LAUNCHing in Storrs
Developing Strong Study Skills
Midterms will be here before you know it and you can ace those exams by strengthening your study skills. Study skills enable students to learn efficiently. If you take the time to understand and develop healthy studying practices, it’ll improve your performance in school. These three steps will help you learn how to retain and apply information before, during, and after class.
1.      Before you begin class, review the material.
2.      Actively listen during class, and take notes.
3.      Within 24 hours, solidify the information you took in.*
How to Improve Your Memory While Studying**
  • Involve yourself in reading
  • Visualize as you read
  • Take notes
  • PQRST Method: Preview, Question, Read, State, and Test
  • Schedule several short study sessions, rather than one marathon
  • First-Letter Cuing (Acronyms)
Use your Body to Enhance your Memory***
Action is a great memory enhancer! To see this for yourself, try the following strategies.
  • When studying at your desk or in the library, sit up. Also, sit on the edge of your chair, "as if you were about to spring out of it and sprint across the room."
  • Try standing up when you study. Some people argue that their brains work better when they stand.
  • If you are preparing for a presentation, try pacing back and forth and gesture as you recite the material out loud.
Want More Study Tips?
Check out the workshops offered by the Academic Achievement Center & take a look at these additional resources:
*Zanardelli Sickler, Angela. "Study Strategies for Before, During, and After Class."  Faculty Focus , Magna Publications, 10 Apr. 2017,
www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-and-learning/study-strategies-class/.Accessed 2 June 2018.
**Mohs, Richard C. "How to Improve Your Memory."  HowStuffWorks , HowStuffWorks, 2018, health.howstuffworks.com/human-body/systems/nervous-system/how-to-improve-your-memory10.htm. Accessed 2 June 2018.
***Ellis, D. (1998).  Becoming a master student : Tools, techniques, hints, ideas, illustrations, examples, methods, procedures, processes, skills, resources, and suggestions for success  (Updated 8th ed.].. ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.