How to Study

I need to take a break:
12.
❏ 
Every 30 minutes or so
❏ 
Every hour
❏ 
Every 2 hours
❏ 
Every ____ hours
Many of the items on this chart should be understandable to you now.
Why you feel the need for a particular environment is not important.
Knowing you have a preference is. Here’s what you’re trying to assess
in each item of the checklist:
1. If you prefer “listening” to “seeing,” you’ll have little problem
getting the information you need from class lectures and 
discussions. In fact, you’ll prefer them to studying your text-
books. (You may have to concentrate on your reading skills
and spend more time with your textbooks to offset this 
tendency. Highlighting your texts may help.) 
If you’re more of a “visual” person, you’ll probably find it easier
reading your textbook and may have to work to improve your
classroom concentration. Taking excellent class notes that 
you can read later will probably be important for you. You’ll 
also want to adapt your note-taking methods to your visual
preference: Rather than writing notes like everybody else,
draw pictures, use charts, and learn how to “map” a lecture.

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2. This should tie in with your answer to (1). The more “aural”
you are, the more you should concentrate on listening. The
more “visual,” the better your notes should be for later review. 
3. This may make a difference for a number of reasons. You may
find it difficult to hear or see from the back of the classroom.
You may be shy and want to sit up front to motivate yourself
to participate in class discussions. You may find sitting near a
window makes you feel a little less claustrophobic; alternatively,
you may daydream too much if you are near a window and
should sit as far “inside” the classroom as possible. 
4. Whatever location you find most conducive to study (consider-
ing the limitations of your current living situation and schedule)
should be where you spend most of your study time. 
5. Deciding how to organize your time to most effectively cover
the material may depend, in part, on the amount of homework
you are burdened with and/or the time of year. You may have
one schedule during most of the school year but have to adapt
during test time, when papers are due, for special projects, etc. 
6. To some of you, such preferences may only be a factor on
weekends, because your day hours are set—you’re in school. 
But if you’re in college (or in a high school program that mimics
college’s “choose your own courses and times” scheduling 
procedures), you would want to use this factor in determining
when to schedule your classes.
If you study best in the morning, for example, try to schedule
as many classes as possible in the afternoons (or, at worst, 
late in the morning).
If you study best in the evening, either schedule morning
classes and leave your afternoons free for other activities, 
or schedule them in the afternoons so you can sleep later 
(and study later the night before).
7. Some of us get cranky if we try to do anything when we’re
hungry. If you study poorly when your stomach is growling,
eat something! 
How to Study
30

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8. Most of us grow up automatically studying alone. If we study
with a friend, there’s often more talking, TV watching, anything
but studying. But don’t underestimate the positive effect study-
ing with one or two friends—or even a larger study group—
can have on your mastery of schoolwork and your grades. 
(I discuss study groups in greater detail at the end of this 
section.) 
9. Just because you perform best under pressure doesn’t mean
you should always leave projects, papers, and studying for
tests until the last minute. It just means you won’t panic 
when an unexpected project gets assigned or a surprise test 
is announced. 
If you do not study well under pressure, it certainly doesn’t
mean you occasionally won’t be required to do so. The better
organized you are, the easier it will be for you to avoid panick-
ing when the unexpected arises.
10. As we’ve discussed, some of you (like me) will find it difficult
to concentrate without music or some sort of noise. Others
couldn’t sit in front of the TV and do anything but breathe 
and eat. 
Many of you will fall in between—you can read and even take
notes to music but need absolute quiet to study for a test or
master particularly difficult concepts. If you don’t know how
you function best, now is the time to find out.
11. Choosing the second option—starting and finishing one project
before moving on to another—doesn’t mean you can’t at least
sit down and outline an entire night’s study plan before tackling
each subject, one at a time. Setting up such a study schedule 
is advised. But it may mean you really can’t move to another
project while the first one is unfinished. Other people may
have no problem working on one project, switching to another
when they get stuck or just need a break, then going back to
the first.
Chapter 2
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How to Organize Your Studying
31

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12. There’s nothing particularly wrong with taking a break when-
ever you feel you need to keep yourself sharp and maximize
your quality study time—as long as the breaks aren’t every five
minutes and don’t last longer than the study periods! In general,
though, try to increase your concentration through practice so
that you can go at least an hour before getting up, stretching,
and having a drink or snack. Too many projects will require at
least that long to “get into” or organize, and you may find that
breaking too frequently will require too much “review time”
when you return to your desk.