School Advice - Tumblr Posts
I’m 26 this month and I’m a uni student in a degree that combines all my passions in one. It took me 8 years to figure out what I loved. Had I took the shitty advice people give you at 17/18, I would’ve become a psychologist, which I’m sure I would’ve been good at but I found out it’s not my passion. I would have a degree in something I’d grow loathing for while longing for passions unknown. I wouldn’t have had the time to reflect on my thoughts and actions that led me down this path.
Kids, if it takes you a decade to figure this shit out, then take a decade. 20 isn’t old, and neither is 30. Keep trying things out, of course, keep furthering your life and being productive, but if you don’t have an answer for who you want to be for the rest of your life in your teens, don’t let other people tell you what you should be.
Try out new things until you find something you love, then grind your skills in it until you’re good enough to make money from it or go to uni for it (if you truly want to! A good portfolio can get you very far without uni in a lot of cases! Research what minimum qualifications you need thoroughly, not just the first result on google). Please, don’t be pressured into doing a degree you aren’t excited to do. Yes, the excitement will likely wane after it gets harder, but if it’s truly for you you’ll stick through it.
Self-reflection should be a skill taught in schools, but unfortunately it isn’t, so you’ll need to develop it yourself. It’ll hurt, but you’ll grow so much.
Please don’t rush life, it’s not a super Mario 64 speed run, the only person you’re in competition with is yourself, and don’t expect to be the same level of productive every day, be gentle and patient with yourself. /end rant
I think that when we tell teenagers that their lives will be over if they don't have the most perfect possible trajectory through the education system, that this is, perhaps, if I may be bold, not good for them,
DEAR UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
ctrl + F
use it to find specific keywords in any website with text. this may not sound useful, but imagine like -finding answers to homework questions -easily looking through online textbooks -finding specific homework assignments when you have that one teacher that doesn't know how to use your homework program even if you don't have online classes: it will make your life so much easier. please use this and abuse it.
Language Learning Stats
*Different resources give slightly different answers, but in general, these are the results:
Elementary: 1,000 words
Intermediate: 3,000 words
Advanced: 6,000- 8,000 words
Highly educated native fluency: 25,000 words
CEFR Levels:
A1: 550 words
A2: 1100 words
B1: 2200 words
B2: 4400 words
C1: 8800 words
C2: 17600 words
1000 words
1000 words allow you to understand about 80% of the language which surrounds you, as long as it is not too specialized.
In theory, it sounds great. JUST 1000 words and you understand that much! Unfortunately, the remaining 20% is what really matters.
Just look at this sentence:
“I went to the … to buy …. but they told me that they can’t … .’
Sure, you understand a lot of words. But does it really help?
3000 words
3000 words allow you to understand about 95% of most ordinary texts (Hazenberg and Hulstijn, 1996).
It seems like a lot. Sure, on this level, you will be able to hold a decent conversation. You will also be able to get the general ideas and concepts of most of the articles.
BUT…general comprehension is not the same as full comprehension, as it involves some guessing.
Still, there is no shortage of enthusiasts who claim that such level is high enough to start picking up new words from context. However, researchers tend to disagree and say that the “magical” number of words which allows learning from the context is….(drum roll)
5000 words
5000 words allow you to understand about 98% of most ordinary texts (Nation (1990) and Laufer (1997)). Such a vocabulary size warrants also accurate contextual guessing (Coady et al., 1993; Hirsh & Nation, 1992; Laufer, 1997).
It means that you can function surrounded by this language without bigger problems. Sure, you will struggle if you want to formulate your thoughts really precisely, or when you encounter specialized vocabulary.
But other than that, you will be fine.
10,000 words
10,000 words allow you to understand about 99% of most texts (Nation (1990) and Laufer (1997)).
This is the pinnacle of language learning. A counterpart of having the vocabulary of a college graduate.
With that many words, you can express yourself with amazing precision and pass for a native speaker if your accent is good enough.
Wondering what are the most common words to start learning? Here's some help:
(total is about 600 words. add in some grammar and you're off to a great start!)
EXPRESSIONS OF POLITENESS (about 50 expressions)
‘Yes’ and 'no’: yes, no, absolutely, no way, exactly.
Question words: when? where? how? how much? how many? why? what? who? which? whose?
Apologizing: excuse me, sorry to interrupt, well now, I’m afraid so, I’m afraid not.
Meeting and parting: good morning, good afternoon, good evening, hello, goodbye, cheers, see you later, pleased to meet you, nice to have met.
Interjections: please, thank you, don’t mention it, sorry, it’ll be done, I agree, congratulations, thank heavens, nonsense.
NOUNS (about 120 words)
Time: morning, afternoon, evening, night; Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday; spring, summer, autumn, winter; time, occasion, minute, half-hour, hour, day, week, month, year.
