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[luci_73]

for most of us out there we haven't been in a class room for a while. my question for you is what is the best and most effective way to study? i've got a test next sunday, just got the book today and its not a very thin book. my way of studying has never been successful so this is why i come to you, please help!

[Joe]

wow....thats a good one!
well I havent been in a classroom since 1992....thats a while ago, but I still pick-up books (learning/tutorial/do-it-yourself) that require understanding and applying in real life situations.
It depends.... I like reading in total silence (NO TV / RADIO / FOOD!) on my bed. I give myself a break every 1-2 hours , about 15-20 min. then when I get back I'll go over the most important things and write them down.
Writing down stuff helps you remember them better.....and its faster to review them.
I had a friend that would tape himself reading/talking about the subject... and then listen to the tape over and over.
I guess everybody has their own way.....you just have to find what works for you.
One thing I know that DOESNT work is trying to cram as much as possible the last night before exams......dont do it!
If you studied you will be ready!......no need to stress over it the last night, besides its a good idea going to bed early and getting a good night sleep so you wake-up refreshed and ready.
GOOD LUCK on the exam.... I know you'll do just fine!

[Raven]

I, unfortunately have been in school (college) on and off since 1984. Here is what works best for me. I get 5 colored highlighters. The first thing I do is go through the entire book and use a green highlighter to highlight the key words (these are usually in bold face in the book). Don't read anything, just highlight. This gives me an overview of what is in the book and only takes about 20 minutes.

Next I take an orange highlighter and highlight the definitions that follow the key words that I just highlighted in green. Now I have scimmed the entire book twice and have a real good idea of what is going to be covered. This takes about 40 minutes, but is well worth it.

Note that I never use the green and orange for anything else in the book, that way the key words and definitions stick out.

Then I read the chapters that I need to and highlight in 3 other colors. I use these for what ever (blue-to mark a beginning of a list of things like "There are 3 concepts you need to understand in marketing...") I then use the other two colors to highlight general knowledge stuff or other important things. I use two colors so I can keep items separate that might both be important, but are separate ideas. This way I don't have and entire page of yellow highlighter.

Sometimes I take notes, mostly not. More often than not I type up the definitions by chapter so that I at least have all of the key concepts separated by chapter for future reference (only takes about 1-1.5 hours).

Does it work you ask???

My GPA is 3.94....so yeah I think so. For me anyway...Hope this helps.

Keith

[luci_73]

Thank you all for your help. Here is hoping that I do better than what I did in the past.