Being college students is often overwhelming. Many requirements and procedures may be unfamiliar to you. This is your first experience in this environment. You may be accustomed to doing things differently. You may feel frustrated and confused, and be unable to work effectively in academic situations. There are ways that you can overcome these obstacles to survive the beginning of school. Being your upper classmate, I’ll bring out some examples and specific skills to increase your chances for academic success in the following three important areas: time control, classroom note-taking, and textbook study
First, success in college depends on time control. Time control means that you deliberately organize and plan your time, instead of letting it drift by. Take me for example; I don’t control time well in my freshman year. I not only take part in guitar and teaching clubs but also have a part time job in a cram school. Then I encounter a lot of over due term papers and a suffering cram session. Unfortunately, I’m flunk in two subjects that have six credits. Here is a method for you to avoid this kind of experience I’ve ever suffered.You should have a weekly study schedule for the semester – a chart that covers all the days of the week and all the walking hours in each day. On your own schedule, fill in all the fixed hours in each day – hours for classes, club, job, and break time. Then mark time blocks that you can realistically use for study each day. Depending on the number of courses you are taking and the demands of these courses, you can plan certain hours for studying in a week.
Second, taking effective class notes can help you perform well in college courses. If you fail to take important and complete notes, you will lose a lot. For example, one of my classmates, Carol, is a bad note-taker. Not knowing how to take notes and skipping classes sometimes, she gets poor grades in every subject. The following tips will help you become a better note-taker. To begin with, you should take the notes by yourself, because reading someone else’s notes cannot substitute for the class experience. In class lectures and discussions, your teacher will present and develop the main ideas of the course – the one you will be expected to know on exams. In addition, you can use abbreviations to take quick notes. Using abbreviations really saves time when you are trying to get down a great deal of information. For example, you can use ex for example, def for definition; info for information. If you use the same abbreviations, you will soon develop a kind of personal shorthand that makes taking notes much easier.
Third, it’s the main factor to achieve academic success by reading and studying a textbook skillfully. College textbook are always heavy going. For example, English Literature is really a thick book; we may spend a couple of days preparing for the mid-term exam. But my best friend, Parn, he usually just spends two days finishing all the chapters which the exam covers to get the highest score in our class. The secret to his success is this sequence: previewing, note-taking, and studying. Previewing a selection is an important first step to understanding. For example, you can pay much attention to the title. The title is the shortest summary that tells you the main ideas of the paragraph. Then you should take notes and try to write down the main ideas in a simple outline form. For example, in taking notes on a phonetics selection, you might write down the heading “Minimal Pairs.” Below the heading you would define them, number and give an example of each. The last one is to study your notes. For example, look at the heading “Minimal Pairs” and say to yourself. “What are Minimal Pairs? ” ,” What are the examples of Minimal Pairs? ” It’s truly an useful way for efficient and effective learning.
It’s really hard and overwhelming to survive in the beginning of the school year. Students often experience feelings of confusion and frustration at the beginning of these masters. You may feel dazed because of various carouses and details that need attention. However, if you practice the above skills to control your time, take effective classroom notes, and learn from your textbooks, you will definitely make academic success!
Jenny