4. Develop good habits

Developing good habits for studying, test taking, research paper writing, and even note taking will help you make good grades and cut your study and research time down for some fun.

Learn how you learn. Auditory learners should focus on the lecture; visual learners should take notes; and kinetic learns need to be involved in the subject to learn well. In short if you are an auditory learning and you spend your time in class trying to take notes it may not help you as much as if you spend your time focusing on the lecture.

Taking a test is a 3 step process: preparing for the test, taking the test, and then going over the test. Each of these processes is important for your final grade and to understanding the material. Preparing for the test includes taking good note in class, reading the course materials, and studying. Most college students underestimate the amount of test questions come strictly from the notes and are not found anywhere in the reading materials. If you are given a study guide make sure you go over it thoroughly and no the answers to each question or scenario.

A good habit for writing a research paper is to organize your thoughts before you sit down to write. Make sure you know what questions your research must answer from the professors stand point and the outline your answer to each. Writing a rough draft and having it reviews by a peer, the writing lab (all colleges have one), or your professor when you can will help you develop a good research paper. After the rough draft you’ll be able to rewrite and edit, then repeat again. Proofreading is also essential before you turn your work in. Avoid losing little points for misspelled words, in correct grammar usage, or improperly preparing the citation for the paper.