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Study Habits

The Most Reliable, Constructive, and Effective Study Habits and Methods

i'll share my best study habits with you.  the main idea is to engage the course material as deeply and in as many different sensory methods as possible, i.e., seeing, hearing, reading, and writing.  first (1st), read and outline the designated chapters.  this includes looking up misunderstood words in a real dictionary, like a Websters Dictionary for ~$20, for science, engineering, and medicine isn't about believing but about knowing and that is why "they" want you to go to college.  using "context clues", google, or online dictionaries will definitely mislead you.  "context clues" are deriving and implying a definition of a word from its use in the sentence.  break the bad habit of "context clues" and stop using that method.  second (2nd), outline the chapter paragraph-by-paragraph, which means (i) you read an entire paragraph, then, (ii) you rewrite at least one summary sentence or a few key-point sentences about that paragraph in your own words and in your own notebooks, and, (iii) any new words, whether technical or not, include the words and their definitions in your own words and in your own notebook.  it is a lot of work, but it is the best way to fully engage a technical textbook.  third (3rd), pay attention and audio record any and all lectures or live-online lectures with a non-cellphone audio recording device, i.e., Sony or Olympus.  after the lecture, go back and listen again from your recording to ensure accuracy and complete understanding in your notes and anything missed the first time.  fourth (4th), take notes of the lectures, live-online lectures, online podcasts, and lab lectures in your own notebook and in your own words and check your notes against the recorded lectures, latter step 4.  fifth (5th), integrate and combine your outlined reading notes and the recorded lecture notes into one pristine master notebook of your own wording and writing.  be absolutely sure your notes are accurate and complete and clear to you.  no gaps and nothing misleading.  knowing, not belief, nor guessing, nor "i think", only just knowing.  sixth (6th), practice every problem and research every question and example in the chapter that has an answer or solution in the back of the chapter or accompanying solutions manual from your reading and textbook.  ensure that you check and verify every answer you get against the solutions or answers in the back of your text or in its accompanying solutions manual.  seventh (7th), any gaps or misunderstandings, please bring it to class and ask me about it.  there is no way for me to read your minds and magically see what you don't understand.  and shy or timid will not help you here.  so, raise your hand at the beginning of class, and get your questions answered and understood.  and lastly, eighth (8th), when you do bring any questions to class, then ask a specific well-formed question.  it is improper and without context to ask something like, "i didn't understand any of chapter 6."  a well-formed specific question is like, "may you please go over problem #6 in chapter #12?", or, "may you please go over this section or paragraph in chapter #12?", or, "how do you analyze the data from lab #7?"  a well-formed question provides the professor and rest of the class the context surrounding the misunderstanding and question so that everyone else knows where to start and then the question can be properly addressed.

so, to summarize my best study habits: (i) outline the reading of the chapters in your own words while looking up and documenting words from a real dictionary, (ii) audio record and write your own notes and story from any and all lectures, be it live, lab, or podcasted, (iii) research every question and practice every problem in the chapter and the back of the chapters, check your answers when the solutions or answers are available, (iv) integrate all of it into one understanding, and (v), ask me, in class, when you're misunderstanding with a well-formed specific question or list or questions.  do these each and every day for at least 2 hours a day, 6 days a week.

fundamentally, it is all about certainty and with increased certainty comes greater confidence and stability. in which confidence is in stark contrast to arrogance, insecurity, and false hope. and, stability is in contrast to lost, ungrounded, goalless, and hopelessness. i hope these study habits and methods serve you all well and that you all make an A in the class.  do well and excel.

stephen lukacs, Ph.D. Physical Chemistry (2020)