How to work smarter?

[Mallory8502]

I just started my first semester and WOW the amount of reading assigned just this week has been insane. It is so much material. Since I don't know how the quizzes/tests will be structured in relation to this content, can anyone give me some advice?

I feel like I have enough time to READ everything, but not enough time to truly STUDY all of the material. I wish I knew what to focus on!

[FutureRN101]

I'm a prenursing student and have found that reading what teachers assign and then only studying what they actually teach in class has been the best way to go. I also read advice like that on here from someone who is in nursing and they said the same thing, just focus your study time on what the teachers go over in class. Good luck!

[bluesky94]

I know what you mean! There is just so much to read! Here's what I do:

1. Read the assigned chapters before lecture (I try to do my readings the week before class).

2. Print out the powerpoint or outline for lecture.

3. Take notes on the PP and highlight all the important parts.

4. After lecture, following the PP and notes, reread and study the parts of the book that the instructor emphasized.

5. Also, if the instructor gives objectives for each chapter, I write them out in outlined form and use them as a study guide for tests (in addition to my notes and the PP)

I find that this method works for me, and it helps me know what to focus on. Hope this helps! :)

[Backwardo]

I just had my first exam (on day two, ughhh!) and got an 88%, whereas most of the class failed. We were assigned quite a few chapters from a variety of books. When I read the chapters, I used "chunk reading." I would read a section, stop, and quickly summarize what I read, maybe jot it down on a piece of paper. It made it stick in my mind and prevented me from reading 10 pages and then not having a clue what it was talking about.

The next thing I did was go to through each of my books and see what they had on their website. I got to practice NCLEX style questions for 5 different chapters-- VERY HELPFUL! They also had a "Key Points" section that I printed off and used to help guide me on what I should be focusing on. Also, if your teacher focuses a lot of time during lecture on vital signs, but only says a word or two about Florence Nightingale, you're probably better off to focus on vitals.

The final thing I did was go through my syllabus and read my teacher's objectives for unit one. When I could go through and talk about each one comfortably, I felt like I was pretty prepared.