A Lesson in Anatomy by Brandi

A Lesson in Anatomy by Brandi - January 2014 Scholarship Essay

Studying is the most essential aspect of schooling and also one of the most nerve-wracking. It’s often hard to figure out exactly which study method works best for you and trying to copy a method from another person usually leads to failure. This quandary frequently happened with me. Over the course of my schooling, I have tried various study methods. While some were successful, many weren’t effective. Through trial and error, I finally found my method and built upon it. This successful method was developed during the challenging science course of anatomy.

At first I was excited to take anatomy with my friend. Who wouldn’t want to learn about the human body? Unfortunately, that excitement came to a blazing halt once we realized the class entailed A LOT of memorization. In fact, a majority of our grades would be based on our ability to recall various body parts. Our teacher started with the bones in the human leg. It was a little overwhelming. I never knew there were so many bones in just one leg. After she taught the lesson, she informed us that we would have a test later that week. Not only did we have to know the names of each bone and where they were located, we also needed to correctly spell the name of each one.

As soon as I got home, I took out my study sheet. Initially, I tried to memorize both the spelling and where they were located at the same time but ended up a confused mess. After brainstorming, I was struck with inspiration. I wrote the names of the bones on a separate sheet of paper and used it to memorize the names and spelling while using the study sheet to remember where they were located. I found that separating the rote memorization of the spelling of each bone from the spatial aspect of its location eliminated my confusion. After using this method for the rest of the week, I finally felt ready for the test. Much to my surprise, I was able to recall everything and felt confident that I had passed the test. The following week, my teacher returned our corrected tests. With a score of 100%, I had not only passed the test, but with flying colors!

From then on, by using the same study method, I managed to do well on every test after that. Unlike my peers, I didn’t look anticipate tests with dread. Instead, I saw them as opportunities to prove myself. I had finally found the perfect study method, at least for anatomy. Since then, I used what I learned and was able to successfully adapt this method to fit different classes. What started out as a challenging course turned out to be one of the best things to happen to me. By taking that anatomy class I discovered a way to study that worked for me and in doing so enabled myself to do well on every subsequent test.