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Knowing different learning strategies is really important to get the most out of our study hours. Obviously, the ways of studying will vary depending on the type of matter that we have to learn and also according to the type of test or exam that we have to take.

General considerations

Before describing the ways of studying, it is convenient to remember a series of considerations or general indications that will help you achieve better results. One of them is study planning. If you are doing a degree, a master’s degree or any other type of training that requires passing different tests, make a calendar where all the calls appear. This will allow you to correctly distribute the time to study in advance. 

Success in the study is closely related to discipline and perseverance.It doesn’t usually work to spend one day studying for many hours in a row if there is no continuity and willingness for learning to consolidate.

It is also very important to create a calm and pleasant environment where you do not have interruptions or distractions. Therefore, before starting to study, surround yourself with all the material you need and choose a place where you feel good. All this will help you to concentrate and make better use of study time. Breaks are also essential and you should take them into account whatever your way of studying. The effectiveness of study hours will be greater if you take breaks

in which you free your mind and your body from the tension that study implies. It is not a waste of time, on the contrary, they are moments very well invested, because your body needs to rest and recover energy, otherwise you can end up collapsing.

Different ways of studying

Each person is a world and a way of studying is effective. Before opting for one of them, it is convenient to review the main ways of studying and know what they consist of and what advantages each of them provides. Of course, all these ways of studying can be combined looking for the maximum effectiveness of our study hours.

read. Reading and rereading the material that we must learn is one of the most common forms of study. There are people who only by repeatedly reading books or notes on the subject to be learned, they assimilate and internalize it. It should be said that this type of strategy creates a feeling of familiarity with the content that can be confused with really meaningful learning. Therefore, it is important to complement it with other study techniques that allow you to demonstrate what you have understood. 

Underline and make outlines. It would complement the previous one. Underlining key concepts helps identify main ideas at a glance when rereading the text. In addition, it allows making connections between the different terms to create a concept map a posteriori. When making schemes or summaries, a synthesis exercise is carried out that helps to extract the most important points and associate them with other more secondary contents. However, it is convenient that these are done from what you remember trying to recover the information to fix the knowledge.

listen. There are people who have greater oral comprehension skills. In these cases, their way of studying is usually to record the texts or notes that they must learn and listen to them repeatedly until they are assimilated. Then try to explain to someone what you just learned, in this way you will make sure that you have learned it.

memorize. Memorization is one of the forms of study that we all must use at some point, because there are always data or concepts that we have to remember as they are. Learning to memorize may seem complicated, but there are different methods, such as mnemonics, that can help you with this task. Remember that to make it easier to remember, you must relate what you want to learn with something you already know, that is, link new knowledge with others that you already had. 

Image association. For people who are more visual, the acquisition of new content can be done with the help of images, colors or figures. In these cases, markers of different colors are usually used to underline texts or images are introduced that act as a switch that awakens the association of concepts and contents to consolidate them in memory. 

Answer questions. Another way of studying that can help to have good results. It consists of reviewing the subject of study answering questions about what we have just studied. It is a very effective way of checking if the material is being understood and assimilated correctly.

Practice exercises and exams. Very similar to the previous one is the study method through exercises, tests and exam models. In this way it is verified if the matter is known and the points or aspects in which it is necessary to continue working are identified.