Generic

Instagram: bluelahe

A Sister’s Guide on How To College

Learning Medical Terminology

Source: Medical Terminology Made Incredibly Easy by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins

college note taking 101: how i take notes and use them to study for exams

in lecture:

i like to take quick/shorthand notes because i think learning to discriminate between what is and isn’t important material is a good skill to have so i’m not drowning in useless information when it’s time to study for a midterm or final.

i like to bring my ipad and use the notability app. it’s easier for me to just carry an ipad mini and stylus than it is for me to lug around a heavy notebook/binder and several pens/pencils.

if the professor makes lecture slides available to students online (via a class website), i like to download them onto notability and annotate them as the professor goes along. that way, i can focus more on what the professor is saying and less on merely writing everything down.

if lecture slides aren’t available, i type out my notes as i find it faster than handwriting them.

at home:

once i’m home, i take out my ipad and copy down my lecture notes into a specified notebook for that class, explain everything more thoroughly, make them neater, and organize them in a way that makes more sense to me (as opposed to copying them down exactly as how they were presented in lecture).

i like to use lots of colors, highlighters, and etc. and make them as pretty as possible so i actually want to use them to study from in the future.

integrating reading notes:

normally, what professors will do is assign reading from a textbook and base their lectures around the reading (or have the reading be based on the lectures). usually exams/tests will rely mostly on what was said in lecture instead of in the reading and this is partly because they overlap so much. what the professor says in lecture, you should consider the “important points” in your reading. sometimes, though, there are things in the reading that seem important and weren’t mentioned in lecture.

what i’ll do if this is the case is take post-its, write the piece of information down, and stick the post-it in my notebook in the corresponding section (i.e. where it fits best with my notes)

i like this method as opposed to taking notes directly in my textbook or having a separate notebook for only reading notes because 1) i’ve consistently found that reading material is not as heavily focused on in tests as lecture material and 2) i like to have all of my information in one place

using my notes to study:

when an exam is coming up, what i like to do is take all of the information in my notebook and condense it into a study guide that i can use to study from.

the format of my study guide varies depending on the class and which type of study guide and method of studying i think will help me best. my study guides range from flash cards to mind maps to sheets of paper with a bunch of condensed information.

if i come across a concept on my study guide that i can’t completely explain to myself/don’t fully understand, that’s when i’ll look back in my notebook for a better and fuller explanation of it.

i also like to give myself some time before an exam to completely read through my notebook and look at all the notes i’ve taken (not just what i have on my study guide) because i think it’s a good refresher of all of the lecture and reading material and all of the information will be brought forward in my mind.

[* a few of you have asked me for a advice on note taking: how i take notes, methods i use, how i study from them, and etc. i hope this post was helpful to you! feel free to message me if you have any other questions. happy studying! ^_^]

2 am study sessions that become 1 am study sessions >>>>

How to Read From a Textbook

Hi guys! So I’ve noticed that a lot of people, including myself, struggle with reading directly from a textbook and actually retaining all of the information. 

Well my friends I am here to change that [queue the victory music]. Recently I discovered a reading strategy known as the SQ3R technique. It stands for Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review. I’ve found this technique to be extremely helpful when it comes to reading through textbooks, and so now I’m passing this information onto my dear followers.

1. Survey

The first step in this process is to get a basic idea of what you’re going to be reading. Most textbooks have chapter outlines or a brief summary at the beginning of each chapter. Take about five minutes to skim through these. By doing this, you’ll have the basic structure of what you’ll be learning in your head. 

2. Question

This step will be repeated multiple times throughout your reading, so pay attention! Within each chapter, there are section titles that give you a vague idea of what the next few paragraphs will be about. This step asks that you turn the section title into a question. For example, we’ll say that our section title is “The Changing Role of the States.” You can turn this into questions such as “how did the role of the states change” and “which states changed and how.” When you turn the titles into questions, you end up looking for the answers while you’re reading rather than simply reading. This stops you from reading the same line over and over again.

