CRITERIA FOR CHOOSING A GOOD STUDY SPACE

Your study space is critical to your ability to study effectively. After all, if you can’t concentrate, you certainly can’t expect to learn very well.

This does not necessarily mean that you have to find a place that's completely silent and set it up as your study area, but it does mean you should find someplace to study that fits your specific personality and learning style.

Students are different. Some do need a completely quiet room free from interruptions when they study, but others actually study better listening to quiet music in the background or taking several breaks.

Take the time to assess your real needs and plan for the perfect study place.

You will study most effectively if you make your study time special, like a ceremony. Assign yourself a specific place and regular time. Some students even give a name to their study space.

It might sound crazy, but it works. By naming your study space, you generate more respect for your own space. It might just keep your little brother away from your things!

1. Evaluate your personality and preferences. Discover whether or not you are vulnerable to noise and other distractions. Also determine if you work better by sitting quietly for a long period of time or if you need to take short breaks once in awhile and then return to your work.

2. Identify the space and claim it. Your bedroom maybe the best place to study, but it may not be. Some students identify their bedrooms with rest and simply can't concentrate there. A bedroom can also be problematical if you share a room with a sibling. If you happen to need a quiet place without interruption, it might be better for you to set up a place in the attic, basement, or garage, completely away from others.
   If this is realistic (some and attics have no electricity, for instance) just ask your parents to help you set it up. Most parents would be glad to accommodate a student trying to improve study habits! 

3. Make sure your study area is comfortable. It is very important to set up your computer and chair in a way that won't harm your hands, wrists, and neck. Take care to avoid repetitive stress injury. Next, stock your study space with all the tools you’ll need, like pens, pencils, paper, dictionaries, a thesaurus, and math tools. 

4. Establish study rules. Avoid unnecessary arguments and misunderstandings with your parents by establishing when and how you study. If you know that you are able to study effectively by taking breaks, just say so. You may want to create a homework contract.

11 TIPS FOR CRAMMING SUCCESSFULLY THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO CRAMMING EFFECTIVELY

Earlier is posted a write up on How To Correctly Predict Your Lecturer Exams Questions and then heres is another one on cramming. eheh i know some of you do not buy the idea but then some people depend  intensely on cramming to cope in school, this post is for them. 

This post was written by Jude Akhabue

"The surest way to win a race is to run according to rules, if you understand the principles that guide how a machine works you will be able to use it to achieve your goal. I hope to help you understand the timeless principles of cramming and also to set guides to successfully cramming anything whether for a test, an exam, a presentation, an interview or just for fun.

•    REST

 Before you venture into cramming anything rest is very important. Since you brain would be doing so much work, its needs to get strength before you begin, so get a good rest a night before. Sleep a good comfortable nine hour sleep.

• EAT

The trick here is NEVER to eat heavy food, cook something nice for yourself and eat and also take along some fries, snacks, fruits maybe a drink- no beer please along. Snacks are very light food and can confortable stay in your back pack. If you choose to do your reading at night, take coffee along.

•    DRAW A READING PLAN don’t just set out and start reading anything, be purposeful and focused. If you have a test tomorrow, take out your note and create a reading schedule. Also clearly outline and breakdown your reading, I mean look through and choose the area you want to read about.

•      LOCATION! LOCATION: not everywhere or anywhere is good for effective reading. Your location for cramming must meet the following criteria;

o   Serene, that is not noisy and not so noiseless. A park would do, basement is enough. If you go somewhere that has little or no noise, take along something that would add sound say iPod or a music player, light and simple. The songs should be cool and calm.

o    I don’t advice using the library because it is too noiseless, except if you have a busy one in your environs.

o   Free from distractions, where friends won’t come and pester you.

o   Somewhere comfortable, P.S never uses the bedroom, toilet.

• CRAM IN BITS NOT IN CHUNKS: you may ask but cramming is when you channel so much into so little. Well that true, what I mean here is break down what you want to cram and feed them into your brain in streams not in torrents. A little drop at a time and before you knows it you have achieved so much. If you do the opposite, you will get fed up easily and may fall asleep.

