How to study effectively - The art of study

The purpose of effective study is to learn. It involves reading to grasp the idea behind each word. It is to observe things and understand them objectively. Study is not merely to read the text but to extract the information embedded in the text. The essentials of effective study, to become a successful student, are as follows: 

1. Willingness To Learn 

The willingness of a student to learn is indispensable for productive study. The first thing which productive study requires is your desire to learn. Your desire to learn helps you develop your interest in your studies. Being a student, you should have the thirst for learning. You should have a love for your study. It enables you to give more time to your study. It helps you in paying attention to your studies. Study is an activity which needs a lot of your concentration and attention which is only possible if you have your inner desire to learn.

 

The interest of a student in his studies enables him to manage time for his study, to sit for hours for study, to sacrifice his other activities for his studies and to concentrate on his studies more effectively. The love for leaning instills in student a sense of responsibility regarding his studies which is sign of success for a student. 

Most of the students view study as a burden on them. They may study a little bit due to fear of failure in their exam. Such student may get less mark in their exam or even may fail in the exam. But the students, who have love in their bosoms for their studies, get highest marks in their exam; because for them the study is not a burden but an enjoyable activity to learn. 

2. Understanding the aim of reading 

The aim of reading is to learn and understand what you read. Reading does not mean merely uttering the words of a Paragraph. Uttering the words only and not grasping the idea contained in words or sentences has no advantage. Every sentence has an important idea and information in it - conveyed by the author (writer). The aim of reading is to understand and learn these ideas and information which is conveyed by the writer in the paragraph to the reader. Students should know the aim of reading that what is reading for. Therefore when you read a paragraph, you should pay your full concentration and attention to it; so that you can properly learn and understand what each sentence says to you. It is called effective and productive study. Reading without learning properly is wasting your time. 

Read a paragraph carefully and learn it adequately so that you can reproduce it in your exam if question is asked about it in exam. Learning and understanding a subject properly may seem to you a bit difficult in start. But if the aim of reading is clear to you, it will become easier for you with the passage of time. Read a paragraph or lesson carefully giving full attention, then close the book and write on a paper whatever you have learnt from your reading. Practicing this way will help enhancing your pick up power. Think, that every information contained in sentences is very much important to be learnt and understood. Sometimes one reading may not be easy for proper understanding of a subject/paragraph or a lesson so read it twice or even more times to learn it. 

Some subject may be a bit more difficult than other. For example science subject may be a bit more difficult than arts subjects. Difficult subject will need more time and attention than the other subjects. Similarly to learn different type of subject you need to make your mind according to the nature of the subject so that you can learn it adequately and easily. 

3. Studying with concentration and attention 

If you sit for study, you should have no irrelevant thoughts in your mind which may interrupt your study. Your mind should be free from all other irrelevant thoughts while you study. Throw all the irrelevant thoughts from mind while you are studying. If you start your study and at the same time you are thinking again and again about a film you had watched a few days back, you cannot study properly. Likewise, if you study and at the same time you are texting on your mobile phone to your friends, you cannot study properly because such things hinder the process of your learning. 

When you sit to study, think only about your study and do not give space to any other thing in your mind except your study. If you have a very much important task to do which creeps into your mind again and again while you are studying, it is better to finish that task quickly before sitting for study and then start study because you should be fully and only focused on what you study. Similarly try not to give attention to common things in your surrounding while you are study because such things will divert your attention from your study. 

4. Few things may need to be memorized for learning 

Several things need to be retained in your mind when you learn them. You have to memorize such things in a proper way. Remember! by memorizing here. I don't mean "cramming". The method of cramming should never be adopted by students for learning because it inhibits their power of creativity. 

Some subjects may have certain things which need to be learnt and retained in mind for long time. Students study to learn their subject so that they can reproduce it in their exam to qualify in their examination. The things, which need to be retained in mind, are particular terminologies, scientific names, historical dates and events, names of personalities, and particular names, derived from other Languages. If you remember such things and you mention such thing, each of them carries marks for them and has a good impression on the checker of your paper. For example in book of biology you may study difference biological terminologies used for biological processes and things. A medical student has to retain the names of medicine and their chemical formulae. Similarly, in the book of chemistry if you have to study a chemical process which involves various phases. You need to learn to understand the whole process but you have to retain in your mind the specific names of each phases involved in the process and the proper sequences of the phases for that process. It means only learning is not enough, the learning should also be retained in mind for long so that you can reproduce it in your exam or you can utilize it in future when you need it. 

5. Generating questions in mind and finding their answers 

Try to generate good questions about the topic you study and try to think for their answers. One of the habits of brilliant student is that they generate and ask good questions. When such students study a topic, they tend to explore every aspect of the topic by generating good questions about it; and try to find answers to these questions either themselves or by the help of others. It helps them remove the uncertainty about their learning. It increases their learning as well as their confidence regarding their learning. 

6. Discussion helps in learning more 

Studying a topic and discussing it with your classmates helps you learn the areas which you missed to explore while your study. Discussing a topic, after studying it, with your classmate helps you retain your learning as you reproduce it in front of others and your brain works on it again. Having this in mind that you will discuss it with others changes the way you study and learn as it increases the extent of your seriousness about learning. Discussing your topic with other help you know the areas which you might have omitted while studying the same topic.