing a flight, the survey found it’s the most important to most people.

Another thing to think about when booking a flight is what airport you’re traveling through.

To help travelers temper their expectations, airfare claims company AirHelp revealed the least and most stressful airports in the US.

relaxed lady reading book in contemporary plane

AirHelp found California’s Sacramento International Airport to have “best handled January’s air travel,”  according to the Sacramento Bee .

The Northern California airport had an uninterrupted on-time percentage of 82.3% of flights.

On the other hand, the most notable airport that “failed to deliver a stress-free experience to their passengers” last month was the Empire State’s Buffalo Niagara International Airport.

Busy tourist man locating in waiting hall. Young man with cellphone at the airport while waiting for plane.

Airports with the most on-time flights in January

  • Sacramento International Airport: 82.3% of flights on time
  • San Jose International Airport: 82.1%
  • Tucson International Airport in Arizona: 81.3%
  • Reno/Tahoe International Airport in Nevada: 81.2%
  • Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport in Georgia: 80.5%

Airports with the most disruptions

  • Buffalo Niagara International Airport in New York: 60.8%
  • Chicago O’Hare International Airport: 61.2%
  • Des Moines International Airport: 62%
  • Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, Michigan: 62.2%
  • Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport: 64.8%

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  • February 16, 2024   •   44:25 Book Club: Let’s Talk About Barbara Kingsolver’s ‘Demon Copperhead’
  • February 9, 2024   •   36:55 Reading Recommendations From Book Review Staffers
  • February 2, 2024   •   40:55 ‘Killers of the Flower Moon,’ From Page to Screen
  • January 26, 2024   •   40:52 Happily Married, and Seeing Other People
  • January 19, 2024   •   27:41 15 Books Coming Soon to a Shelf Near You
  • January 12, 2024   •   44:59 Steven Soderbergh’s Year in Reading
  • December 22, 2023   •   41:01 Reading James McBride’s ‘The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store’
  • December 15, 2023   •   42:48 How to Tell the Story of a Giant Wildfire
  • December 8, 2023   •   38:26 Our Critics’ Year in Reading
  • November 28, 2023   •   1:14:23 Talking About the 10 Best Books of 2023
  • November 10, 2023   •   33:57 The Success of Rebecca Yarros and Barbra Streisand’s Mammoth Memoir
  • November 3, 2023   •   28:14 Shakespeare’s First Folio Turns 400

Reading Recommendations From Book Review Staffers

Here’s what they’ve enjoyed in 2024..

Hosted by Gilbert Cruz

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The early part of a year can mean new books to read, or it can mean catching up on older ones we haven’t gotten to yet. This week, Gilbert Cruz chats with the Book Review’s Sarah Lyall and Sadie Stein about titles from both categories that have held their interest lately, including a 2022 biography of John Donne, a book about female artists who nurtured an interest in the supernatural, and the history of a Jim Crow-era mental asylum, along with a gripping new novel by Janice Hallett.

“It’s just so deft,” Stein says of Hallett’s new thriller, “The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels.” “It’s so funny. It seems like she’s having a lot of fun. One thing I would say, and I don’t think this is spoiling it, is, if there comes a moment when you think you might want to stop, keep going and trust her. I think it’s rare to be able to say that with that level of confidence.”

Here are the books discussed in this week’s episode:

“Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne,” by Katherine Rundell

“The Other Side: A Story of Women in Art and the Spirit World,” by Jennifer Higgie

“The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels,” by Janice Hallett

“Madness: Race and Insanity in a Jim Crow Asylum,” by Antonia Hylton

(Briefly mentioned: “You Dreamed of Empires,” by Álvaro Enrigue, “Beautyland,” by Marie-Helene Bertino, and “Martyr!,” by Kaveh Akbar.)

We would love to hear your thoughts about this episode, and about the Book Review’s podcast in general. You can send them to [email protected] .

Explore More in Books

Want to know about the best books to read and the latest news start here..

In Lucy Sante’s new memoir, “I Heard Her Call My Name,” the author reflects on her life and embarking on a gender transition  in her late 60s.

For people of all ages in Pasadena, Calif., Vroman’s Bookstore, founded in 1894, has been a mainstay in a world of rapid change. Now, its longtime owner says he’s ready to turn over the reins .