• REVIEW/RECITE: from personal experience, my cramming is always more effective when I review or recite what I have read. To review, I suggest that you take a small note along and jot down little points, use keywords here example; a noun is the name of a person, animal, place or thing. Easy peasy, but in cramming I only need a noun, name, animal , person, thing- these are my keywords I build a grammar round these word and voila I got my definition of a noun.

           Recitation involves you repeating to yourself some of the things you are reading. 

           Recitation helps you to subconsciously store up whatever you are cramming better. I

          discovered that if I recited my reviews using the main keywords, my cramming is better  

          and I tend not to forget easily.

• FINAL REVIEW/RECITE: this is just a way of testing yourself after reading so much. It helps you to check if you can still remember what you read.

•  SLEEP AGAIN: this time, your brain has acquires o much and processed it, it desperately needs rest. The recitation review helps you build a subconscious base so when you sleep, what you read is still intact.  The sleeping also refreshes you and opens up extra space in your memory bank. So take advantage of rests when cramming.

•   DO A PREVIEW /FLIP THROUGH: this is very important especially if the test would be on that day. A quick glance through your note and review jotter as well as recitation would go a long way in reassuring you that you are good to go. If you can’t recollect much, don’t worry just go to your keywords before you know it you are up and doing again?

•  TEST PROPER: when you get into the exam hall, as you get your question and answer sheet, I advise that first you pour out as many keywords as can come to your mind relating to any of the questions. Then as you pick each question, using the keywords as your bank, draw up and construct grammar around the words. Also understand that you are going to need to pour out as quick as possible because cramming and pressure are sworn enemies. Under pressure, you can forget everything and attempts to repeat words may delay you in the long run, so as you start just keep pouring the words out. Take a break if tired.

•  GO BACK TO REST: after the total exhaustion of writing the test, go back home and rest. Do not engage in so much activity. The advantage of quickly catching a rest is that subconsciously what you have crammed may become stored permanently, but only of you rest after the exams.

The most important principle for cramming is TIME and SPACE management. Cramming is agog method of preparing for some exams. I advise that if you want to have insight and comprehension of a subject matter, then cramming is not the solution."

post your opinions below

How To Correctly Predict Your Lecturer Exams Questions (secrets Unveiled)

Cheers to the weekend my poeple, i've been a little distracted and thats why you did not get updates from me as usual yesterday.
Like it or not exams is approaching so i decided to share this one with you.

Quite many Nigerian Students are faced with the daunting task of knowing where their teachers or lecturers (examiners) set their questions from.
How many times have you or your colleagues asked.. Sir, where do we read for the exam, only to get the answer all examiners give..."read what i taught you".
Today i want to break the ginks that have bedevilled many of you, tertiary students, secondary alike.
i want to show you some SIMPLE yet POWERFUL secrets for unlocking the PIN of your teachers examination question.
i want to intrduce you to my OCTOPUS PAUL friend schemes for correctly predicting your lecturers (TM).

Before i set to do this, there are three (3) vital infos you need to know that will guarantee SUCCESS IN ANY EXAM! yes i mean success.

1. Knowledge of YOURSELF
2. Knowledge of YOUR BOOK
3. Knowledge of YOUR EXAMINER

STOP bodering yourself about the questions, if you ccan answer all three or at least two of my questions above- you are set to make waves in your class.

TODAYS POST IS ON ISSUE NUMBER THREE (How to UNLOCK your teachers examination questions pin)
Every person has a unique style, its bad that many of us DON'T STUDY our lecturers. we just think that they are there only to bore us with their academic escapades, far from that, if you can understand you teachers nature, you have gotten the KEY to unlocking him/her.
Your lecturer/examiner would fall into any of these type of teacher

a. He/she comes to class and gives notes and explains

b.He/she comes to class and keeps talking to himself. He has no regard if his students are understanding or not.

c. He/she comes to class, talks a little and gives assignments

d. He/she comes to class, talks and talks and gives his notes out for photocopy or asks you to get his materials.

e. he doesn't come to class until end of three weeks to exams
THE trick is No matter the type of lecturer you have, the key is just to understand his/her nature.