3. Read

This one’s the obvious one. Read your textbook. Take notes while you’re reading. Write down all the important definitions, concepts, names, dates, etc. But remember to take breaks! Taking a three minute break for every twenty minutes of reading allows information to settle in your brain. It also helps with memory retention.

4. Recite

I’ll admit I’m still a bit uncomfortable with this step but it’s helped me a lot with remembering what I’ve read. Basically, this step asks you to summarize what you’ve just read out loud. I do this after each section, and then I summarize the whole chapter once I’ve finished the chapter. (Pro Tip: If you’re uncomfortable with talking to yourself, try talking to a recording device or summarize to a nearby friend.)

5. Review

Review, review, review. I cannot stress this enough. Read over your notes the day after, then the week after. Studies show that you remember 60% more of the material you learned when you review it the next day. Don’t forget you can review with more than just your notes! Make flashcards or foldables with the most important information in the chapter and quiz yourself! So many textbooks have quizzes online for each chapter, so use them!!!! I find mind maps to be super helpful in studying too. Reviewing is a super important step, so don’t think that you can forget about studying just because you’ve read through a chapter!

I might include that, as of recent, many professors have been saying that there is a fourth ‘R’ to this process: Relate. With this step you simply relate the information you’ve just read back to something important in your life. When you make connections with your reading, it becomes easier to remember the material. 

Well that’s all I’ve got for you guys for now. I hope this helps at least a few of you. Keep on studying guys, and good luck on finals!  ╚(•⌂•)╝

I’m going to uni this autumn, and I feel like most of studyblr’s incoming freshmen are just as clueless as I am. Here’s a bunch of tips from the more experienced among us, and I hope it’s just as useful to you as it is to me!

