Study Tactics

So, I know my life is extremely boring, and you probably are not that interested in reading every menial detail, but here is a new post.

After learning how to successfully juggle full-time work and full-time school, I have discovered a few study methods that really help save me time. I'm not a person that can just read a book or a page of notes and really get anything out of it, so I need to visualize.

Lately, for my ultra memory intensive Mass-Comm Law class I have been making walls of the process that I need to memorize. I find this really helps when you have a step-by-step process you need to memorize.

it usually looks like the picture below...

This particular photo was the wall of libel. It went through a step by step process of figuring out if a libel case was possible, determining the level of fault the plaintiff would have to show, and damages that could be one. It actually helped a lot. Sometimes I take them down and put them back in order, or leave ones off I already know, or put ones I really need to study on my bathroom mirror, but it's a really convenient way to study.

Alongside the wall of libel, I have discovered another great new way to study. Quizlet.com is free, and allows you to make flashcards for terms that need to be memorized. You can flip through them online, and access them from any computer since they are on the web. Also, they turn your terms into tests or games, and make it actually fun to study. It's cool because they can do images or anything, and a lot of cards are already made for common subjects like biology and chemistry. I thought it wouldn't work at first for me specifically, because my definitions were actually cases, for example: Times v. Sullivan- blah blah blah, what the case was about, but the site makes it possible to turn off open answer questions so it works for basically any type of term. Also, I was able to make the cards right from my study guide, by using a copy and paste feature. The matching game really helped me, and the quizzes helped prepare me for the actual test.

Now the real kicker? The site allowed me to export the flashcards from the site to my iphone using a third party application. The app was like 2.99$, but I am now able to take all my flashcards on the go. The app is really cool too because it allows me to rate, on a scale of 1-5, the cards I do and do not know. It then cycles through cards with a lower ranking, and throws out cards that I find easy. This makes it so easy for me to study the terms I need to study, and avoid the terms I already know.

If you haven't tried quizlet.com out, you need to, it really does a good job of making study time different and interesting.