SOLUTIONS

You will need two (2) things

-Pass Questions

-Constant attendance in class (yes, the more often you are the better your chances)

To examiner (A)

-- if he gives note a lot, read, meditate the note and GIVE IT BACK to him or her as it is. if possible, you can cram and pour.. i call that "la cram, la pour". The reason being that such a person has limited his views to the note and his power of explanations. be very sensitive in those classes, OFF NOTE POINTS are actually expos, so just give back a summary of the note, be free to add any research you do as personal consumption. i beg o, no go do over sabi, otherwise your GP is at stake.

EXAMINER (B)

- such doesn't give a damn in class, so he doesn't care if you pass or fail, Just DOWNLOAD HIS NOTE back to him. Do control A, control C and control V. He is so stereotype, he would not even care.. they are good at giving free marks.

EXAMINER (C)

- because he talks less, he needs LESS NOTES always go straight to the point. His secrets are assignment. Such a person is more likely to use continuous assessments. Do all assignments he/she gives and keep back the scripts for study later. Questions will certainly pop up from the assignments. he loves research, so be prepared to do research and prove your worth.

EXAMINER (D)

- RULE 1-you MUST get the material. then when you get it, the secrets is the areas he/she teaches you out of it. this kind of lecturer is very lazy, he is more likely to repeat questions, so cram his pass questions and also do a summary of his material as answers to his questions. If possible, highlight and give instances of his works, thesis etc.. he really likes being praised and hyped.

 
EXAMINER (E) 

- this examiner is very smart and energetic. you will have to prove your worth to him. This is the trick, look out for past questions and also keep your ears peeled in class, he is the most likely to give out AOCs (Area of Concentrations).

If you have a case a bit different from what i have mentioned, then feel free to post your questions below in the comment box.

MUST READ!! 13 tips for every fresher

1.       Familiarize  yourself with the campus during
Orientation Week.
 I would strongly recommend familiarising
yourself with the location of all your lectures and
tutorials, as well as places to eat lunch, libraries,
book shops and other important places. There is
nothing worse than working into the wrong lecture
hall or being lost and turning up late for your lecture
because you couldn't find the room. There is plenty
of time during orientation week to explore the
campus and familiarise yourself with the places you
need to.

2.       Get your textbooks as early as you can
Check around for a second hand bookstore and  try
and get there as early as you can to see if they sell
any textbooks related to your courses. Textbooks can
be expensive, however if you don't go to your
 secondhand bookstore early, there may
not be anymore copies of the textbooks you want. I
would know. I went in the week before lectures and
tutorials started and had no luck finding any of my
textbooks at the secondhand store.

3.       Drag Yourself to Class
Yes, some profs post all of their notes online
(although most of my profs only included outlines,
you actually had to go to class to get the full notes)
and yes, you can get notes from your friends/
classmates. But reading the notes is not the same as
actually going to class. Many profs will give subtle
hints about what they will test in exams during class.
For example, if a prof repeats something several
times, you can bet it is important, and will likely
show up on the exam. Similarly, you can often pick
up on a prof's body language, as to what they
consider important. Those types of things you can't
get from notes. Other profs will do more examples of
problems in class than will appear in the posted
notes

4.       Take effective notes in lectures
If you try to write down every word the lecturer
says, you'll be too busy writing to listen. Take brief
notes using your own abbreviations, but not so
brief that you don't understand them later.
Most of the time we were adding to the notes
the lecturer had given us. I would have the lecture
notes in front of me and if the lecturer stressed
that something was important, I'd write it in more
detail.

5.       See your tutor as an advocate - there may be

other lecturers or pupils in the institution you have
to negotiate with. Tutors are there for your benefit.
If there are any matters, whether family, social
or health, that may influence your ability to
perform well, you should let your tutor know
immediately. Never hide personal problems
because all departments take into consideration
how extracurricular matters may influence your
academic performance.
My advice would be to keep relationships more
professional than personal because ultimately your
tutors have a say in your academic grading and
wellbeing, and when things go wrong it's always
easier to challenge someone you've had a
professional relationship with rather than an over-
friendly one.

6.       Find Someone Worse Off Than You Are
I teach prep sessions … I tell my students that they
should find a friend who's in the same class as they
are and who is horribly horrible screwed for the test
and say "hey, let's study together". The friend who is
screwed will probably have lots and lots of questions.
And your success (or not) in explaining them will be
a good indication of how well you understand the
material.

