What are the best study skills you can think of?

You've received some good advice upthread. I will add one reading strategy that works for me, and has helped me in preparing successful assignments. When I am reading something for a class, I keep a spiral notebook with me and I divide the page in two, vertically. Whenever I come across a phrase in the reading that I feel strongly about (agree with; disagree with; don't know what it means; am confused by it) I write down the passage (incl. page number) and on the other side I write a (short) reaction to it--why I agree/disagree; or, write down the definition if I didn't know what it meant; or, why it confuses me. That way, if I am writing a report or an essay, I don't have to go back through the chapter/book to find quotes and I have my own words to talk about the text, so I am less likely to cut&paste (plagiarize). If I am taking a test, I can review the definitions I was unsure of, and I know what I need to study to clear up any lingering confusion. This is something I learned when I went back to school. It takes more upfront prep than a lot of people want to deal with, but it works well for me.

Take notes in class by hand (not on your computer!). After class, read over your notes and re-tell yourself (aloud!) what you just learned. Because it is fresh, your brain will fill in the blanks between your notes for you. And by re-telling yourself, I mean go in your room and set up some stuffed animals or pillows and lecture them. You'll never forget anything if you do this. Tried and true.

Set aside specific time--with beginning and ending--for specific studying/reading. Be somewhere with no noise/interruptions allowed and focus on the task at hand. No exceptions. If you use audiobooks, close your eyes. Stop only to take notes. Studying hard is kind of like meditation. All the best to you--and I was a Princeton Review teacher of SAT/GRE/GMAT for years and went on to have children. Believe me when I say I've seen (almost) it all.

Great question! Congratulations on taking the first step. I've been a tutor for years and these are the things that make the biggest difference for my students: Take breaks! Set your timer for 20 minutes and concentrate completely on what you're doing - this means, no cell phone, no texts, no e-mail, no IM, etc. When the timer goes off set it for a 5 minute break. Get up from the desk and do something completely different like jumping jacks or dishes. The idea is to give your mind a break, so don't pick up a magazine or immediately start texting with your friend. You're giving the material time to soak in. Keep this rotation up until you're done with your studying. Adjust the length of the studying and break sessions until it's the right length for you. When you're reading, turn off your phone. It's really hard to concentrate if you're constantly getting texts or checking to see if you've got texts. Even if you would never think to check what they say until you're done studying, the little noise it makes is enough to get your mind wondering what it says. Go all the way - don't silence your phone, actually turn it all the way off. This is also a nice signal to yourself that you mean business! It creates a space in your head for getting to work. It's also a good incentive to stay focused since you won't turn back on your phone till everything is done. If you're working on the computer, under NO circumstances should you have a chat window or your e-mail open. They're a constant drain of a little bit of attention every single minute they're open, even if you're not looking at them. For Reading: Stop at the end of every page and summarize in your own words what the page said. This is an internal check to make sure that you were focusing and absorbing what you've read. It will also alert you immediately if you were unclear on something. For Math: Make up problems. Do your homework and then make up a couple extras just to make sure you've got the method down. Sometimes your problems won't work out well (messy answers), but that's OK! What subjects are you wanting tips for?

Peanut M&M's. There are times when you have no choice but to bury your head in something, no matter how much you don't want to do it. When I have to literally force myself through something I dread (50 pages of painfully drab reading, for example), I'll divide the task into chunks and reward myself along the way. Two pages = an M&M. I wish I were kidding, but I'm not. Peanut M&M's.

This one has taken me a long time to learn, but: It's better to do a little work each day than a giant cram session all at once. This is not to say that you should never have long work sessions -- sometimes it's good to keep working when you're in the zone. But don't leave everything until the last minute. Papers will always take longer to write than you think they will, and you will retain knowledge better if you're exposed to it every day. For memorization and studying, try a spaced repetition system like Anki.

For math, science, and social studies: After lectures rewrite your notes. Buy a three ringed binder and a hole-puncher. When you're done with a unit write an executive summary of what you learned in the unit so you quickly go back and relearn the stuff. If you get a tough homework or test question add it and the answer to a question bank. Keep this binder organized. For English: Write your paper several days ahead of time. Wait a day and reread it outloud. Rewrite it, or work on making it shorter (whatever works for you). Experiment with different techniques, for instance writing the first draft by hand. And remember, the goal isn't just to get a good GPA, but to build skills for life. You don't want to pass calculus, then a few years from now have to do calculus and have no idea what to do. (this has happened to me with several skills). That's why your best study system involves writing notes to jog your memory as quickly as possible.

This may be obvious and oversimplistic, but it's the best classroom advice I've got and I didn't figure it out until high school. It's that when they teach you notetaking skills and show you how to write everything in a neat outline form, that's not mandatory. You need to take notes in whatever fashion best allows you to get the information onto the page and then recall it later. My notes, for example, end up looking like abstract flowcharts, with boxes, lines and arrows flying all over the page, and I really don't care if other people can't interpret them, because the only thing that matters is that I can.

1. Go to every class regardless of how important you think it is, or how tired your are. 2. Record the class. 3. While in the class, do the readings (lectures/larger classes only, obviously). 4. Highlight sparingly while reading. 5. Listen to the recording, taking notes on important parts. 6. Read the notes from #5, and highlights from#4 to study for tests. 7. Get that 'A'