Study Skills for Higher Education

This essay discusses the importance of study skills for higher education and provides techniques for effective studying and retention of information. It covers the concept of goal setting, short term and long term goals, and the benefits of setting realistic goals. It also explores the creation of a study plan for effective time management and study management. Additionally, it discusses techniques for improving retention power, such as focusing attention, avoiding cramming, organizing information, utilizing mnemonic devices, and visualizing concepts.

Study Skills for Higher Education

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................1

INTRODUCTION
Study skills are very essential for students to achieve their goals whether it is short term or
long term. In order to perform well in higher education requires effective study skills. These
skills include time management, research skills, note taking, writing skills and critical thinking.
In order to develop these skills requires practice and feedback from tutors and peers. Along with
study skills, goal setting also very important for the long term success. Goals keeps the students
focussed upon their journey to achieve something (Cottrell, 2019). This essay is about
identifying different short term and long term goals and importance of setting goals. It also
includes techniques for building comprehension and improving retention of information.
MAIN BODY
Goal setting is useful in accomplishing the desired goals. From academic perspective,
goals help in improving the performance of the students by ensuring that students are responsible
and accountable for their failure and success (Van Norman, Christ and Newell, 2017). Goals
propel students to move forward by achieving targets or goals set by them. By achieving small
goals will help in building motivation and confidence among students to achieve bigger. There
are two types of goals short term and long term goals. Short term goals refer to those goals which
are required to be achieved in short span of time. It includes forming a study group, creating a
study schedule, getting better grades on next project, to start study for SATs etc. Long term goals
refer to goals that require long duration or amount of time to complete it (5 Study Skills and
Techniques for Students Who Want to Succeed in College. 2020). In this, students will think
about what to be achieved by the end of the year or after completing graduation. It includes
achieving a specific grade, getting a good SAT score, clearing the exam etc. The academic goals
of university student include some specific goals. For instance, maintaining and achieving higher
grades, reading more books, overcoming fear of public speaking, learning from the past mistakes
etc. University goals focusses on specific areas of education which will be helpful in effectively
completing the course (Conway and Newman, 2017). Setting realistic goals helps students in
achieving greater skills that can be useful in long term.
In order to achieve the goals effectively, it is very essential to create a study plan which
will result in effective time management and study management. There no right way to make
study plans as it is highly dependent upon the specific needs. Study plan is an organized structure

that can be used in outlining study times and specific learning goals. There are 6 effective tips
that can be used for creating an effective study plan. First is analysing the study habits and
learning style, it includes identifying the learning habits of the students, for how long student is
able to study or it is more effective in studying at night. It helps in analysing the most productive
time for student as per the students learning style, capacity and habit (CREATE A STUDY PLAN.
2020). Second is evaluation current schedule and time management, this helps student in
carrying out a schedule including details about the classes and other commitments and then
calculate how much is available for studying. Third is planning how much time is required to
study for each class, in this, students is required to identify the amount of time required to study
for each class. Fourth is developing a schedule, after analysing how much is needed to study and
amount of time available, its time to prepare a schedule for study sessions (Cottrell, 2019). Fifth
is assessing weekly calendar, in which student will identify their learning goals for each class.
Evaluate the goals that the student is willing to learn at the beginning such as mastering any skill.
Sixth is sticking to the schedule, is very important to consistently follow the schedule which will
help in achieving goals.
Students sometimes find themselves in the situation where they forget about important
things, tests etc. There are different techniques that can be used by students to improve their
retention power. First is focus more attention, in order to retain information for long term
attention is important component. Student needs to study in a place free from distraction or
diversion. Second is avoiding cramming; it is beneficial for students to study regularly. This
provides adequate time to process the information (Cooper, 2018). Third is structure and
organize, students can organize and structure the information in a way like grouping similar
concepts, creating short notes, key points etc. which will help in retaining things more
effectively. Fourth is utilizing mnemonic devices. It refers to technique which can be used by
students to recall information. In this, student will associate the term that is needed to be
remembered with another item familiar with. It can be in any form like song, music, joke etc.
Next technique is elaborate and rehearse, in this student will read about the term, then read a
detailed description of the term and repeat this process a few times (Cherry Kendra, 2019). This
will help in recalling and retaining information more easily. Another effective technique is
visualizing the concepts; many people are benefited from this method. Students can pay attention
to the photographs, pictures and other graphics in the textbook or students can create their own

clues. All these things help in creating an impression of the information in the minds of the
students.
So, all the above discussed techniques are very essential that can be used by the students
to effectively retain the information.
CONCLUSION
It can be concluded that setting goals is very essential for the students to achieve their
objectives. The development of different short term and long term goals will help in effectively
achieving the desired target or goals. Achieving short term goals will lead to the accomplishing
the long term goals. Academic goals help in grabbing different benefits such as increased focus,
increase in motivation level, academic success etc. Also, the various techniques that can be used
by students to improve their ability of retention of information.

REFERENCES
Books and journals
Conway, J. and Newman, I., 2017. Delivering Specialist Study Skills Tutorials via Remote
Working Tools (RWTs). An Investigation of Specialist Study Skills Tutors’ Views. Journal
of Neurodiversity in Higher Education. 3. pp.34-56.
Cooper, S. L., 2018. Self-generating Questions and Concept Mapping to Improve Information
Retention in the Long-term(Doctoral dissertation, Middle Tennessee State University).
Cottrell, S., 2019. The study skills handbook. Macmillan International Higher Education.
Cottrell, S., 2019. The study skills handbook. Macmillan International Higher Education.
Van Norman, E. R., Christ, T. J. and Newell, K. W., 2017. Curriculum-based measurement of
reading progress monitoring: The importance of growth magnitude and goal setting in
decision making. School Psychology Review. 46(3). pp.320-328.
Online
5 Study Skills and Techniques for Students Who Want to Succeed in College. 2020. [Online].
Available Through:<https://www.uopeople.edu/blog/5-study-skills-and-techniques-for-
students-who-want-to-succeed-in-college/>.
Cherry Kendra, 2019. 11 Methods for Improving Your Memory. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.verywellmind.com/great-ways-to-improve-your-memory-2795356>.
CREATE A STUDY PLAN. 2020. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.intelligent.com/create-a-study-plan/>.
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