The graphic novel series “Aya” explores the pains and pleasures of everyday life in a working-class neighborhood  in West Africa with a modern African woman hero.

Like many Nigerians, the novelist Stephen Buoro has been deeply influenced by the exquisite bedlam of Lagos, a megacity of extremes. Here, he defines the books that make sense of the chaos .

Do you want to be a better reader?   Here’s some helpful advice to show you how to get the most out of your literary endeavor .

Each week, top authors and critics join the Book Review’s podcast to talk about the latest news in the literary world. Listen here .

Being in Balance Part Four: ADDICTION - A Soul Recovery Book Study Inspired by Dr. Wayne Dyer Recover Your Soul: A Spiritual Path to a Happy and Healthy Life

  • Religion & Spirituality

Listen on Apple Podcasts Requires macOS 11.4 or higher

We are continuing our Soul Recovery book study, inspired by Dr. Wayne Dyer's 'Being in Balance- 9 Principles for Creating Habits to Match Your Desires,' we move to Principle #4 - Balancing your Desire for What You Want with Your Addictive Behavior. I loved that Dr.Dyer's book supports the teachings and process of Soul Recovery by looking at addiction through a compassionate and loving lens. Instead of fighting a battle, we are learning to love and learn so that we can release the grip of addiction and remember the truth of our wholeness and choose a new way of being. For more information about Rev. Rachel Harrison and Recover Your Soul- visit the website www.recoveryoursoul.net use the code TRYASESSION for 40% off your first Spiritual Coaching session when you book on the website. Visit the website for all events and groups to get involved in Soul Recovery and the community. Soul Recovery Support Group on Zoom -The 1st Monday of the Month, 6PM Mountain Time. This is a drop in support group where we can come together to explore, connect and support each other on our Soul Recovery journey. Visit the website to register and receive the meeting invite. Free to attend and donations appreciated. Make a one time donation to support the Recover Your Soul Podcast on the home page or become a monthly supporter from $3 to $10, follow us on Instagram, Insight Timer, TikTok, YouTube and Facebook and join the private Facebook group to be part of the RYS community. Support this podcast and have access to bonus content by becoming a Patreon Member or subscribing on Apple Podcasts and have access to an EXTRA episode each Friday. Support the show This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not allied or representative of any organizations or religions, but is based on the opinions and experience of Rev. Rachel Harrison. The host claims no responsibility to any person or entity for any liability, loss, or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly as a result of the use, application, or interpretation of the information presented herein. Take what you need and leave the rest.

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The New How to Study Your Bible: Discover the Life-Changing Approach to God&#39;s Word

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Kay Arthur

The New How to Study Your Bible: Discover the Life-Changing Approach to God's Word Paperback – September 1, 2010

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  • Editorial Reviews

Bestselling author Kay Arthur's inductive study method and her bestselling book How to Study Your Bible has helped more than 675,000 people discover the truth of God's Word for themselves. With a fresh look and new material, this dynamic guide invites readers of all levels of Bible literacy and learning to dive deeper into God's promises.

The Precept method cultivates the skills of observation, interpretation, and application--and encourages readers to become active participants in God's Word. In 15 easy-to-understand chapters, the authors present a systematic approach that includes key words, context studies, comparisons and contrasts, topical studies, and more.

This life-changing way of understanding and exploring Scripture reveals the Bible's messages to readers and helps them live boldly and confidently in God's truths.

About the Author

  • Print length 208 pages
  • Language English
  • Publisher Harvest House Publishers
  • Publication date September 1, 2010
  • Dimensions 5.75 x 0.5 x 9 inches
  • ISBN-10 0736926828
  • ISBN-13 978-0736926829
  • See all details

how to study your book

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The New How to Study Your Bible: Discover the Life-Changing Approach to God's Word

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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harvest House Publishers; Expanded, Updated edition (September 1, 2010)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 208 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0736926828
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0736926829
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.75 x 0.5 x 9 inches
  • #1,374 in Christian Bible Study Guides (Books)

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About the author

how to study your book

Kay Arthur is one of America's best-known and most-beloved Bible teachers and authors. With her husband, Jack, she is the co-founder of Precept Ministries International, the leaders in inductive Bible-study resources. Kay also reaches hundreds of thousands of people internationally through her "Precept upon Precept" inductive Bible studies. In addition, her daily and weekly television programs air on over 900 stations in 30 countries.

