{"id":81927,"date":"2022-10-31T16:22:00","date_gmt":"2022-10-31T20:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=81927"},"modified":"2022-11-01T11:56:18","modified_gmt":"2022-11-01T15:56:18","slug":"how-to-be-a-better-student","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-be-a-better-student\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Be a Better Student: 4 Pro Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Are you struggling in school? Do you want to learn how to be a better student<\/a>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re having a hard time in school but you want to reach your full academic potential, you just might not have the right learning habits<\/a>. Luckily, there are four habits you can pick up if you want to be a better student.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at how you can be a better student with advice from esteemed academic self-help books.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

1. Improve Your Reading Comprehension<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This first tip might seem a bit radical, but your professors and teachers are the experts. If you want to be a better student, you need to step into their shoes. You only need to develop two skills to do so: skimming books and reading with a powerful memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Skim Books First<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One tip for getting into the mindset of your professors is from Learning How to Learn<\/em><\/a> by Barbara Oakley And Terrence Sejnowski. <\/strong>When <\/strong>you read a book (or an article, a chapter, or any other reading assignment), Oakley and Sejnowski recommend that you first skim through it, looking at headings and pictures to get a general sense of what it\u2019s about before you read<\/a> it in detail<\/strong>. This helps you absorb the material better because it\u2019s easier to embed something in your memory (like the details of the book) if you relate it to something that\u2019s already there (the information you got from skimming). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read With a Powerful Memory<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

How to Read Literature Like a Professor<\/em><\/a> by Thomas C. Foster suggests developing a powerful memory to read books the right way that will make you a better student. When you read with a powerful memory, you actively look for how the text corresponds to other literary works<\/strong>. You mentally flip through the things you\u2019ve read before and look for similarities (or differences) to the structure, theme, or characters of what you\u2019re reading now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, as you watch the movie Pale Rider <\/em>starring Clint Eastwood, you might be reminded of the movie Shane<\/em> from 1953.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These similarities are what critics call intertextuality<\/strong>. Authors use references and parallels to draw connections to previous literary works. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intertextuality in literature deepens the meaning of the text by drawing on the reader\u2019s expectations<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Example of Memory: <\/strong>Going After Cacciato<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

A great example of intertextuality, an author referencing previous literature, occurs in Tim O\u2019Brien\u2019s novel Going After Cacciato<\/em>. The novel has three interwoven stories: one, the history of protagonist Paul Berlin\u2019s war experiences; two, an imagined trip to Paris in search of their fellow soldier Cacciato; three, the present night in which Paul Berlin is remembering the first story and inventing the second. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In one part of Berlin\u2019s fantasy trip, he and his squad fall down a hole in the road. They end up in an otherworldly network of tunnels. One character even states that they need to fall back up. As a reader, you are invited to relate this part of the story to when Alice falls down the rabbit hole in Lewis Carroll\u2019s Alice in Wonderland<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that you have made that connection, your reading of the story will be nuanced by that awareness<\/strong>. You might expect that the tunnels the characters find themselves in will be some kind of wonderland for them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Memory: Sacred Texts <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

To truly read literature like a professor and be a better student, you need to be on the lookout for intertextual references to \u201csacred texts,\u201d<\/strong> like Shakespeare, classic fairy tales, ancient myths, and the Bible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using recognizable themes or plots from these sacred texts gives the author the chance to use the reader\u2019s associations to say more in their own work with fewer words. And for the reader, recognition of these references enhances the experience of reading current literature, because the modern stories share in the power of the sacred text. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\r\nTITLE: How to Read Literature Like a Professor<\/a>
\r\nAUTHOR: Thomas C. Foster
\r\nTIME: 29
\r\nREADS: 24.4
\r\nIMG_URL: https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/howtoreadliterature-cover.jpg
\r\nBOOK_SUMMARYURL: how-to-read-literature-like-a-professor-summary-thomas-c-foster
\r\nAMZN_ID: B00H1UMRGM
\r\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Take Great Notes<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Note-taking is an essential part of studying for future tests and writing papers. When you take notes in class, you\u2019re more attentive because it requires physical exertion and active listening. You\u2019ll also process information easier because you\u2019re actively engaging with the information and what your professor is teaching you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One way to effectively take notes in an organized fashion is the slip-box system, which was invented by German sociologist Niklas Luhmann.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Use the Slip-Box System<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The slip-box system is highlighted in S\u00f6nke Ahrens\u2019s book How to Take Smart Notes<\/em><\/a>. Ahrens argues that since this slip-box system is specifically designed<\/em> to help you both have<\/em> and share<\/em> original insights\u2014and make the writing and studying process easier overall\u2014it has several benefits over the traditional writing process: For example, using it will make you more efficient and lead to more creative insights. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The system will help you not only be a better student but a better writer<\/a>. Writing essays and papers is a big part of being a student, and using the slip-box method<\/a> can help you get good grades on these assignments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the slip-box system is only effective when you know how to use it, as Ahrens contends, you must learn how to properly use it. Here you\u2019ll learn the specific steps Ahrens outlines to effectively use the slip-box system to create a publishable draft. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 1: Take Notes<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Ahrens recommends taking three types of notes: temporary notes, literature notes, and evergreen notes. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Create temporary notes<\/strong>, which Ahrens calls \u201cfleeting notes.\u201d Most of us have random ideas as we go about our day. Jot these down so you don\u2019t forget them, and put them all in one place\u2014an in-tray, or what Ahrens calls an \u201cinbox.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Create literature notes<\/strong>. Always read with a pen\u2014and whenever you come across interesting, potentially useful ideas, create literature notes. Using full sentences, summarize the text in your own words<\/em>, making sure that you only include one<\/em> idea per note. In each note, include information about the source material (like the book\u2019s author, the year it was published, and the page number on which you found the idea). Place these literature notes in your in-tray. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Create evergreen notes<\/strong>, which Ahrens calls \u201cpermanent notes,\u201d by combining your other notes. <\/strong>Each day, go over the notes in your in-tray and any notes you\u2019ve already collected in your slip-box. As you do so, think to yourself: How do these ideas compare with and connect to each other? When you have an original thought about these connections, create a new note\u2014ensuring that each original idea has its own note. Use full sentences, be as clear and concise as possible, and include citations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This evergreen note should stand on its own; you shouldn\u2019t have to refer to other material to understand it. For example, if you write, \u201cAbraham Lincoln freed the slaves<\/a> with the Emancipation Proclamation,\u201d this note should include basic details of the Emancipation Proclamation but not a thorough analysis of its contents. Once you\u2019ve encapsulated the ideas from your temporary notes into a permanent note, you can throw the temporary note away. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 2: File Notes<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Now that you have notes, it\u2019s time to organize them in one of two places: a reference system or your slip-box. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. File your literature notes in one place<\/strong> that\u2019s separate from your slip-box, like a shoebox: Ahrens refers to this place as your \u201creference system.\u201d When you file your notes, include the bibliographic information of each source. If you have three literature notes about one book, you\u2019ll file those notes with a fourth note including all the book\u2019s bibliographic information\u2014anything you might need to include in your final published work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. File your evergreen notes<\/strong> into your slip-box. To do so effectively, use the following system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If your new note connects strongly to an old note\u2014like if it supports an argument\u2014file the new note behind that note. Otherwise, file it behind the most recent note. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, rummage through your slip-box and look for weaker or less obvious connections between notes you already have and your new notes. If you find any, create links between those notes. (For example, if Note #1 and Note #55 are connected, on Note #1, write down that it\u2019s connected to Note #55, and on Note #55, write down that it\u2019s connected to Note #1.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n