YEAR 10
INFORMATION
EVENING
STUDY SKILLS
Study Skills ~ learning to learn
We remember …
10% of what we read
20% of what we hear
30% of what we see
50% of what we see and hear
70% of what we discuss with others
80% of what we personally experience
95% of what we teach others
THE KEY ELEMENT IS THAT YOU ARE DOING SOMETHING WITH THE
INFORMATION. YOU ARE CONVERTING IT INTO SOMETHING ELSE AND NOT JUST
LOOKING AT IT. VERY FEW PEOPLE ARE ABLE TO RETAIN INFORMATION LONGTERM IF THEY HAVE ONLY READ IT.
SOME LEARNERS PREFER TO MOVE AROUND AS THEY LEARN. THEY MAY PREFER
TO ADD SPECIAL MOVEMENTS TO REMIND THEM OF A FACT.
1. Reduce & colours
 Take the information in front of you.
 Make new notes but only include key information that you do not think you will remember.
 Use different colour pens (maybe for different purposes e.g. red for numbers, blue for facts, green
for examples).
 Review the notes you have made.
 Use the notes you have made to repeat the process, ensuring you reduce the amount you write.
 You should finish with very little to learn on the day of the test or exam!
2. Verbal mnemonics
 A mnemonic is any learning technique which aids memory. This can be a poem or a special word to
remember something. Mnemonics usually rely on associating the word with the thing to be
remembered. Verbal mnemonics usually rely on a special word to help you remember. First letter
mnemonics often use acronyms.
 Examples:
1. Richard of York gave battle in vain (to remember colours of the rainbow – red,
orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet)
2. HOMES – great lakes (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior)
 Try to make any kind of verbal mnemonic to remember some facts on the sheet. You can use
letters, words, poems, sentences. The choice is yours!
3. Look, (say), cover, write, check
 This strategy is most commonly used to learn spellings in English or vocabulary in a foreign
language.
 You have to do what it says - look at the word, you might say it (particularly if you find it helpful in
your learning), you then cover the word, write it and check whether it is correct.
 It often helps to use a piece of paper that you can fold to cover and then unfold to check.
 Try to apply this strategy to some section of the page to be revised. You might be able to use the
strategy for some facts or possibly a list that needs to be retained.
4. Gap-fill exercises
 Gap-fill exercises are straight forward to make.
 You just form a sentence based on what you are revising and miss out a key word.
e.g. The capital of France is __________. It has a population of ________.
 You would then leave this for a while (perhaps a day).
 You then try the exercise and check your answers.
 The advantage of this strategy is that it means you read the material well, you think about it, you
extract key terms and you are forced to review it at a later date. This consolidates your
knowledge.
 Try to make about 5 gap-fill sentences based on the page you have to revise. You could test
yourself afterwards or try it out on somebody using another strategy.
5. Song or rhyme
 It is often useful to come up with your own song or rhyme to revise material.
 Some people simply enjoy singing their revision to whatever tune comes into their head.
 An example might be learning the phrases for expressing weather conditions in French to the
tune of ‘Here we go, Here we go’
Il fait beau
Il fait chaud
Il fait froid etc.
 Try to make up a little song (to a tune of your choice) or a couple of lines that rhyme to help
revise a little of your page of revision.
6.
Pictures and diagrams
 For many students, a page of writing can be overwhelming to look at. It can look daunting and
put them off revision.
 Converting information into diagrams can be helpful and make the learning more appealing. It is
particularly useful to visual learners.
 Simply replacing words for simple pictures can be effective.
 Try to learn a section of the page for revision by using visual clues or diagrams that you think
will help you to remember the information.
7.
Mindmap
 A mindmap is a diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks or other items linked and arranged
around a central key word or ideas. Mind maps can help in revision, to organise information and
to help plan essays (for example).
 Mindmaps can be created following quite strict rules or you can develop your own techniques.
 Colour often enhances the usefulness of mindmaps.
 Make a quick mindmap (in a way that suits you) to help revise a section of the page you have
been given.
8.
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Teach another person
Teaching another person can be a very powerful revision tool.