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CNA

Lent 2024: Catholic resources to help you grow in your faith

Hallow Lent 2024

By Francesca Pollio Fenton

CNA Staff, Feb 8, 2024 / 06:00 am

Lent is a time when Catholics around the world are invited to pray, fast, and give alms as the Church prepares to enter once again into the passion, death, and resurrection of Christ. It is a time when the faithful often give things up such as desserts, junk food, or social media to remember Jesus’ 40 days in the desert.

Many people also choose to add something to their spiritual practice to help them grow in faith. So with that in mind, here’s a list of Catholic resources that can help you deepen your relationship with the Lord this Lenten season.

‘Lenten Companion’ with Father Mark Toups from Ascension 

This year, walk with Jesus to Jerusalem using Ascension’s “Lenten Companion.” Father Mark Toups will guide you to reflect on Jesus’ suffering and death while inspiring you to celebrate in his resurrection and bring you deeper peace and healing. The Lenten journal includes daily reflections, prayers, and artwork. Plus there will be weekly videos each Sunday of Lent as well as Ash Wednesday, Holy Week, and Easter. The weekly videos will be in the  Ascension App , and Toups will also share daily audio reflections on the app that will be accessible for those with Premium subscriptions.

Ascension's "Walking with Jesus to Jerusalem" Lenten Companion. Credit: Ascension

‘Lenten Gospel Reflections’ from Word on Fire 

Word on Fire is offering a Lenten devotional that features the full Gospel reading for each day of Lent, a daily reflection from Bishop Robert Barron, space for journaling and answering reflection questions, and the Stations of the Cross. The “ Lenten Gospel Reflections ” devotional is free; you only have to cover the price for shipping. 

‘Rescued’ Lenten devotional from Blessed Is She 

Blessed is She’s Lenten devotional is for the whole family. “ Rescued: Lent with the Lamb of God ” encourages the faithful to turn their eyes to the Lamb of God instead of focusing on our sins, our sacrifices, and our resolutions. “Rescued” places our focus on what Lent is truly about — through Christ’s death, we are brought into new life. The devotional comes in a version for women, men, and kids and uses narration, storytelling, Scripture, sacred art, and imaginative prayer to walk you through Lent. 

‘A Time of Renewal’ Lenten book study with Abiding Together

“A Time of Renewal: Daily Reflections for the Lenten Season” by Mother Mary Francis, PCC, is a beautiful devotional that includes the daily Mass readings and a reflection. Join the hosts of the Abiding Together Podcast as they take listeners through this Lenten devotional. Each week of Lent they will post discussion and journaling questions along with a podcast episode.

The

‘Oasis’ Lent devotional from West Coast Catholic

This daily Lenten devotional walks you through the 40 days of Lent as you search for the one oasis that can satisfy your thirst — Jesus Christ. “ Oasis ” includes daily prayer prompts, unique reflections, and weekly fasts with the hope of helping you strengthen your faith and your relationship with Jesus. 

how to study your book

‘He Leadeth Me’ Hallow Pray40 Challenge

Join Catholic actors Mark Wahlberg and Jonathan Roumie; Sister Miriam James Heidland, SOLT; Sister Mary Bernice; and Father Mike Schmitz in Hallow’s Lent Pray40 Challenge . This Lent, Hallow will walk listeners through “He Leadeth Me” by Father Walter J. Ciszek, a Jesuit priest and missionary who was imprisoned for 20 years in the Soviet Union amid some of the worst conditions imaginable. Together with Ciszek’s powerful story of surrender and other inspiring testimonies, listeners will experience a transformative Lenten season focused on surrendering one’s life to God.

Hallow Super Bowl Ad

Catholic prayer app Hallow to air commercial during Super Bowl LVIII

The pray more lenten retreat.

The Pray More Lenten Retreat is an online, self-paced retreat featuring four Catholic speakers discussing topics such as hearing God’s voice in prayer, praying with Scripture, fasting, God’s divine mercy, a reflection on suffering, and several more. There are 16 presentations with a transcript, study guide, and downloadable audio and video. The online retreat aims to help you have a transformative Lent, become more intentional with your prayer life, deepen your faith, and slow down and reflect on your walk with Jesus. There is no required fee, though participants can choose to give a small donation that helps offset the retreat costs.

