Study skills

Aims

Has it been a while since you last studied? Finding time for study and utilising that time effectively are challenges commonly faced by part-time students. You will find that studying a course online offers many differences when compared to more traditional study methods. Generally students discover that they will require greater discipline and dedication in an online environment. It pays to get organised. As a result, you will feel more confident about tackling your study tasks and achieve more in the time available to you. This lesson provides some tips and advice for organising your study time and improving your study skills.

Time management and Study Skills

Time management

Set aside time in your week for studying and timetable your study time in advance using a flexible or rigid approach depending on your lifestyle.
Think about your place of study - are you working in the optimum environment for your requirements?
Establish when you produce your best work (morning/afternoon/evening). Try to allocate some time for study during this 'prime time' when you will be able to work at your peak performance. For example, try to schedule some time for study at the weekend rather than in the evening after work.
Prioritise your tasks and identify tasks that will need to be completed over several days and those that will take less time. Schedule tasks that need intense concentration during 'prime time' when your concentration is at its best.
Divide large tasks of wide scope into smaller, sub-tasks that give you a sense of satisfaction and progress as you complete them.

General study skills

Read with a defined purpose in mind. Sort information into relevant and irrelevant, important from incidental, fundamental principles from supporting evidence. As you read you need to work out methods than enable you to both understand and retrieve the information you need. This will usually involve highlighting, making diagrams and/or taking notes.
Plan your written work. Make a plan that takes you through the collection of relevant information and the organisation of that information before you start to write an answer that is relevant to the question posed.
Think about the language you use and the presentation of your work. Develop the ability to formulate a view or summary and present it concisely and clearly.

Further advice for organising your study time and writing assignments is provided in the 'Study Skills Advice' document which you will find in the Resources section (Unit 0 Session 3). Christine Whittington and Christine Jackson from Oxford University's Department for Continuing Education provided this document. The course team gratefully acknowledge their support.