sneak peek of my texan desk 👀 my second week of school as an exchange student starts tomorrow! my first week was great—my professors and classmates are really friendly and welcoming. now to get started on all these exercises and projects…
a clearer look at my paper child for those of you who do aqa biology or really any a level biology, if you can use it then i will feel good about myself!!
27.03.16
Slight regret about taking on an A3 book again but I’m determined to make it work! Organised some images I photocopied as inspiration and tried some initial drawings :)
had an 8am english class today! so glad that we finally got over & done with class presentations. after that, I went back to sleep for 2h or so & woke up at 12. studied for poetry exam & wrote poems for the rest of the day.
Since exam season is fast approaching, I thought I’d share some of my best tips for studying.
Tip 1: Timing
Time management is the best way to maximise the amount of work you can do in 24 hours. I approach it the same way most people do, by creating a timetable. While I don’t plan my days by the hour, every night I write down what I need to accomplish to next day. This method of planning works for me because it’s adaptable, if I make last minute plans or don’t have the resources to do a specific task, then it doesn't screw up my whole plan.
Tip 2: Environment
Create the optimum study environment for you. Everyone has a favourite location to study in, but wherever you are, remember that distractions prevent productivity. I work at my desk, but have to tidy up everything except stationery during exam season, just to ensure I don’t get distracted. Another good tip if you listen to music when revising is to create one long playlist before you start working, so you don’t stop to change the song every five minutes.
Tip 3: Condensation
It’s pretty much impossible to remember every single sentence from every single textbook/revision guide/sheet of class notes you have. The best way to take in a large quantity of important information is to condense it down into smaller chunks. I start my revision by converting all of the information I have into one A4 page per topic and then condensing those sheets into flashcards.
Tip 4: Memorisation
There’s no point condensing all of the information you need to know if you can’t recall it during an exam, so the next step is to learn it. I use all sorts of techniques from mind maps to songs, but if you know a technique that works for you, use it!
Tip 5: Exam answers
So now you've learnt all of the elements in Period 4, or the structural formula of every amino acid, but will it get you marks in an exam? The only way to find out is by doing past papers, and plenty of them. While one or two papers may help you get a feel for the exam, doing 10+ papers can help you learn the repeating themes and questions. After all, when you remove the context from an exam question, there's only a finite number of questions an examiner can ask you from the syllabus.
Step 6: Motivation
Studying can be tough, particularly on the mind, so having a collection of quotes or goals that make you want to succeed helps. I keep a page of printed quotes (mainly by Casey Neistat) close to my desk to read whenever I lose inspiration.
So those are my six tips, if you've got any questions or advice for me I’d love to hear it.
Em x
(Disclaimer: these tips helps me with my exams, I'm not sure how well they will work for other subjects/exams)
i get lots of questions about what kinds of pens i use, so i thought i’d make a post for convenience :’’) the x’s are links to posts where i’ve used the pen.
sakura pigma micron 01 (0.25mm) - i usually don’t like using pens with tips smaller than 0.5mm since i feel like i’m scratching the paper with them, but microns are felt tip so i can deal with it (heh). i like using this pen for when i have to cramp a lot of information in a small space. (x)
pilot precise v5 (0.5mm) - I LOVE THESE PENS!! A+ ink flow, crisp lines, and a v smooth writing experience. it takes a while for the ink to dry sometimes, so i use these mostly for when i’m rewriting notes instead of in-class notes. (x, x, x, x, x)
muji gel ink ballpoint (0.5mm) - i’m gonna be honest, i bought my first pack of muji pens about a month after i started my studyblr because everyone had them. but!! for all the hype they get, they are nice pens. v smooth & lots of color options!! my only qualms are that they run out of ink pretty fast and the ink tends to smear if you highlight over it. (x, x, x)
pentel rsvp fine (0.7mm) - my go-to pen for in-class notes! the ink doesn’t smear very much, which is excellent because i’m one of those people that writes everything down (oops). definitely not the best pen ever, but it does its job well. ALSO it has a grip which makes it v comfortable to write with!! (i started using it when i was making this review sheet, except it ran out of ink halfway through and i switched to using a bic cristal pen)
paper mate inkjoy 100 (1.0mm) - my other in-class notes pen! i use it less than the rsvp because it likes to transfer onto my hand more, but the ink is darker and it’s a wider pen. i’ll usually use it when i have to fill up more space and don’t want to write as much heh :^) (x, x)
uniball signo um-153 (1.0mm) - v nice if you’re looking for a pen that writes boldly and thickly!! i bought this pen not too long ago, so i haven’t written with it that much yet, but i’ll probably use it for headings or something like that (x)
FUN FACT these are all capped pens… i stay away from retractable pens because i’m one of those people that clicks them constantly if i have one in my hands (ㅠᴗㅠ)
day 13/100 - (02/15/2016) home from cambodia, missing it so much, and a little worried to go back to school, here’s a little reflection that i completed during the trip
studying is a science @studyingisascience-blog - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag
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