HOW to STUDY HISTORY
HOW to STUDY HISTORY (Adapted from material developed at Phillips Academy, Exeter, New Hampshire) Why Develop Good Study Habits? Sound study habits developed in high school will be of great help in saving you time, in doing your history work successfully, in preparing you to do similar but more extensive work in college. Habits of concentration in reading and of reflection on what you have read will be of immense value now and in later life. Do a full job. Learn by planning to find the time necessary. Good study habits can only be developed by learning to solve challenging problems; short cuts lead to superficial preparation and work against the development of sound study techniques.
Your Daily Work
Work out a schedule of preparation for all subjects which will provide the time necessary to do each thoroughly. Allow a full hour each history assignment. Some student may require a little more or a little less time. However, do each day’s work fully. Lack of preparation will make class discussion meaningless.
“Proper posture and lighting are always necessary for reading concentrated material.”
Find a quiet location in which to study. The public meeting areas are not suitable places for reading or reflections. For most assignments sit at a desk with a notebook near at hand.
Reading
Reading is of two kinds: that designed to provide color or background and which should be carried out rapidly for impression, and more complicated material requiring serious study. Glance through each assignment as a whole first, note sub-headings, decide what the material is about, and which kind of reading is involved.
Questions. Ask yourself questions as you read. This should sharpen your curiosity as to facts involved and thus help you to remember better what you have read. Questions are often posed in your assignment sheets. Consider these before reading and as your read. Having completed the assigned reading material, reflect on what you have read to see whether or not you understand it. Consider assignment sheet questions or your own questions and make the necessary notes in your notebook. Avoid too much detail; stress the important.
Integrate your reading. Reflect on what has gone before and try to relate what you are currently reading to it. The act of thinking, reflecting, is important to effective learning.
Look up words that are unfamiliar. Do not pass them by.
Where places or countries are mentioned, look them up on a map. Your text contains the necessary information. Most texts italicize map references in the index and all include a list of maps, usually placed adjacent to the table of contents.
Make use of pictures, charts, diagrams, found in your text.
continued on page 2
Note Taking
Take notes on all reading done outside of class. When you own our own text or reference book, underline significant names, dates and take marginal notes. Always bring your notebook to class. Do not discard notes at the end of a semester or a course. You may find them useful for review at the end of the year or even in college.
Notes are of two kinds: The summary paragraph useful for stating abstract ideas, philosophy, opinions; the outline in which main headings are numbered and subordinate facts lettered. The latter is very useful for organizing factual material. Students must decide which kind of note taking is most helpful to them. You should develop our own style.
Suggestions for reading notes:
Using assignment sheet questions as major headings, organize main points in the assignment. Where assignment sheet questions seem inadequate, add to them. In the absence of assigned questions, reflect as usual on the material and organize points which you feel are important.
Place sufficient relevant detail under major headings to give them meaning.
Place important names and dates under proper headings.
Use one side of notebook page only, leaving the facing page for class notes.
Use words or phrases, not necessarily full sentences. Summary paragraphs may lend themselves to sentences, though.
Judge your competence in note taking by class discussions. Try to decide whether you have been taking too many or too few reading notes, and also whether the format of your notes is correct. Is the organization clear and therefore suitable for use in review?
Review your notes each day before coming to class.
Underlining and Marginal Notes: when books are owned by you, the following suggestions may be helpful:
Where lists of things are given, it helps to number these in the margin.
Write dates in the margin
Underline significant names and events (in a different color)
Underline topic sentences in each paragraph if you think the paragraph is important.
Think about the material in the chapter and try to break it down into sub-chapter parts. Indicate theses parts by marginal notes.
Use index tabs to make your notebook usable.
Class Notes:
Take notes on class lectures and discussions, noting particularly: Instructor’s emphasis. Material not covered in reading for the day. Outlines, diagrams, maps dates, terms, anything that is placed on the blackboard Organization of your material. Bring notebooks to class every day. Your teacher will examine it from time to time for neatness, form, and completeness.
