Achieving a high academic feat is not just about graduating with a first-class honor. It has more to do with building yourself up and gaining relevance in the workplace using the skills you acquired through diligence. These Seven tips below will guide you in your quest to attain a high academic feat.
- Dig deep: To attain a high academic feat, you may have to really dig deep and quit surface learning. Don’t just read in order to answer examination questions correctly, try to understand the core principles of the subject of study. Make research, ask questions, check up relevant study materials, use e-library/other online resources. Don’t rely only on what you were taught in the classroom. Dig deep.
- Brainstorm with others: To achieve a high academic feat, you may have to link up with your friends or classmates who share similar goals with you and create a study group. Where you can brainstorm and explain difficult concepts to each other. Some concepts are better understood when it is explained to you by a friend or classmate. But then, if you tend to talk much when your friends are around, or if you notice that you grasp more during personal study than in group study, please do what works best for you. Outside your study time, you can always engage your friends in a study chat and ask about their views on certain topics you find difficult to understand.
- Understand how your body system function: Copying other peoples reading pattern can cause more harm than good. If you always feel sleepy studying all through the night, don’t force yourself to stay awake because a friend suggested an all night study in preparation for an examination, you may end up going for the class and sleeping half way through and at the same time feeling frustrated and angry at yourself. Ask yourself a question; when do I read and understand more? Is it in the early hours of the morning? Or at noon? Or at night? You must understand yourself and figure out the best time for you to study. If you understand better at night and feel you should go for a night class, then start gradually, perhaps once a week, then twice a week until your body gradually adjusts to the timing. Time spent cannot be reversed. Use your time wisely. If you must stay awake to read at night be sure to take a nap at noon to balance it up else, you might end up sleeping all through the lectures in class the next morning. Take care of your body, take care of your brain. If you stress your system, you might fall sick.
- Be passionate about your field of study: To study and acquire knowledge on a certain topic, you must be interested in that topic. It should be something that catches your eye. Something you are passionate about. You should have the burning desire to know why and how it works. This will fuel your passion and you will not get bored when making research on such a topic because it is something you are eager to know more about.
- Identify your learning pattern: Different people have different ways or pattern of learning. There are three major learning styles: visual, Auditory and physical. Everyone uses these three learning styles but some people learn more using a particular learning style. Visual learners understand more when images are used to illustrate what is being taught. They also appreciate the use of charts, diagrams, etc. to help them remember what is being taught. Audio learners understand more by listening to audiobooks, participating in class discussions or even recording the lectures which they replay during their personal study time in order to understand better. Physical learners understand more through their sense of touch. Use of body, hands etc. they assimilate much of what is done through practical sessions and real-life demonstrations. They want to see you do it and then, they will try doing it too in order to retain the knowledge. These three (3) study style or pattern are essential for learning depending on the topic or course being studied and the individual involved. To attain a high academic feat, you can try finding out what works best for you in a particular course and apply it during your personal study period in order to improve and also to help you remember what you’ve read during an examination.
- Study in the right environment: Don’t deceive yourself! Reading your books in the wrong environment is a waste of time because you will not be able to concentrate. If you really want to study, be intentional about it. Be in the right environment, sit on a table if possible and try to avoid the bed. If the bed however, is really what works best for you then sit on it. Lying on the bed to study can be sleep-inducing and is not advisable. When studying, remove things that might distract you. Turn off your phone for some hours, get a pen and a jotter, be in the mood to study. These little things will help pass the message to the brain, that way, you may end up achieving a bit more than you’ve always had.
- Prioritize what you feed your mind: The brain is like a computer, everyday you feed your mind through what you see, what you hear, what you feel and talk about. If you really want to achieve a high academic feat, you should feed your mind with things that would inspire you to attain a high academic feat. Your choice of music, your choice of movie, your choice of friends etc. what motivation do you get from them? If it is in conflict with your dreams, goals and aspirations, you may want to filter what you feed your mind on.
Remain positive and focused and always remember- a life of probity is worth living!
