Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Study Skills
Study Skills
Study Skills
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including
electronic storage and retrieval, or translated into a foreign language without prior
agreement and written consent from the author as governed by United States and
International Copyright Law.
Robert Todd Carroll
e-mail: rtc@skepdic.com
Website: The Skeptics Dictionary (www.skepdic.com)
Other books by Robert T. Carroll
Becoming a Critical Thinker A Guide for the New Millennium. (2005). 2nd
edition. Pearson Custom Publishing.
Chapter One available online at
http://www.skepdic.com/refuge/ctlessons/ch1.pdf
Preface
The purpose of the Student Success Guide: Study Skills book is to provide a systematic
approach to learning the skills needed by every successful student: skills such as vocabulary
building, time management, listening and concentration, reading and studying textbooks, taking
notes, reviewing and preparing for tests.
The Student Success Guide may be used independently by the student who wishes to
improve his or her chances of success in humanities and social science courses. The book could
also be used as the sole text in a Study Skills course or as an adjunct text in an English or
Humanities course.
The driving idea behind the Student Success Guide is that methodical and purposive
studying is the most effective and efficient. I don't claim that my method is the only one. In fact, I
can't even call it my method, since very little of it has been originated by me. I have taken the
work and suggestions of many people and applied them as I saw fit. What has resulted is a work
unified by the idea that purpose, method, practice, and a way of measuring achievement are
central to any effective and efficient learning.
The Student Success Guide is easy to use and understand, but it does not make studying
effortless. Any method which promises amazing results but requires no work is a sham. I can't
promise that if you follow the program here you will be able to learn Mandarin Chinese in a week
during your sleep (as one text I reviewed promised!). The successful student will have to work
hard. If you do, I can promise that you will not be uncertain about the payoff for the work put in. It
has been said before, but it bears repeating: you will get out of it what you put into it.
Robert T. Carroll
Sacramento City College
March 1990
Acknowledgment and dedication. For the first half of my teaching career at Sacramento City
College I was fortunate to have had Les Read as my colleague in the philosophy department. Les
was one of my closest friends until his sudden death at age 48. Ed Stupkawho taught college
success classesLes, and I spent many fruitful hours discussing, arguing, and evaluating
various teaching techniques and ideas. Without their insights and criticisms, this guide would not
have been written.
The Los Rios Community College Board of Trustees granted me a sabbatical leave in the
spring of 1986 to complete this project.
ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1
4
11
Two Essentials
Vocabulary
Motivation
13
Study Skills
13
15
15
19
19
19
21
22
24
26
30
31
34
35
36
37
39
40
40
40
45
46
48
48
48
49
Time Budgeting
Concentration
Listening
Reading and Studying
Reading Skills/Effective Studying
Textbook Orientation
Previewing Textbook Chapters
Focused Reading: The Structure of a Chapter
Focused Reading: Types of Questions
The Language of Questions
Taking Notes
Taking Notes: Marking Your Text
Taking Note of Relations
Using a Notebook
Taking Visual Notes: Mapping
Taking Notes in Class
Critical Reading & Note taking
Reviewing
Memory
Declarative Memory
Procedural Memory
Reviewing Daily
Taking Tests
Preparation for Taking Tests
Kinds of Tests
Reading Tests
iii
INDEX OF ACTIVITIES
PAGE
2
3
5
6
7
8
9
10
12
13-14
16
18
19
21
23
25
29
29
29
33
35
36
37
38
38
39
40
44
44
46
47
47
47
48
48
50
50
ACTIVITY
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Vocabulary Cards
Vocabulary: Prefixes
Vocabulary: 14 Master Words
Vocabulary: Building Words from Prefixes
Vocabulary: Building Words from Roots
Vocabulary: Combining Prefixes and Roots
Vocabulary: Prefixes and Roots
Independent Activities: Vocabulary Building
8. Motivation
9. Time Management
10. Concentration
11. Listening
12. Textbook Orientation
13. Previewing a Textbook Chapter
14. Focusing on the Structure of a Chapter
15. Identifying Types of Questions
16. Anticipating Questions After Previewing
17. Anticipating Questions: Making Study Cards
18. Anticipating Questions: Marking Your Book
19. Taking Notes: Marking Your Text
20. Taking Note of Relations
21. Using a Notebook
22. Mapping
23. Taking Notes in Class:
Paragraphs, Maps & Key Phrases
24. Taking Notes in Class:
Paragraphs, Maps & Questions
25. Taking Notes in Class: Emphasis on Mapping
26. Critical Reading: Questions & Comments
27. Memory:
Acronyms, Nonsense Sentences & Visualization
28. Memory: Visual Connections
29. Reviewing a Text Book Chapter
30. Reviewing Lecture Notes
31. Reviewing Text Notes
32. Skimming Your Text for Review
33. Skimming Your Text Notes for Review
34. Skimming Your Lecture Notes for Review
35. Preparing for Tests
36. Taking Tests
iv
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