Dates You are not expected to memorize a long list of dates nor the births and deaths of every prominent figure. You are expected to be able to place important people and events in chronological order as well as memorize some key dates, such as the Declaration of Independence. Dates should be included in your essays and identifications. ### page 2 of 2
Your Daily Work
Work out a schedule of preparation for all subjects which will provide the time necessary to do each thoroughly. Allow a full hour each history assignment. Some student may require a little more or a little less time. However, do each day’s work fully. Lack of preparation will make class discussion meaningless.
“Proper posture and lighting are always necessary for reading concentrated material.”
Find a quiet location in which to study. The public meeting areas are not suitable places for reading or reflections. For most assignments sit at a desk with a notebook near at hand.
Reading
Reading is of two kinds: that designed to provide color or background and which should be carried out rapidly for impression, and more complicated material requiring serious study. Glance through each assignment as a whole first, note sub-headings, decide what the material is about, and which kind of reading is involved.
Questions. Ask yourself questions as you read. This should sharpen your curiosity as to facts involved and thus help you to remember better what you have read. Questions are often posed in your assignment sheets. Consider these before reading and as your read. Having completed the assigned reading material, reflect on what you have read to see whether or not you understand it. Consider assignment sheet questions or your own questions and make the necessary notes in your notebook. Avoid too much detail; stress the important.
Integrate your reading. Reflect on what has gone before and try to relate what you are currently reading to it. The act of thinking, reflecting, is important to effective learning.
Look up words that are unfamiliar. Do not pass them by.
Where places or countries are mentioned, look them up on a map. Your text contains the necessary information. Most texts italicize map references in the index and all include a list of maps, usually placed adjacent to the table of contents.
Make use of pictures, charts, diagrams, found in your text.
continued on page 2
Note Taking
Take notes on all reading done outside of class. When you own our own text or reference book, underline significant names, dates and take marginal notes. Always bring your notebook to class. Do not discard notes at the end of a semester or a course. You may find them useful for review at the end of the year or even in college.
Notes are of two kinds: The summary paragraph useful for stating abstract ideas, philosophy, opinions; the outline in which main headings are numbered and subordinate facts lettered. The latter is very useful for organizing factual material. Students must decide which kind of note taking is most helpful to them. You should develop our own style.
Suggestions for reading notes:
Using assignment sheet questions as major headings, organize main points in the assignment. Where assignment sheet questions seem inadequate, add to them. In the absence of assigned questions, reflect as usual on the material and organize points which you feel are important.
Place sufficient relevant detail under major headings to give them meaning.
Place important names and dates under proper headings.
Use one side of notebook page only, leaving the facing page for class notes.
Use words or phrases, not necessarily full sentences. Summary paragraphs may lend themselves to sentences, though.
Judge your competence in note taking by class discussions. Try to decide whether you have been taking too many or too few reading notes, and also whether the format of your notes is correct. Is the organization clear and therefore suitable for use in review?
Review your notes each day before coming to class.
Underlining and Marginal Notes: when books are owned by you, the following suggestions may be helpful:
Where lists of things are given, it helps to number these in the margin.
Write dates in the margin
Underline significant names and events (in a different color)
Underline topic sentences in each paragraph if you think the paragraph is important.
Think about the material in the chapter and try to break it down into sub-chapter parts. Indicate theses parts by marginal notes.
Use index tabs to make your notebook usable.
Class Notes:
Take notes on class lectures and discussions, noting particularly: Instructor’s emphasis. Material not covered in reading for the day. Outlines, diagrams, maps dates, terms, anything that is placed on the blackboard Organization of your material. Bring notebooks to class every day. Your teacher will examine it from time to time for neatness, form, and completeness.
Dates You are not expected to memorize a long list of dates nor the births and deaths of every prominent figure. You are expected to be able to place important people and events in chronological order as well as memorize some key dates, such as the Declaration of Independence. Dates should be included in your essays and identifications. ### page 2 of 2