People: family, relative, mother, father, son, daughter, sister, brother, husband, wife; colleague, friend, boyfriend, girlfriend; people, person, human being, man, woman, lady, gentleman, boy, girl, child.
Objects: address, bag, book, car, clothes, key, letter (=to post), light (=lamp), money, name, newspaper, pen, pencil, picture, suitcase, thing, ticket.
Places: place, world, country, town, street, road, school, shop, house, apartment, room, ground; Britain, name of the foreign country, British town-names, foreign town-names.
Abstract: accident, beginning, change, color, damage, fun, half, help, joke, journey, language, English, name of the foreign language, letter (of alphabet), life, love, mistake, news, page, pain, part, question, reason, sort, surprise, way (=method), weather, work.
Other: hand, foot, head, eye, mouth, voice; the left, the right; the top, the bottom, the side; air, water, sun, bread, food, paper, noise.
PREPOSITIONS (about 40 words)
General: of, to, at, for, from, in, on.
Logical: about, according-to, except, like, against, with, without, by, despite, instead of.
Space: into, out of, outside, towards, away from, behind, in front of, beside, next to, between, above, on top of, below, under, underneath, near to, a long way from, through.
Time: after, ago, before, during, since, until.
DETERMINERS (about 80 words)
Articles and numbers: a, the; nos. 0–20; nos. 30–100; nos. 200–1000; last, next, 1st–12th.
Demonstrative: this, that.
Possessive: my, your, his, her, its, our, their.
Quantifiers: all, some, no, any, many, much, more, less, a few, several, whole, a little, a lot of.
Comparators: both, neither, each, every, other, another, same, different, such.
ADJECTIVES (about 80 words)
Color: black, blue, green, red, white, yellow.
Evaluative: bad, good, terrible; important, urgent, necessary; possible, impossible; right, wrong, true.
General: big, little, small, heavy; high, low; hot, cold, warm; easy, difficult; cheap, expensive; clean, dirty; beautiful, funny (=comical), funny (=odd), usual, common (=shared), nice, pretty, wonderful; boring, interesting, dangerous, safe; short, tall, long; new, old; calm, clear, dry; fast, slow; finished, free, full, light (=not dark), open, quiet, ready, strong.
Personal: afraid, alone, angry, certain, cheerful, dead, famous, glad, happy, ill, kind, married, pleased, sorry, stupid, surprised, tired, well, worried, young.
VERBS (about 100 words)
arrive, ask, be, be able to, become, begin, believe, borrow, bring, buy, can, change, check, collect, come, continue, cry, do, drop, eat, fall, feel, find, finish, forget, give, going to, have, have to, hear, help, hold, hope, hurt (oneself), hurt (someone else), keep, know, laugh, learn, leave, lend, let (=allow), lie down, like, listen, live (=be alive), live (=reside), look (at), look for, lose, love, make, may (=permission), may (=possibility), mean, meet, must, need, obtain, open, ought to, pay, play, put, read, remember, say, see, sell, send, should, show, shut, sing, sleep, speak, stand, stay, stop, suggest, take, talk, teach, think, travel, try, understand, use, used to, wait for, walk, want, watch, will, work (=operate), work (=toil), worry, would, write.
PRONOUNS (about 40 words)
Personal: I, you, he, she, it, we, they, one; myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.
Possessive: mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs.
Demonstrative: this, that.
Universal: everyone, everybody, everything, each, both, all, one, another.
Indefinite: someone, somebody, something, some, a few, a little, more, less; anyone, anybody, anything, any, either, much, many.
Negative: no-one, nobody, nothing, none, neither.
ADVERBS (about 60 words)
Place: here, there, above, over, below, in front, behind, nearby, a long way away, inside, outside, to the right, to the left, somewhere, anywhere, everywhere, nowhere, home, upstairs, downstairs.
Time: now, soon, immediately, quickly, finally, again, once, for a long time, today, generally, sometimes, always, often, before, after, early, late, never, not yet, still, already, then (=at that time), then (=next), yesterday, tomorrow, tonight.
Quantifiers: a little, about (=approximately), almost, at least, completely, very, enough, exactly, just, not, too much, more, less.
Manner: also, especially, gradually, of course, only, otherwise, perhaps, probably, quite, so, then (=therefore), too (=also), unfortunately, very much, well.
CONJUNCTIONS (about 30 words)
Coordinating: and, but, or; as, than, like.
Time & Place: when, while, before, after, since (=time), until; where.
Manner & Logic: how, why, because, since (=because), although, if; what, who, whom, whose, which, that.
