MAKING YOUR STUDIES PAY

Suggestions for Effective Studying

WANT TO GET BETTER GRADES? READ ON!

Good students have a system to their studying. In the next few pages, we'll give you some guidelines that we think can help improve the way you study—not only for this course, but for any course.

• How to Use a Textbook
• How to Read a Chapter
• How to Take Notes
• How to Use a Study Guide (In General)
• How to Take Tests

If you need more specific help, we suggest that you go to your teacher or your school's career counseling center.

And Good Luck in your College Career!

HOW TO USE A TEXTBOOK

Textbooks often include material designed to help you study. It's worth your while to flip through a textbook to look for:

• The Preface. If an author has a point of view, you can find it here, along with notes on how the book is meant to be used.
• The Table of Contents. Reading the table of contents will tell you how the book will be developed.
• Glossary. The most important terms and ideas for you to know will be in a glossary, either at the end of each chapter or at the end of the book.
• Appendixes. Found either after certain chapters or at the end of the book, appendixes contain such things as:
  • More difficult material.
  • Statistics or data, such as the present value of money. You may be able to use such data for most of the book.
  • Answers to selected problems.

HOW TO READ A CHAPTER

Before Class: Skim

Unless you're told to know a chapter completely by class time, it's a good idea just to skim an assigned chapter before class.

• Become familiar with the main ideas so that the lecture will make more sense to you.
• As you skim, ask yourself if you know something about the material.
• Keep any questions you have in mind for the lecture, so that you can listen for the answers.

In particular, look for:

• Study Objectives. These are what your teacher will expect you to know—and be able to do or explain—by the end of the chapter.
• Chapter-Opening Vignettes. This section is linked to the chapter topic, and gives a general idea of how accounting relates to your day-to-day life.
• Boldface or Italic Terms. These usually indicate important terms, people, or concepts.
• Headings. Read the major headings to see how the material fits together. How are the ideas related to each other? Do they make sense to you?
• Summary. A good summary will repeat the general ideas and conclusions of the chapter, but it won't explain them. It usually matches up well with the study objectives and chapter introduction.

After Class: Read

After skimming the chapter and attending class, you are ready to read a chapter in detail.

• Check for Meaning. Ask yourself as you read if you understand what the material means.
• Don't Skip the Tables, Figures, and Illustrations. These items usually contain important material and may all be on the test.
• Read the “Sidebars.” These are features that are set off, usually in boxes or by color backgrounds. They can include real-world examples, amusing anecdotes, or additional material. The amusing anecdotes may not come up on the test, but the other kinds of sidebars probably will!
• Review. Read the chapter again, especially the parts you had trouble with. Review the study objectives, chapter introduction, summary, and key terms to make sure you understand them.
• End-of-Chapter Questions. Do all the end-of-chapter questions, exercises, or problems. For the exercises and problems, make sure you have memorized what equations or rules apply, and why. (Do any practice problems that your teacher gives you, too. These will not only help you but show you what kind of questions might be on the test.) If you have trouble with any:
  • Review the part of the chapter that applies.
  • Look for similar questions.
  • Ask yourself what concept or equation should be applied.
• Use the Study Guide. After you've read and studied the chapter, use the study guide to find out what areas you need to review in the text.

HOW TO TAKE NOTES

The ability to take notes is a skill, and one you can learn. First, a few practical tips:

• Arrive in class on time, and don't leave early. You might miss important notes or assignments.
• If you don't have assigned seating, sit close enough to your teachers so that you can hear them and read any overhead transparencies.
• If you don't understand, ask questions.
• Do not read the text during the class—you'll just miss what your teacher is saying. Listen, take notes, and ask questions.

Now, for the note-taking itself:

• Listen for Ideas. Don't try to write everything the instructor says. Instead, listen and take notes on the main ideas and any supporting ideas and examples. Make sure you include names, dates, and any new terms. In accounting classes, take down all rules, equations, and theories, as well as every step in a demonstration problem.
• Use Outlines. Organize these ideas into outlines. You don't have to use a numbered outline if you don't want to—just indent supporting ideas under the main ones.
• Abbreviate. Use any abbreviations you can, whether they're standard or ones you make up. (Leaving out vowels can sometimes help: Lvg out vwls can …).
• Leave Space. Leave enough space in your notes so that you can add material if the instructor goes back to the topic or expands a problem later.

HOW TO USE A STUDY GUIDE (IN GENERAL)

A study guide is devoted to the particular text you're using. It can't replace the text; it can only point out places where you need more work. To make a study guide most effective:

• Use it only after you've read the chapter and reviewed your class notes.
• Ask yourself whether you really understand the chapter's main points and how they relate to one another.
• Go back and reread the sections of your text that deal with any questions you missed. Chances are that a text will not ask the same questions the study guide does, but the text can help you understand the material better. If that doesn't work, ask your instructor for help.
• Remember that a study guide can't cover any extra material that your teacher may have lectured on.

