How to Study! Tips on Studying for Tests in High School and College

One of the most important things to do is start right away. As soon as you get an assignment or find out what day a test is scheduled, start studying. Get organized with the tools needed such as paper, pencils, pens, highlighter markers, a quiet place to study. Now this should only take a few minutes. Don’t let planning to study interfere with actually studying. However, if you take a few minutes to plan you will study smarter.

For this unique study tip, you'll need three colored pens: a red, blue, and black.

When I was in college, I developed a cool technique that really helped me excel at studying. I put myself in the position of the teacher. As I read through the chapters and my notes from class I thought about what questions I would ask if I were the teacher. For example: If the notes or book said “Chlorophyll is the part of a plant cell that traps light and is used to produce food for the plant” I would make my own notes in reverse. I would take a black pen and write “What is Chlorophyll?” Then I would take a blue pen and write “The part of a plant cell that traps light and is used to produce food”. In a way I was writing my own test and then I would cover up the answers and try to take the test. I would take a red pen and correct my own test. If I could memorize all the facts and pass my own test, I usually did really well on the teacher’s test.

To take it a step further, I used to type up my questions without the answers and press print, then take my own test over and over. I usually got a really crappy grade the first time I took my own 'test' but after about the second or third time I would get an okay grade. I never got an A on my own test, because they were too hard. By the time I took the teacher's test, it felt easy in comparison.

Something about the process of writing it all out, typing it up, filling in the answers, checking it with a red pen (including crossing out what I got wrong and writing in the correct answer) and then giving myself a grade at the top of the paper was really helpful. If you are an auditory learner, it might also help you to read everything out loud as you're doing this.

Something I don't recommend is using a highlighter as you go through your books and notes. They are a crutch that don't usually work for anything useful. I also don't recommend reading the whole chapter and then going through to take notes; you'll never go back.

Do this technique as you're reading through the text for the first time. Try to summarize at least every paragraph with a question, but many paragraphs will have several questions.

I know this sounds like it takes a long time, but it actually doesn't when you consider that you've streamlined your studying to make everything you read very purposeful. You will never have to 're-read' your notes, unless you really want to. Do this with your notes from class as soon after class as you can (or even while you're in class, if the professor is droning on and on about something useless). The sooner you do this, the easier it will be. So do this with your notes from class and your textbook readings. It helped me so much! Good luck!

Are you familiar with the three learning styles? Auditory, Visual, and Kinesthetic? Good thing to learn about because if you know your learning style you can adjust your studying to reflect your learning style!


Here are some books and supplies that might help you!

What's My Style?: Test and Study Secrets for Procrastinating Teens

Seven Kinds of Smart: Identifying and Developing Your Multiple Intelligences

So Each May Learn: Integrating Learning Styles and Multiple Intelligences

Bic Ultra Round Stic Grip Pens (my personal favorite!)

I recently lost 42 pounds on the Take Shape for Life program! Want to check out my weight loss transition? Click here! -Julie L. Spencer

The Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn Part One: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion

Check it out! The Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn Part One: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion is now available for pre-order! It will be released December 13th 2011.



If you’ve never read the Twilight series, check out these other Twilight books, music, and movies:

Twilight
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner
The Twilight Saga Complete Collection
The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide
Twilight: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion
The Twilight Saga: New Moon: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion
Twilight Soundtrack
Twilight: the Score
New Moon Soundtrack
New Moon: the Score
Eclipse Soundtrack
Eclipse: the Score
Twilight DVD
The Twilight Saga: New Moon DVD
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

I recently lost 42 pounds on the Take Shape for Life program! Want to check out my weight loss transition? Click here! -Julie L. Spencer

The Nomads in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

Stephanie Meyer goes into greater detail about the Nomad Vampires in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide. They are such minor characters in the Twilight Saga that their character development is minimal. Makenna is probably the most interesting of them. She comes from a long family tradition of having vampires as protectors. Every other century one of her family members was chosen to become one of those protectors. She was honored and resigned to the fact that she had been chosen…until she met Charles. Charles was a law student in Barcelona when they met and fell in love. Because Makenna didn’t want to give up Charles or her heritage, he decided to join her and become a vampire. They live together as mates, but still visit Makenna’s family often.

Peter and Charlotte are another couple of nomads who travel as mates. Their stories are shared by Jasper in Eclipse, but not well developed. They were both transformed by Maria during the time when she was creating her newborn army. Peter was Jasper’s assistant in babysitting the newborns and he developed a close relationship with Charlotte. When Jasper was ready to ‘dispose’ of the vampires who were no longer of interest to him, Peter and Charlotte ran away together. Very few other details are shared about their physical characteristics and backgrounds. Peter is tall, Charlotte is petite. They enjoy travelling alone, but welcomed Jasper into their little coven for a short period of time. One tidbit that was not shared in Eclipse was that Charlotte was tempted to join up with Alice and Jasper to make a coven of four, but Alice’s dietary restrictions stopped her.

Have you read The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide yet? What’s your opinion?

Complete book review of The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide:

The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide is here!