Language Learning Stats
*Different resources give slightly different answers, but in general, these are the results:
Elementary: 1,000 words
Intermediate: 3,000 words
Advanced: 6,000- 8,000 words
Highly educated native fluency: 25,000 words
CEFR Levels:
A1: 550 words
A2: 1100 words
B1: 2200 words
B2: 4400 words
C1: 8800 words
C2: 17600 words
1000 words
1000 words allow you to understand about 80% of the language which surrounds you, as long as it is not too specialized.
In theory, it sounds great. JUST 1000 words and you understand that much! Unfortunately, the remaining 20% is what really matters.
Just look at this sentence:
“I went to the … to buy …. but they told me that they can’t … .’
Sure, you understand a lot of words. But does it really help?
3000 words
3000 words allow you to understand about 95% of most ordinary texts (Hazenberg and Hulstijn, 1996).
It seems like a lot. Sure, on this level, you will be able to hold a decent conversation. You will also be able to get the general ideas and concepts of most of the articles.
BUT…general comprehension is not the same as full comprehension, as it involves some guessing.
Still, there is no shortage of enthusiasts who claim that such level is high enough to start picking up new words from context. However, researchers tend to disagree and say that the “magical” number of words which allows learning from the context is….(drum roll)
5000 words
5000 words allow you to understand about 98% of most ordinary texts (Nation (1990) and Laufer (1997)). Such a vocabulary size warrants also accurate contextual guessing (Coady et al., 1993; Hirsh & Nation, 1992; Laufer, 1997).
It means that you can function surrounded by this language without bigger problems. Sure, you will struggle if you want to formulate your thoughts really precisely, or when you encounter specialized vocabulary.
But other than that, you will be fine.
10,000 words
10,000 words allow you to understand about 99% of most texts (Nation (1990) and Laufer (1997)).
This is the pinnacle of language learning. A counterpart of having the vocabulary of a college graduate.
With that many words, you can express yourself with amazing precision and pass for a native speaker if your accent is good enough.
Wondering what are the most common words to start learning? Here's some help:
(total is about 600 words. add in some grammar and you're off to a great start!)
EXPRESSIONS OF POLITENESS (about 50 expressions)
‘Yes’ and 'no’: yes, no, absolutely, no way, exactly.
Question words: when? where? how? how much? how many? why? what? who? which? whose?
Apologizing: excuse me, sorry to interrupt, well now, I’m afraid so, I’m afraid not.
Meeting and parting: good morning, good afternoon, good evening, hello, goodbye, cheers, see you later, pleased to meet you, nice to have met.
Interjections: please, thank you, don’t mention it, sorry, it’ll be done, I agree, congratulations, thank heavens, nonsense.
NOUNS (about 120 words)
Time: morning, afternoon, evening, night; Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday; spring, summer, autumn, winter; time, occasion, minute, half-hour, hour, day, week, month, year.
People: family, relative, mother, father, son, daughter, sister, brother, husband, wife; colleague, friend, boyfriend, girlfriend; people, person, human being, man, woman, lady, gentleman, boy, girl, child.
Objects: address, bag, book, car, clothes, key, letter (=to post), light (=lamp), money, name, newspaper, pen, pencil, picture, suitcase, thing, ticket.
Places: place, world, country, town, street, road, school, shop, house, apartment, room, ground; Britain, name of the foreign country, British town-names, foreign town-names.
Abstract: accident, beginning, change, color, damage, fun, half, help, joke, journey, language, English, name of the foreign language, letter (of alphabet), life, love, mistake, news, page, pain, part, question, reason, sort, surprise, way (=method), weather, work.
Other: hand, foot, head, eye, mouth, voice; the left, the right; the top, the bottom, the side; air, water, sun, bread, food, paper, noise.
PREPOSITIONS (about 40 words)
General: of, to, at, for, from, in, on.
Logical: about, according-to, except, like, against, with, without, by, despite, instead of.
Space: into, out of, outside, towards, away from, behind, in front of, beside, next to, between, above, on top of, below, under, underneath, near to, a long way from, through.
Time: after, ago, before, during, since, until.
DETERMINERS (about 80 words)
Articles and numbers: a, the; nos. 0–20; nos. 30–100; nos. 200–1000; last, next, 1st–12th.
Demonstrative: this, that.
Possessive: my, your, his, her, its, our, their.
Quantifiers: all, some, no, any, many, much, more, less, a few, several, whole, a little, a lot of.
Comparators: both, neither, each, every, other, another, same, different, such.
ADJECTIVES (about 80 words)
Color: black, blue, green, red, white, yellow.
Evaluative: bad, good, terrible; important, urgent, necessary; possible, impossible; right, wrong, true.