7.       Don't Be Afraid to Ask for Help
Make use of all the services that your university
offers. Most universities have centres that help
students with time management, study skills, writing
skills, etc. Make use of these resources!

8.       Do not leave assignments until the last
minute
Procrastination, unfortunately, is not a university
student's best friend. It is unlikely that working on an
assignment the night before the due date will result
in your best work. It will become hard as time goes
on, trying to balance assessment, a social life and
other commitments, however it is in your best
interest to try and avoid working on an assignment in
the last minute. I strongly recommend creating a
plan of your assignment as soon as you get it.

9.       Make friends and have fun
This last piece of advice is a little cheesy, but
probably the most important. It is most likely that
the course you are doing will at least last a few years
and without at least a few friends, I can promise you
university life will be dull. There is no better feeling
than knowing people who are going through the
same stress as you are. Making friends who are in
your course will open up amazing group study
opportunities which will significantly aid your
performance in your courses.

10.   How to avoid getting into debt
Some people like to build up the idea of
budgeting and managing money as something that
is difficult - it is not. You need to work out how
much money you're going to have coming in and to
project what your outgoings will be. Often, those
two figures aren't going to balance so you've got
two options: you either increase your income or
decrease your expenditure. There are always
inventive ways of doing things a bit more cheaply.

11.   You will not have as much sex as you might be
hoping for
Freshers' Week, as everyone knows, is a roiling
hotbed of constant, regrettable sexual activity.
Except, of course, that it's not. This isn't San
Francisco in 1969 – it's Leeds in 2013, and it's
probably raining.
You may well get lucky, but university isn't wall-to-
wall sex parties. The usual advice applies: girl or boy,
on a night out, make sure you have at least one
condom, because STIs are real and morning-after
pills pricy. And try not to be too horrible to your new
friend the day after – chances are you'll be sharing
halls, lectures and nightclub queues with them for
the next three years.

12.   Sleep
Make sure you get the hours you need, and set a
consistent time to wake up every day to maintain a
routine. It will keep your energy up so you can get
more out of your studying and classes. This can be
really challenging in rez, where a lot of people stay
up past 2 most nights, but you've got to do what's
best for your health and school.

13.   Don't Live on Junk Food
Try to eat healthy, even if you are living in rez. It can
be tough, but it will help you to stay healthy and give
you energy for all your studies. Also try to get some
exercise in - schedule it in like anything else. That
will also help keep you healthy and energized.

The True Story Behind The Protest At Lagos State University

pictured above is the vc's car

Protesting students of Lagos State University (LASU) have said that the assault launched against one of their colleagues by the institution's Vice Chancellor, Prof. John Obafunwa, was actually what triggered off the violent protests. The protest had gone up for second day when some aggrieved students, who said the University Portal had been closed against their registration had besieged faculties of law, social sciences and the MBA building in the early hours of January 23, 2014, Thursday. Some of the students, who spoke with Daily Trust correspondent at the Ojo campus of the institution, said the protest which began on Wednesday and was not designed to take a violence approach not until one of their colleagues, who was said to have gone and knelt down before the Vice Chancellor, was alleged to have been kicked away. “We were not meant to be violent. We just want the management to have a change of heart and allow extension in the registration process. 

(PHOTOS) Student from California with Longest Tongue

Chanel Tapper, a student from California, USA, has the world's longest tongue, measuring 9.75 cm (3.8 in), from tip to top lip. Her lizard-like tongue is twice as long as the average, as long as the world's largest cockroach, as wide as your palm, the same volume as a quarter pounder hamburger and around the same length as an iPhone!! Here what she told Guinness World Records about her record-breaking body part in an interview. 
When did you first realise that your tongue was longer than average? What happened?
 I was eight and my mom and I were taking pictures for Halloween. 

In one of the pictures we stuck our tongues out. I noticed I had a long tongue when the pictures from Halloween were printed and I saw it...but I guess it became apparent in middle school when people started commenting on it.
Why I stuck my tongue out at people, I don't know... I'm goofy! But there are still some people from back then that only remember me because of my tongue!

LMAO, what is wrong with this photo?

Can't stop laughing. What exactly is the problem?