Tips for School

Here are some tips that will make your school year a lot more easier when it comes to organisation,studying and it might help you when its time for exams!
*Organisation Tips*

• Make to-do lists. Prepare your to-do list the night before. In doing so, you will know exactly what tasks you have to accomplish the next day.
• Pack your bag the night before and ensure that you have everything you need for the following day.
• Write the date next to any notes you take and title them so they are easy to identify. Putting page numbers on your notes is a good way to keep track of them.
• Check your to-do list daily and cross off completed tasks.
• Make sure your notes are complete. If you have incomplete notes it will be hard for you to learn from them when you are studying.
• When you know you’ll have an upcoming exam,test,event or anything you must prepare for to attend, record it in your planner straight away. Don’t wait for later, you might forget it. 
• Break up your study time. Work out how many study hours you will need and schedule the study time in your planner accordingly.
• Set certain times of the day for studying,homework and other school-related activities and stick to it.
• Work on the most important assignments with the closest deadlines and set aside time to work on longer-term projects.
• Divide big assignments into smaller, more workable tasks.
• Focus on the goals you’ve set for yourself and follow them up.
• Never allow the work to build up. Always try to stay on top of everything and keep ahead of deadlines.
• Use a wall calendar for each term. List all projects and exam dates for each subject as well as any other important commitments you have.
• Label desk drawers with their contents.

*Study Tips*

• Ask for copies of past exam papers. It’s always good to find out what kind of questions are included in exams and the best way to do this is to look through old exam papers.
• The key to learning something well is repetition; the more time you go over the material the better chance you have of storing it permanently. 
• Explain your work to others. Find someone who doesn’t understand the topic and teach it to them. This will help you to get it clear in your head. If you are unable to explain something clearly then more study is required.
• Take short breaks during your study time. Eat nutritious food that helps your brain to focus and make sure you drink plenty of water.
• Attend all review classes whenever possible.
• Study in a well lit place with no distractions and have all the things you will need ready, such as paper, pens or a calculator. 
• Create your own study aids to help you. Create an outline from your notes of the main points or create a timeline of important dates. Make up your own flash cards or quiz and have someone test you.
• Study more difficult subjects first and do the easier, more fun ones after.
• If there is anything you are unsure of ask your teacher for guidance. 
• Set yourself a goal. Know what you want to accomplish before you begin to study.
• Discuss topics with other students and arrange study groups to help each other.
• Challenge yourself. A task thought of as too hard can slow you down. The same task thought of as a challenge can spur you on.
• Time spent working on understanding issues saves time because you will then know what you are doing.
• Find a study method that suits you. Make notes,use diagrams,flow charts and mind maps. Experiment and find what works for you.
• Use any spare time you have to rewrite your notes and summarise your work.

*Exam/Tests Tips*

• Read over the entire test and calculate how much time you will spend on each question.
• Read the instructions carefully and make sure you understand what you have to do before you attempt to do it.
• Answer questions directly. If you get stuck on a question, move on to the next one and come back to it later.
• Leave time at the end to look over your work. Make sure you have answered every question and check your mistakes.
• Eliminate obvious false answers first when doing multiple choice questions.
• Good handwriting is essential. Train yourself to write quickly and neatly.
• Don’t leave studying to the last minute. Cramming can cause you to panic and leave you too tired to think clearly the next day.
• Read all assigned material well in advance of the exam date.
• Over learn material for you exams. Continue to study past the point at which you think you know it well.
• Always read the instructions and answer easy questions first.
• Ensure your grammar, punctuation and spelling are correct. You may receive lower marks if your answer is poorly written or grammatically incorrect.

*Reading Tips*

• Know what your purpose is for reading. How do you need to use this information? What do you expect to learn from reading this document?
• Try skimming over the document first to get a sense of the general theme before you read it in more detail.
• Make sure you understand what you are reading. If something doesn’t make sense then re-read it from where you became confused.
• It may be helpful to read the words out loud or to form a picture in your mind of what you are reading to gain a deeper understanding.
• Authors often include context clues to the meaning of words. The clue usually appears in the sentence or paragraph in which the word occurs.

*Listening Tips*

• Listen out for key phrases from the teacher such as “this is important”, “you need to know this” and “it is essential”. 
• Don’t confuse listening with hearing. Listening is an active activity, you must be thinking in order to listen.
• Think about the reason why you are listening and set yourself a goal.This will help you focus on important information.
• It is important to listen effectively. 80% of what you know is acquired through listening.

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