HOW TO TAKE TESTS

Studying for a Test

Studying for tests is a process that starts with the first class and ends only with the last test. All through the semester, it helps to:

• Follow the advice we gave about reading a chapter and taking notes.
• Review your notes:
  • immediately after class. Clear up anything you can't read and circle important items while the lecture is still fresh in your mind.
  • periodically during the semester.
  • before the test.
• Use any videotapes that may be made of lectures.

Now you're ready to do your final studying for this test. Leave as much time as you need, and study under the conditions that are right for you—alone or with a study group, in the library or another quiet place. It helps to schedule several short study sessions rather than to study all at one time.

• Reread the chapter(s). Follow this system:
  • Most importantly, look for things you don't remember or don't understand.
  • Reinforce your understanding of the main ideas by rereading the introduction, study objectives, and summary.
  • Read the chapter from beginning to end.
• Redo the Problems. Make sure you know what equation to apply or procedure to follow in different situations, and why.
• Test Yourself. Cover up something you've just read and try to explain it to yourself—or to a friend—out loud.
• Use Memory Tricks. If you're having trouble remembering something—such as a formula or items in a list—try associating it with something you know or by making a sentence up out of the first letters.
• Study with a Group. Group study is helpful after you've done all your own studying. You can help each other with problems and by quizzing each other, but you'll probably just distract each other if you try to review a chapter together.

(A Note About Cramming), DON'T! If you cram, you will probably only remember what you've read for a short time, and you'll have trouble knowing how to generalize from it. If you must cram, however, concentrate on the main ideas, the supporting ideas, main headings, boldface or italicized terms, and study objectives.)

Taking a Test

After the following general tips, we'll give you specifics on objective, problem, and essay tests.

• Before the Test
  • Make sure you eat well and get enough sleep before the exam.
  • If the instructor doesn't say in class what material will be covered or what kind of test—objective or essay—will be used, ask.
  • Arrive early enough to get settled.
  • Bring everything you need—bluebook, pens, pencils, eraser, calculator—even the book if it's an open-book test.
• As You Begin the Test
  • Read the instructions completely. Do you have to answer all of the questions? Do certain questions apply to others? Do some questions count more than others? Will incorrect answers be counted against you?
  • Schedule your time. How many questions are there? Try to estimate how much time to leave for each section. If sections are timed, so that you won't be able to go back to them, make sure you leave enough time to decide which questions to answer.
• Taking the Test
  • Read each question completely as you come to it.
  • Answer the easier questions first and go back to the harder ones.
  • Concentrate on questions that count more.
  • Jot notes or equations in the margin if you think it will help.
  • Review your answers, and don't change an answer unless you're sure you were wrong.
• Dealing with Panic
  • Relax. Do this by tightening and relaxing one muscle at a time.
  • Breathe deeply.
  • If you don't know an answer, go on to the next question.

Now for some notes on objective, problem, and essay tests.

• Objective Tests. (Multiple choice, true/false, matching, and completion or fill-in-the blank.)
  • Watch out for words like always/all/every/none/never. Very few things are always or never so. If a question or answer includes words like these, be careful.
  • If you are uncertain about a multiple choice answer, try to narrow the choices down to two and make an educated guess.
  • Match up the easy ones first on a matching test. This will leave less possibilities for the harder ones.
  • Make educated guesses for other objective questions. (If you really have no idea and wrong answers count against you, leave it blank.)
• Problem Test
  • If a formula or equation is quite long, jot it down before you work on the problem.
  • Remember that math builds one equation on another. If you can't remember a particular equation, try to remember how it was derived.
  • Don't despair if you can't figure out what a question is calling for. Try to figure out part of it first. If that doesn't work, go on; sometimes a later question will jog your memory.
  • If your teacher grants some credit for partially correct problems, make sure you include the way you worked out a problem.
  • Make sure you know how your calculator works before the test. And make sure you know how to do the problems without it. Sometimes you can hit the wrong button, so it helps to have a rough idea of what your calculator should be giving you.
• Essay Test
  • Write a rough outline before you begin. If that takes too much time, just jot down all the things you want to say and then number them. Organize what you're going to say into groups of related ideas.
  • Make a point in each paragraph. The easiest way is to make the point in the paragraph's first sentence and then to back it up.
  • Use examples, facts, and dates to back up what you are saying.
  • Do what the question asks for. If it asks you to compare two things, for example, go back and forth between them; don't spend all your time on one of them.
  • If you have no idea what to write, try to remember ideas that the teacher stressed in class and see if you can relate the question to those ideas.
  • Check your time. If you're running out, write your last points down without explaining them; your teacher will at least know what you are going to explain.