Students could do this for each other or teach their parents information.
Try to teach another person on your table a section of the information on the revision page.
You can choose any way you like to teach the information.
9.
Make a test
 Making a set of questions to test yourself forces you to think about the material to be revised at
the time you are looking at it and it also encourages you to review it at a later time in order to
carry out the test and check your answers.
 Your test could take any form. It could be just a series of questions that you need to answer or it
might take a similar format to what you would expect to see in an exam.
e.g.
List four examples of renewable energy and give an advantage and a
disadvantage for each.
 Try to make yourself a simple test based on the page of information you have to revise.
 You might not have long enough to actually do the test. You can try if you do or ask somebody
else at your table to trial it.
10. Cue cards
 Cue cards are commonly used by students when revising. They break down the material to be
covered.
 Their use can be enhanced with the use of colour, diagrams and other visuals.
 They can be easily transported.
 They make the material less daunting as they look small and it can be relatively enjoyable to flick
through them.
 It is a good idea to reduce the number of cards as information is securely retained in the brain so
that the only ones which remain hold the points that you are finding most difficult to revise.
 Try to make about 6 cue cards to help revise some of the information on the page you have
been given. You can use colour, diagrams and visuals if you think it is something that helps you.
Organisation
Be Organised ~ why does it matter?
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To make sure that you have everything to hand and the right environment in which to work
effectively
To maximise your academic performance
To minimise the stress that results from bad organisation
A good working environment ~ should have
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Somewhere to concentrate on work undisturbed
A desk or table to sit at
The space to spread out everything you need
Space for a computer
Access to all resources you need
Good lighting
The right temperature, warm or cool depending on the season
Having the right tools for studying ~ organising your equipment
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Pens
Highlighters
Calculator
Notepaper
Files
Shelf-space for books and files
Dictionary
Other equipment you need for your subjects
Organising your notes
Make sure you are able to keep notes and handouts in an organised way in folders so that work is kept in the
correct order and can be accessed quickly.
This applies to material on computer too. Make sure you have an effective retrieval system with individual
documents in a range of clearly marked folders.
Organising your time
You will have many conflicting interests for your time: ~ family, friends, studying, sport, music, drama,
hobbies, television and even walking the dog! So how do you cope and manage your time efficiently?
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Be clear about what you have got to do, how long it will take and when it has got to be done by.
Use a term planner to help gauge your productivity over time.
Use a week planner to set a clear agenda for the week ahead.
Use a 'to do' list as a prompt to remind you of the tasks you have dedicated to that day.
Use time effectively by setting and sticking to clear realistic objectives.
Get used to working for a fixed period of time every night. Established routines maintain productivity.
Remember:
“Thomas Jefferson said "Never put off tomorrow what you can do today"
and
Benjamin Franklin said, “Do you love life? Then do not squander time, for that's the stuff that life is made
of.”
Organising your commitments
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Make sure that others understand that you need to concentrate and need to work undisturbed.
Make sure they know when you are working and what your study plans are.
Make it clear when you are really under pressure, to get an essay written or revising for exams, for
example.
On the other hand, be understanding of other people’s needs.
Academic Skills
(skills used in everyday life
which relate to academic
skills)
e.g. Managing deadlines
Managing deadlines
Being self-motivated
and able to persevere
with difficult tasks
Having the confidence
to ‘have a go’ and to
express my own ideas
Finding out information
from different sources
(research)
Reading complicated
texts or forms to find the
gist of what they are
saying
Being able to select
what is relevant from
what is irrelevant
Comparing different
opinions and trying to
reach a consensus or
conclusion
Being able to weigh up
the pros and cons,
strengths and
weaknesses
Writing or paraphrasing
in my own words –
creating a synopsis
Being able to argue my
point of view, giving
reasons to support it
Selfrating
Examples:
Target:
Where or when you developed this skill
What am I going to do to maintain or
improve this skill?
Got all my project work done on time
Make sure I meet all my essay deadlines
4 – very good
3 – good
2 – some areas
for improvement
1 – I need help
to develop this
skill
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