Obviously I’m no expert on this, but I figured I’d share with you a few things I’ve found useful when studying. If you have any advice to share please do so down below as different methods work for different people.

• Personally I like to print out reading or use a physical book. For some people physically turning a page or reading/highlighting on paper can really help the information stick in their head.
• Furthermore screens can put quite a strain on your eyes especially if you’re using them all day and reading books worth of materials. Not to mention Facebook is only a few clicks away; using technology can subject you to a whole world of distractions, so consider putting your phone on silent and putting away your laptop.
• Use highlighters. Highlighting important points can help you find them again when flicking through notes of trying to cite something for an essay.
• Consider colour coding, but don’t use too many as it may get confusing.
• Also circle any words you need defining and consider writing the definition by the side or in a separate list so you have you on vocabulary booklet on hand in case you forget the definition.
• Put a star next to anything you don’t understand and wish to ask about in lectures.
• Do your reading before your lecture so that you can follow along and ask questions about a section that may have been confusing.
• Read around the topic/subject. Consider finding out when the piece was written and where and what was happening in the world at that time. Was the piece in response to another writer?
• Change setting, don’t stay at your desk for every study session, go to the library, the park. Changing up the setting can keep you motivated and help retention of information.
• Additionally use the library, there a so many books you can borrow for free why go any where else?
• Make the most of silent areas, sometimes its hard to find peace and quiet so the silent study areas in the library can feel like a safe haven, especially if you have noisy neighbours partying whilst you’re trying to write an essay.
• This is quite an odd tip but I find it really useful: consider chewing gum or snacking whilst you study. I fidget quite a lot and have a really short attention span, and for some reason chewing gum (or mindlessly eating crisps) helps me concentrate.
• In the same breath, make sure you’re well hydrated and have some food with you to snack on, otherwise you may find yourself making excuses to get up and stop studying every five minutes. Have food on hand so you don’t get hungry or distracted while you work.

I hope these tips were useful for some of you! Once again, if you have any advice I’d love to hear it, so please leave your tips in the comments down below.