this took forever to make so i’m really hoping it’s good

Money Matters

Textbooks

Sites where you can get free textbooks by @thearialligraphyproject

Get textbooks online

Tips for textbooks by @theorganizedcoyote

Websites to get cheap textbooks by @theorganisedstudent

Ultimate guide to buying college textbooks

Safe ways to get free textbooks

Saving Money

A girl called jack: eating under the line

Qriket

Scholarship masterpost by @wallcalendar

Save money while shopping online

College scholarships 2016-17 by @wonderstudying

Tips for finding & getting scholarships

How to budget

Where to find student discounts by @collegerefs

Searching for scholarships by @collegesmarts

Creative ways to save money in college

Places that offer discounts with student id

Ways to save/earn money

Paying for college by @collegerefs

Student Life

Dorm & Living

PSA for college freshmen

Dorm tips from @humanitaes

Ultimate school locker (uni bag) kit by @girl-studying

Resolving issues with roommates

Tips for living like an adult

How to eat healthy in dining halls

DIY dorm decor by @notquitenightingale

Everything I actually used in my freshman dorm room

Guide to living alone by @piratestudy

Living with a roommate by @collegerefs

Packing Lists

Thing I forgot to bring to college by @myberkeleyadventure

Sam’s ultimate failproof guide to packing by @staticsandstationery

Ultimate college packing list for freshmen

College packing list by @kimberlystudies

What to bring to college

Checklist for dorms & campus living

Packing up: preparing for college in @theacademiczine

College dorm packing list by @produitivity

Recipes

One-pot chicken fajita pasta

100 dirt cheap recipes for students

57 go-to recipes for college students

Cheap & healthy recipes 

Over 400 fast & healthy recipes

Classes

Studying & Taking Notes

Organizing notes with Google Docs by @academla

How to write a lecture summary efficiently by @collegerefs

Symbols & abbreviations for note-taking 

How to take lecture notes by @hstrystdyblr

How to take notes in college by @determinationandcaffeine

Getting the most out of lecture by @strive-for-da-best

How to get your best grades in college by @saralearnswell

If you have a bad college professor

Essays

Transition words for essays by @soniastudyblr

How to analyze historical sources by @rewritign

How to write a university level essay by @healthyeyes

Analyzing a written text

Essay writing: university vs. high school

How to write a history paper by @thehistorygrad

How I plan and write literature papers by @notaperfectstudent

Exams

A quick guide to finals by @emmastudies​

10 revision tips for final & first year exams

High school exams vs. college exams

Crucial study tips for finals week in college 

3 day study plan by @getstudyblr

Low stress college study strategy by @plannerdy 

+ More

Masterposts

A college student’s masterpost by @eruditekid

Random college tips by @determinationandcaffeine

College advice by @studenting

Giant college masterpost by @heyiwantyoutostay

Advice

Advice for college by @collegerefs

10 tips for starting uni by @studycubs

Advice from a college senior 

Great tips from @fuckstudy

10 more excellent tips

Things nobody tells you about university by @polcry 

Miscellaneous

8 things successful students do by @frankfurter-studies

Email tips by @haileymostudies

@collegerefs‘ entire blog– so much good stuff that’s incredibly useful

my grace.uni tag– all the posts I’ve saved for university

Staying in contact with high school friends

How to make friends in college

math aid

OK SO in the days leading up to the biggest maths exam I’ve ever written (also my 4th last one ever ) i’ve found this website. now, symbolab is different to mathaway and wolfram alpha (which are both great!) in that it shows you all the steps and it doesn’t do that thing where it’s “free” but if you want the explanation you have to sign up and pay. it’s AMAZING. know why?

it does everything. not baby everything, but everything. Calculus?

what’re you looking for? 

also, the interface is really easy to use, and it’s set out so well.

the website is https://www.symbolab.com and you will not be disappointed.

I really need to reduce my caffeine intake 😅

Taken from my studygram: @equaticnss ♡

Some useful phrases for discursive/persuasive essays in Spanish!! [french here]

INTRODUCTION 

Voy a escribir sobre el tema de… — I am going to write about the topic of… 

Voy a discutir — I am going to discuss 

No hay [noun] que se pueda comparar a [noun] — No [noun] can be compared to [noun] 

Debido la influencia de… — Due to the influence of… 

En nuestra sociedad — In our society 

Hoy en día — Nowadays 

Como nunca antes — Like never before 

Ha desarollado considerablemente durante los últimos # años — Has developed considerably over the last # years

Ventaja  — Advantage

Desventaja  — Disadvantage

 ANALYSIS 

A raíz de — As a result of 

Se extienden desde … hasta … — Range from … to … 

La razón por la que… — The reason why… 

 Algunas investigaciones han mostrado que… — Some studies have shown that… 

Formar parte clave de — To form a key part of 

Esto apunto a — This points to 

Las tasas de — The rate of 

Aumentar  — To increase

Se caracteriza por — Is characterised by 

Se fundamenta en — Is founded upon 

Un repunte de  — A rise in/surge in (the quantity of sth)

 EVALUATION 

Estoy de acuerdo — I agree 

Si tuviera que decir, diría que… — If I had to say, I’d say that… 

Si debiera elegir, elegiría… — If I had to choose, I’d pick… 

 Que yo sepa — As far as I know 

Que yo recuerde — As far as I remember 

Si yo fuese ell@s — If I were them 

Si estuviese en su pellejo — If I were in their position 

Vale la pena agregar que… — It’s worthwile adding that… 

… aparte, — Aside from …/…aside

 CONCLUSION 

Para concluir — To conclude 

En suma — To summarise 

Es (crucial/esencial/importante) que [+subjunctive] — It is (crucial/essential/important) that 

Lo ideal sería que [+imperfect subjunctive] — Ideally

ADJECTIVES

Expressing importance and benefit: Importante, crucial, esencial, vital, influyente, concluyente, decisivo, beneficioso, eficaz (plural: eficaces)

Expressing risk/disapproval: Peligroso, perjudicial, erróneo, arriesgado, equivocado