You may have made a very successful study timetable already that is working well for you, in which case, please feeel free to ignore this page! It is here for any students who are looking for tips.
Preparation
Make a list of what you need to study
- If your school is setting you work, this should be your first priority.
- If you have a textbook or a syllabus that you're working through on your own, this may help you to divide up the topics
- If you are working through your notes, check that you have them in order and get a sense of how much there is to get through.
Prioritise
- Are there some topics that you need to do more work on than others?
- Should you start in a particular place to ensure you fill a current knowledge gap?
Set yourself achievable goals
It will help you greatly if you know what you are trying to achieve when you sit down to work each time. Can you think of some goals? Brainstorm then look at what you've come up with and think which goals are long-term goals and which are shorter-term goals.
Consult your list of what you need to study and try to set some action goals with completion dates. Action goals are easiest to achieve because you know when you've done them. For example:
- Work through problems 1-20 in X chapter of Y book or on Z sheet
- Write 500 words explaining Z
- Read 1 article in Spanish, write down and learn 15 useful words relevant to the topic.
Understanding goals are harder because you will need to find a way of checking you have gained the understanding you wanted.
For example:
- Revise and understand Ecosystems
Can you break down vaguer goals into a series of smaller goals that seem achievable and will be steps towards understanding or having learnt the thing?
- Read and make notes on X chapter on Ecosystems
- Put key points on 2 study cards and learn to write them out without looking at them
- Re-write homework question answer without notes
Can you schedule a conversation with someone (a course mate or even a family member) where you commit to explain / discuss an idea or a topic? If they know less about the thing than you, that is not necessarily a problem, but the exercise of trying to explain it in a way that makes sense to them will be helpful.
Planning your timetable
It will help to divide your day into blocks of e.g. 45 mins and to plan your breaks as well as your work times. We can't tell you exactly how much time to spend, but you may like to compare with what you would have done on a normal school day and balance that with any different commitments / constraints you have at the moment.
It will be easier to organise your work and stick with your timetable if you try to work at the same times every day and get into a routine. Devise a grid that you can fill in.
Think about what others in your household are doing, and if you need to schedule particular kinds of tasks for times when it tends to be more or less noisy, or when there may be fewer demands on the household internet etc.
Pay attention to how you learn best:
- Are you a morning person or an afternoon person? Does this affect when you set yourself a past paper to do etc.?
- Are you a visual learner? Does it work to draw diagrams and put them up? Can you plaster your walls with key points or quotes to remember? Is there a particular app or piece of software that you find helpful to make flashcards?
Filling in your study-blocks
Aim to ensure that each day you do a mixture of reading over things and making notes and tasks that require you to more actively engage with material such as working through a set of questions, writing a short essay response or dong a timed past paper.
Only fill a week at a time until you have seen how your schedule works for you in reality. You may want to adapt your plan for next week!
Do you prefer to have a paper schedule or put it into a phone or similar? There are a range of study / to-do list apps which some people find helpful e.g. PowerPlanner, Trello.
Your suggestions?
What works for you? Feel free to send us an email if you'd like to share any ideas, useful apps etc.
University preparation for offer holders / Coronavirus disruptions for offer holders