Task 10 – Good Study Skills Text

Here are my top 10 tips for effective studying.

• Create plans; When being set an assignment, i find creating a plan of how to use my time up until the deadline helps a lot. it reduces the stress of last minute work and I can always refer back to it every time I work on the essay. I tend to plan what will go into each paragraph by using bullet points and writing lists of references I want to look into more.
• Take breaks; I find I get easily distracted when writing a long essay and will start doing something else and then will not touch my essay for the rest of the day, so by taking small breaks and often I am able to clear my mind and get any boredom and whatever maybe on my mind out of it and I am able to start over again, these breaks could be anything from popping out for half an hour, chatting to friends or even going off to make a drink, just having some time away from a laptop or computer screen is really helpful.
• Avoiding phone; I tend to turn my phone on aeroplane mode or do not disturb when studying, as I know how distracted I can get when checking Instagram or something I do not need too.
• Study Music; When I am revising or writing an essay, study music is the best thing to keep be focused. I literally just youtube study music and it plays for like 4 hours and it is so calming and it is very hard to get distracted by it.
• Look after yourself; Keep drinking plenty of water when studying and eating what is known as brain food to keep the brain working when spending long amounts of time on essay writing, this also pays off just before starting an exam.
• Proof-read work; As I have learnt, it is so important to proof read work even before the essay is over, just to make sure there is no important parts which have been repeated which I tend to do a lot!
• Ask for support; Either asking for support of the lecturer or even friends, seeing if all  ideas match and if unsure on anything, someone else might have a different and better understanding of it. I usually ask family to read my essays once finished so they can look out for an spelling errors or sentences that do not make sense.
• Study sessions with others; Studying with others is really helpful because it helps motivate each other and makes studying more enjoyable as it is also social.
• Find the right place; Finding the right place to study is very important, somewhere away from distractions and where it isn’t to loud. As long as I have cut out distractions around me, for example no TV, actual study music and no access to my phone, I am usually okay when studying, as have two brothers who are toddlers, I have been able to get used to revising and studying in louder environments but it all depends on each person.
• Be confident; Having a confident and positive mindset whilst essay writing is beneficial as it helps create a good piece of work that you are proud of!