Credit: Aquarius Studio/Shutterstock

Lenten resources for kids

Both Ascension and Hallow have great options for kids who want to grow in their faith this Lent. 

Ascension has a Lenten companion for children ages 7 to 12 that accompanies the adult version mentioned above. It includes questions to prompt conversations about faith as a family, songs of the week to listen to, prayers, and other activities for kids to do each week such as writing a note to Jesus.

Kids can also take part in Hallow’s Saints and the Spirit challenge. Each week of the challenge will focus on one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit and feature a “Saints Alive” mini-episode on the story of a saint who lived out the gift in their own lives. Some of the saints featured include St. Thomas More, St. John Paul II, St. Bakhita, St. Valentine, and others. It will also include daily reflection sessions that are fewer than 10 minutes long, and Hallow will share new “Saints Alive” coloring pages.

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    1) Don't just re-read your notes and readings. "We know from surveys that a majority of students, when they study, they typically re-read assignments and notes. Most students say this is their ...

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    Be Your Own Teacher: How to Study a Textbook — The Learning Scientists The Learning Scientists Textbooks can be scary. By the time you have finished a chapter, much of the content you have read is blended into a broad, murky mess in your mind. This can be problematic when trying to study, or when trying to recall information while taking a test.

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    For textbook readings, enter the chapter number and the number of pages for each of them. Know how many pages of PDFs you have to read as well. How to read a textbook Never skip a reading. I see some study websites that say that you don't need to read everything you are assigned. They just think they'll get it from their class lectures.

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    Effectively reading your textbook is a lot like drawing a picture. The first step is getting an overview of what we are about to read. This is equivalent to an artist drawing an outline. In the same way an outline sets up the boundaries of a drawing, a mental overview sets up the boundaries of what we are about to learn.

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    Five principles of effective study rooted in science study. Principle # 1: Learn how to read so that you learn what you read. Principle # 2: Note-taking done properly. Principle # 3: Consolidate notes soon after the lecture. Principle # 4: Make study a daily practice. Principle #5: Teach to learn.

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    Make It Stick Book in a sentence: Underlining, highlighting, re-reading and cramming lead to the illusion of learning, but any gains fade quickly - so use spaced retrieval practice instead. My take: Perhaps the classic book when it comes to the science of learning, widely and enthusiastically recommended by psychologists and teachers alike.

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    that your study is purposeful and tasks are achieved on time. Daily plan Decide your priorities for the day and list them in your diary in order of importance. Planning each day in this way will help you to stay focused on the tasks you want to achieve. Remember that not achieving one of these tasks may have consequences for

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    How to Study, 25th Anniversary Edition (Ron Fry's How to Study Program) $12.19. (38) Only 10 left in stock (more on the way). Book Description. The bestselling How to Study (Seventh Edition) reveals the study skills that all students need to know in order to be successful, whether the goal is landing a top scholarship or excelling in school.

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    Account for times of higher stress and workload when planning the timeline of your book study; you may need to include 'intermissions' to allow time for major projects, like state testing, grade reporting periods, holiday breaks, etc. Step 4: Develop a structure. Develop a book study structure that makes sense for the chosen book.

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    Paperback. $6.25 153 Used from $1.12 24 New from $5.90 4 Collectible from $13.01. How To Study Your Bible is a dynamic guide to cultivating step-by-step Bible study skills such as observation, interpretation, application, and more--skills that mean the difference between being a passive spectator and an active participant in God's Word!. Language.

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    Write the most important content pertaining to the idea or concept on the back of the card. Consider what you might be tested on when you make these cards. Summarize information to make it easy to go over as you study. 4. Make a summary sheet. The easiest and most common form of study guide is the summary sheet.

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  25. ‎Recover Your Soul: A Spiritual Path to a Happy and Healthy Life: Being

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  26. The New How to Study Your Bible: Discover the Life-Changing Approach to

    Bestselling author Kay Arthur's inductive study method and her bestselling book How to Study Your Bible has helped more than 675,000 people discover the truth of God's Word for themselves. With a fresh look and new material, this dynamic guide invites readers of all levels of Bible literacy and learning to dive deeper into God's promises.

  27. Lent 2024: Catholic resources to help you grow in your faith

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