Study Facts, Hacks, and Tips

Midterms are upon us! Whether that means stress, procrastination, or excessive eating to you (kidding, hopefully that’s not the case), I figured it’d be best to provide a collection of helpful advice to you.

I wish you the best of luck!

Facts

1. Using blue ink improves recall memory. In an experiment conducted among a group of 9th grade students, those who wrote with blue ink exhibited a greater recall with blue vs those who wrote with black ink (reportedly 33% vs 27%.) Read more for yourself here.
2. Writing out facts also improves recall ability, so be sure to take notes on the textbook chapters you study. Personally, re-writing my own notes has proven effective when studying.
3. Learn more interesting facts here, like the fact that “Our brain prefers images over text. Participants in studies only remember about 10% of information presented orally when they are tested 72 hours after instruction. However, that number jumps by about 65% when an image is added to the learning process” (tipsywriter.com).

Hacks

1. Instead of simply memorizing the material, try to explain it to yourself as you do it. For example,m 2+2=4. Now, explain to yourself why 2+2=4. If you can’t, you likely don’t know the material as well as you should.
2. Create mental associations. For example, if you’re learning what the prefix bio– means, think of words that have that prefix: biology – the study of life… so bio means life!
3. Don’t just read or watch… practice! If you’re watching a video explaining the basics of trigonometry, don’t just watch it – pause it and take notes, or try to solve a couple of examples yourself. When you’re studying, you need to stimulate your mind. This prevents boredom.

Tips

1. Study to understand, not just to memorize. It’s easier to recall what you understand rather than material you only wanted to remember for a test or quiz.
2. Take periodic breaks when studying to refresh your mind and prevent burnout. One five to ten minute break every half hour or so can improve cognitive ability. You can adjust the time in between breaks based upon what is most conducive to your brain, but usually working for 30 minutes or so and pairing it with a 10 minute break can really be helpful.
3. Use a planner. When I got to high school, so many of my friends stopped using their planners and I was shocked! – You know what else happened? Once they stopped using their planners, they started forgetting more things. It’s easier to remember things when you write them down and when you can see them visually.
4. Use a wall calendar! It’s essentially the same concept as a planner.
5. My favorite, take colorful, fun notes! Make studying more enjoyable by implementing creative techniques if you’re more of a creative, artistic thinker.

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If you’d like a post about helpful study links and such, let me know! I hope you enjoyed this post as well. Happy studying! 😉 ❤

Our Mission

Welcome to Smarts and Sparkles, a blog dedicated to YOU. Our – my – mission is to develop a site dedicated to the improvement of the lives of people like me: young adults. Through extensive planning, research, and late-night conversations, I’ve discovered what I believe should be the most important and rather stressful aspects in the life of a modern-day young adult or student: school, socialization, and self-care (the three s’s, if you will…) From providing excerpts and techniques from bestselling mindfulness books to creating step-by-step tutorials on effective writing styles, this blog is ready and well-equipped to help you with whatever task you are facing.

The Three S’s – Explained

In fact, school, socialization, and self-care are truly all inter-related at their core. At school, we learn the fundamentals of how to create friendships and a variety of other relationships (including those that are platonic, professional, and possibly romantic), and slowly understand how to take care of ourselves and adapt to our surroundings. School isn’t just about academics and getting prepped for college or the workforce though that may be a large part of it. The majority of the socialization that occurs during our childhood is through the friends we meet in school or school-organized events, and we are able to discover our own selves through the process of discovering others. And finally, self-care is learned primarily through the experiences we have at school and through our social lives – everyone’s interpretation of self-care is a little different, but what is common to our interpretation is that self-care is a necessary thing – and that’s because it is.

From providing excerpts and techniques from bestselling mindfulness books to creating step-by-step tutorials on effective writing styles, this blog is ready and well-equipped to help you with whatever task you are facing.

This blog isn’t about what’s going to make you the most popular at school or what will cause you to gain internet fame – This blog is about helping you build your best life – to thrive in the circumstances you’ve been given, and how to use your resources to reach your potential. This blog is about focusing on the most important aspects of student and young adult lives and cultivating them in a fun, honest way. 

If you are ready and willing to receive (free) help, stories, advice, tips, tricks, and perspectives that will help you succeed, you’ve come to the right place.

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