An essay on study skills

Having scrutinized the word cloud posted by the coordinator, Dr. Tame, on facebook, I

noticed that there are a great number of study skills associated tips being highlighted in

different size in order of their importance and wider use. As far as I am concerned, among

these tips, note-taking, a wise selection of pertinent references, regular practice, effective

learning styles and going beyond textbooks, altogether, are deemed the primary tips students

should be conscious of while they are at college. This essay will cast as much light as possible

on some of these widely chosen tips respectively.

Admittedly, for any student to attain a successful higher education, he/ she should

keep in mind that taking notes while attending lectures is of much more importance. Wrongly

viewed is that attending courses on a regular basis would be sufficient to get satisfactory

grades; yes, this would be right provided that it is backed up by note-taking skills: with a

notebook, students can, at any time, go back to the notes they already jotted down in the

classroom. In other words, it simplifies the process of revision and helps avoid cramming. It is

noteworthy to mention that this tip effectively works in the situations where there are a lot of

subject to revise. Additionally, taking notes should not be narrowly viewed in the sense that it

should also be done before stepping into the lecture in order that you manifest an active

participation during the lecture.

In accordance with the above, taking notes skills go in conjunction with being skilful

in singling out the most appropriate references that are compatible with the syllabus goals.

Nowadays, the research has shown that one of the hurdles that are more likely to hinder

students’ success at schools is when they are flooded with more resources, which makes it

really hard for them to be selective. This trend of being equipped with tons of books in hard

papers and in digital format might look a plus for this generation, but I do believe that this

huge number of references should be dealt with wisely, which is to say that students ought to

have a look at the content and be able to pinpoint the chapters of much importance rather than

wasting time scanning chapters which do not fit in the goals targeted.

There is no denying that being an active listener considerably helps in grasping the

main goals lectured during a class session. Yet, this might be more liable to be a futile skill if

it is not assisted by a regular practice. It is very advisable to practice the ideas and the content

dealt with in the class. One argument in favor of the regular revision and practice is that it

helps foster the understanding and helps avoid cramming for the exams. Moreover, as the

common proverb states it carefully “practice makes perfect”, practice efficiently works for the

language learners. For instance, the key factor that lies behind the inability of students to

speak fluent English at the department of English is attributed to poor practice. Furthermore,

there are some other underlying study skills including effective learning styles, along with the

wise employment of textbooks. Students are highly recommended to exploit various learning

style to cope with different learning environment and in the meantime, they should not keep

clinging to the textbook suggested by their instructor as there might be other books dealing

with the same issues easily.

To put it in a nutshell, being aware of some study skills while studying at college

would be of benefit to students with the intention of making of the university life a success.

As it is mentioned above, the catalyst for success are embodied in taking notes, a wise

selection of pertinent references, regular practice, effective learning styles and going beyond

textbooks.