Take a nap. No seriously, take a nap. by Devon

Take a nap. No seriously, take a nap. by Devon - January 2014 Scholarship Essay

There isn’t one way that I study everything in my collegial work. I’ve been enrolled in college for about four years now and I’ve tried a lot of different methods, and none of them worked in the beginning. So I tried my own way about two years ago and I’ve been performing exceptionally well in school now. If I had to pinpoint one common element in my study methods then I’d have to it’s sleeping. Sounds completely backwards right? Before I even begin to study anything I make sure I take a quick nap for about an hour or more so that my mind is refreshed and ready to absorb new information. The key to my methods comes down to the nap, because without the nap everything just falls apart! The brain has been awake for far too long during the day and has absorbed so much information that it just needs a good rest before it absorbs anymore. After I’m rested I have a few different methods to study for certain course material.

When I had started all my basic courses such as science, math, history, and literature I noticed that I couldn’t study all of them the same way. So when I started figuring things out on my own I noticed that I could use a similar method of study for my science and history classes. When I studied for those I noticed the textbooks organized the information in such a way that, for the most part, had a section for a main topic, and then subsections to talk about particulars of that topic. I like to write out notes in my own words, not straight from the book, and organize it section by section how the book has it organized. It makes it so much easier on me to follow their organization with my notes that way when I go back and forth from the book I know exactly what paragraph these notes came from. Sometimes the textbooks have short quizzes at the end of each chapter which I’ll try to do without looking at my notes, and sometimes even they have them at the end of each section which is what I prefer since the memory is fresh.

When I’m studying for a literature class they typically assign you a novel to read. I have a separate journal just for this occasion, and colorful sticky tabs. While I’m reading the book I like to stick tabs on pages that have something very interesting, important, or something special that I liked, and I color code them as well. At the end of each chapter I’ll go to my journal and write in quick notes about the major events that happened and people introduced, and at the end I’ll write down my thoughts and opinions over the material read in that chapter so I have the rawest form of opinion at the time. When I’m finished with the book I like to read one or two professional analysis of the book to get a more in depth view and possibly learn some things I missed the first time around, and it makes great for discussion topics back in class.

The type of subjects like math, art, or even writing also require their own unique method of studying, and I’ve found only one way to do it effectively: practice, practice, and more practice. I can’t even begin to count how many spiral notebooks of math problems I have filled up to the very last page, but it’s how I study and it works for me. In combination of doing extra work from the book, I also like to check up with my professor and ask about problems I didn’t really understand. The same goes for any art class or composition class: the key to studying for those is to practice outside of class, even if it’s not for a grade because I promise it will pay off in the end.

All of these methods have worked for me over the past few years and have actually enabled me to obtain many opportunities to get scholarships and be in honor programs at my college. Remember, there is no one way to study, it’s a collaboration of many methods that needs two key component to succeed: dedication to follow through and most importantly taking a nap before studying!