The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide (Review and Opinions, Part Two)

Third Day's Thoughts on The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

Day Four of Reading The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide - The Volturi Guard

The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide (Inside the Volturi lair, then South to visit the Amazon Coven)

From Twilight to Breaking Dawn: Religious Themes in the Twilight Saga

Discovering Alaska in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

Exploring the Egyptian Coven in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

Journey to Ireland with The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

James, Victoria, and Laurent in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

The Mexican Coven in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

The Seattle Newborns in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

A Few More Newborn Vampires in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

The Romanians in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

Questionnaire to Evaluate Your Level of Addiction


If you’ve never read the Twilight series, check out these other Twilight books, music, and movies:

Twilight
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner
The Twilight Saga Complete Collection
The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide
Twilight: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion
The Twilight Saga: New Moon: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion
Twilight Soundtrack
Twilight: the Score
New Moon Soundtrack
New Moon: the Score
Eclipse Soundtrack
Eclipse: the Score
Twilight DVD
The Twilight Saga: New Moon DVD
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

I recently lost 42 pounds on the Take Shape for Life program! Want to check out my weight loss transition? Click here! -Julie L. Spencer

Book Review of The Host by Stephanie Meyer

I just finished reading The Host by Stephanie Meyer, and I had a hard time putting it down! That’s pretty typical of me when I’m reading a good book. I was apprehensive about reading it. Although I’ve loved every book from The Twilight Saga by Stephanie Meyer, the first time I picked up The Host I was less than impressed. I was standing alone in a bookstore in a mall and flipped through it. It didn’t look like anything I wanted to read. I asked others who have read it what they thought of it, and I kept hearing similar responses; if you can get through the first couple of chapters, you’ll love it.

I disagree with the people who have told me that the first few chapters are boring! They are background information, yes. But, they are the foundation for the story. When watching movies, I pay very close attention to the first five minutes. I can almost always predict the ending of a movie based on that alone. I’m always impressed by a movie that can stump me and cause me to not be able to predict the ending. That’s probably why I like M. Night Shyamalan movies so much. They always have a twist at the end! I didn't think that The Host had any real twist. What I did find was that it is a good idea to re-read the first few chapters after you’ve gotten to about chapter seven. You will have ingested a great deal of information at that point, and it will help to make it more understandable. I will tell you…things get a little romantic after that! That being said, and knowing most of you won’t re-read those chapters, I’ll give you some tidbits that might help clarify some things:

When they refer to a Soul, these are the ‘aliens’ that have been inserted into human bodies. At the start of the book, there are very few humans left on earth who do not have one of these aliens inserted into their bodies. The few that are left are on the run, scared of the aliens, have watched their fellow humans taken over; they are very much alone. Among the Souls, a Healer is the equivalent of a doctor, a Seeker is roughly like a police officer who is charged with finding leftover humans and giving them a Soul, and a Comforter is like a counselor or therapist. Soul’s have strange names that represent something about how they lived prior to coming to this (human) host body. Wanderer (the main character) was named such because she has lived now on six other planets but has not chosen to stay on any of them after her host body died. At the beginning of the book, she is ‘inserted’ into the body of a woman named Melanie. Melanie is one of the few remaining humans on earth, and is considered by the Souls to be an insurgent. They think she is one of many who are living in hiding and plotting against the Souls. The reason the Souls insert Wanderer into Melanie’s body is to try to glean information from Melanie’s memories, and hope that it will lead them to the insurgency. In reality, Melanie has lived on her own with just her little brother and her boyfriend, and is not part of a larger group. She was caught by the Souls while trying to locate her cousin, who she thinks is still human. In this respect, she is of little help to the Souls. Or is she…

There were several interesting themes to The Host. One of which, the ‘end of civilization’ theme reminds me of The Hunger Games in a way. The way the Souls operate is like collective thinking. It reminds me of how we think of the pre-mortal existence and/or the stories from the Garden of Eden. There is no betrayal or loyalty, the concept had no meaning. Kind of like in the absence of choice there is no good or evil. Everyone is perfectly honest. They don’t pay for things with money; they scan the items just to take ‘inventory.’ They have unity; they’re all working together collectively in perfect harmony toward one goal. However, they are only in harmony with each other, not with humans.

At one point in the book, Wanderer realizes that she is not social, which is not normal among her kind. She ponders that this may be why she has constantly left host planets and gone on to a different planet. She wonders if this planet (earth) has changed her…or revealed her for what she really is.

One quote I really liked was on pages 96-97 “I allowed myself to see the prison that was life without a body. To be carried inside but unable to influence the shape around you. To be trapped. To have no choices.” It reminds me of why we (as human souls) came to earth (to obtain a body), yet what Wanderer is really referring to is how Melanie must feel living inside the body that now belongs to her. Melanie is stuck there and now has no choice what happens to her. Normally a host body does not still contain the ‘spirit’ of the human it once held; it is merely a shell. Wanderer is confused to find that she can communicate with Melanie, and that makes the difference of how she relates to her host body compared to how the rest of her species relates to theirs.

Just when I thought I hated the way The Host ended...it changed. It didn't end. It kept going. Several more chapters in fact. I loved the ending, and I can see why Stephanie may someday write a sequel. Did you know that she's considering that? I saw an interview a while back where she mentioned that. She also knows how The Twilight Saga continues. But that's a story for another day...


My favorite M. Night Shyamalan movies:
The Sixth Sense

Signs

The Village


If you’ve never read the Twilight series, check out these other Twilight books, music, and movies:

Twilight
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner
The Twilight Saga Complete Collection
The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide
Twilight: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion
The Twilight Saga: New Moon: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse: The Official Illustrated Movie Companion
Twilight Soundtrack
Twilight: the Score
New Moon Soundtrack
New Moon: the Score
Eclipse Soundtrack
Eclipse: the Score
Twilight DVD
The Twilight Saga: New Moon DVD
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

I recently lost 42 pounds on the Take Shape for Life program! Want to check out my weight loss transition? Click here! -Julie L. Spencer