The Week published a study skills survey list aimed at determining your study habits and attitudes. Answer YES or NO to the 20 questions given below honestly to find out how effectively you spend your study time. Read the check- list in the end to assess yourself.

[1] I wish I could understand faster what

I’m reading. I find myself getting lost in details. I have trouble identifying the main ideas. YES/NO

2. When my teachers assign homework I feel there’s a lot to do and I can’t get started. I try to complete it in the last minute. YES/NO

3.I have difficulty organising my thoughts on paper. As a result when reviewing it does not make any sense to me. YES/NO

4. I spend a lot of time studying but I don’t seem to learn much. YES/NO

5. When I spend time on social activities, I have no time to study. If I concentrate on studies, I just have to forget my friends. YES/NO

6. I normally spend several hours cramming before an exam. YES/NO

7. When I sit to study, I like to have the music system or TV switched on. YES/NO

8. I become restless, tired or distracted after only a few minutes of study. YES/NO

9. I attend my classes regularly. But I often fall asleep or daydream. YES/NO

10.When I review my class notes, I find them difficult to understand. I even have wrong material in the notes. YES/NO

11. I do not review my notes every day. That is left for the day before the exam. YES/NO

12. Even though I follow my study schedules and study enough for my tests, my mind goes blank when I see the test paper. YES/NO

13.When I think of the next test I panic. My study pattern goes kaput.YES/NO

14. When I complete revising a chapter I cannot remember what I studied just now. YES/NO

15. I read and re-read my text and notes. But I cannot identify what’s important. YES/NO

16. I prepare well. I am in fact thorough with my material. But I lose marks on essay questions. YES/NO

17. I am confident over some material. But I tend to take the difficult portions lightly. YES/NO

18. When I have difficulty understanding the material I seldom approach the teacher because I’m afraid he/she may think I’m not intelligent. YES/NO

19. I understand most of what I study. But where are the examples? I can rarely find them. YES/NO

20.When I miss classes I blindly copy the missed notes from my helpful classmate. But I can’t understand a word of what I’ve written! YES/NO

Rating:
If you have one YES or none at all, you are doing quite well. You don’t need special coaching. However, read more of what interests you.
If you ave two or more YES, you have to revise your study habits. Your attitude to learning has a big gap.