Study Tips
Midterms are coming up soon, and everyone from freshmen to seniors are stressing about studying. It might seem impossible to study while also getting your normal workload done; however, there are resources at school you can utilize to reduce your stress.
Academic Support Center
Most teachers are willing to help you brush up on whatever you need help with, and some students form study groups. If you don’t feel like emailing your teachers, because, let’s be real, it’s stressful and you’re probably gonna forget, Mr. Ellis is available every day to help with any subject you need. Mr. Ellis is available every day after school in room 202, along with other tutors if he isn’t available to work with you directly. He is willing and would love to help you with most any subject. “Anyone who needs help with anything, study skills, time management, writing skills, makeup work, anything; we’re open every day after school and at lunch and we can help you,” Mr. Ellis said.
Go to your teacher
Most teachers are also very willing to help you with any catching up or revising you need to do. You can go see them after class, during your lunch, or figure out a time they are available. Many teachers hold review sessions after school with groups of kids, so that’s also an option if you don’t want to be alone. I went to my English teacher last year before midterms because I didn’t understand the material and she was so helpful and kind – even if it seems daunting most teachers are really there to help and want to help you get a good grade. Additionally, some teachers might help you understand more specifically what will be on the midterm so that you can better prepare for those topics.
Form a study group
You can also form a study group – either find one to join or create one yourself. It doesn’t have to be a big group, a couple friends and some library time is all you need. It really does help to have friends to help you study so that you can go over the material with them and they can help you fill in whatever gaps you need. In my experience, study groups don’t have to be tedious either – get some snacks from the vending machine or order a pizza to share. It becomes something to look forward to instead of dread.
Take time for you
When studying, be sure to take breaks. This doesn’t mean study for ten minutes and “treat yourself” by watch Netflix for an hour, but study for half an hour to forty five minutes then go downstairs for ten minutes and grab a snack or lay down. Try to stay away from phones but if that’s a struggle then try and do something productive on it like texting a friend to ask a question about how they’re studying, or listening to some music. Once your ten minutes or so are up, put your phone away and get back to studying. This seems hard and tedious, but if you put in even half the work you aspire to, you’ll see it reflected in your test grade. It’s better to do the work now than to regret it later.
These are just a few study tips to help you get through and more effectively study for St. John’s midterms. There are many other, such color coding your notes or making flash cards, but these are some of the big ones. Studying isn’t always the most fun, but it’ll help in the long run and it can be easy and painless if you use even one of these tips.