General: big, little, small, heavy; high, low; hot, cold, warm; easy, difficult; cheap, expensive; clean, dirty; beautiful, funny (=comical), funny (=odd), usual, common (=shared), nice, pretty, wonderful; boring, interesting, dangerous, safe; short, tall, long; new, old; calm, clear, dry; fast, slow; finished, free, full, light (=not dark), open, quiet, ready, strong.
Personal: afraid, alone, angry, certain, cheerful, dead, famous, glad, happy, ill, kind, married, pleased, sorry, stupid, surprised, tired, well, worried, young.
VERBS (about 100 words)
arrive, ask, be, be able to, become, begin, believe, borrow, bring, buy, can, change, check, collect, come, continue, cry, do, drop, eat, fall, feel, find, finish, forget, give, going to, have, have to, hear, help, hold, hope, hurt (oneself), hurt (someone else), keep, know, laugh, learn, leave, lend, let (=allow), lie down, like, listen, live (=be alive), live (=reside), look (at), look for, lose, love, make, may (=permission), may (=possibility), mean, meet, must, need, obtain, open, ought to, pay, play, put, read, remember, say, see, sell, send, should, show, shut, sing, sleep, speak, stand, stay, stop, suggest, take, talk, teach, think, travel, try, understand, use, used to, wait for, walk, want, watch, will, work (=operate), work (=toil), worry, would, write.
PRONOUNS (about 40 words)
Personal: I, you, he, she, it, we, they, one; myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.
Possessive: mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs.
Demonstrative: this, that.
Universal: everyone, everybody, everything, each, both, all, one, another.
Indefinite: someone, somebody, something, some, a few, a little, more, less; anyone, anybody, anything, any, either, much, many.
Negative: no-one, nobody, nothing, none, neither.
ADVERBS (about 60 words)
Place: here, there, above, over, below, in front, behind, nearby, a long way away, inside, outside, to the right, to the left, somewhere, anywhere, everywhere, nowhere, home, upstairs, downstairs.
Time: now, soon, immediately, quickly, finally, again, once, for a long time, today, generally, sometimes, always, often, before, after, early, late, never, not yet, still, already, then (=at that time), then (=next), yesterday, tomorrow, tonight.
Quantifiers: a little, about (=approximately), almost, at least, completely, very, enough, exactly, just, not, too much, more, less.
Manner: also, especially, gradually, of course, only, otherwise, perhaps, probably, quite, so, then (=therefore), too (=also), unfortunately, very much, well.
CONJUNCTIONS (about 30 words)
Coordinating: and, but, or; as, than, like.
Time & Place: when, while, before, after, since (=time), until; where.
Manner & Logic: how, why, because, since (=because), although, if; what, who, whom, whose, which, that.
Study advice from a former/still procrastinator🧠🔍
So I’ve always stuggled with procrastination. I would stress myself out over doing no work and my solution was to continue doing no work. I got okay GCSE grades but if I would’ve revised/studied harder I could’ve done a lot better. These tips aren’t going to motivate you by themselves, unfortunately nobody can motivate you but yourself. I hope these help someone :)
Visual learners👀
Mindmaps help so much. Use as many or as little coloured pens and highlighters as you like. They really help you visualise the basic content of each topic.
Diagrams! But I don’t study a subject that uses diagrams? It doesn’t matter! Draw little diagrams and doodles to help you picture the content in a more fun way!
Colour code everything! Colour coding really helps you create cues. Cues are essential in recalling information so if you write your notes for one topic in purple and there is something purple in your exam you will activate that cue!
Sticky notes! You can put these everywhere. For my GCSEs, I had sticky notes: on the hallway mirror, in my sock draw, on the fridge, stuck to the TV remote. Literally everywhere you go on a regular basis or everything you use. Use digital sticky notes on MacBooks or set alarms with the info as the title of the alarm.
Use kahoot! Everyone knows what kahoot is so I’m not going to explain it. However, it is very fun and competitive and if you struggle to enjoy the content using a kahoot makes it a lot more fun.
Audio learners🎶
Record lectures or online lessons. You can use these to look back and listen to what your teacher is saying, listen to what they emphasise.
Watch YouTube videos on the topic. Honestly, ASAPScience’s songs helped me so much in GCSE science. It’s easier to understand and it gets stuck in your head if you want it to or not. (Just don’t listen to songs before opposing subject exams: I once had the periodic table song stuck in my head during an Literature exam- not helpful.)
Create mnemonics!! Just liked in primary school when we learnt the colours of the rainbow by remembering “Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain”, it’s so helpful. And, the stupider and funnier the more you will remember it.
Written learners📝
Rewrite them notes!! Rewrite them in different colours, type them up. Write them and see how much you can remember after 10 minutes.
Revision/note cards are amazing. You can lay out revision cards however you like. You can have them as questions with the answers on the other side, you can use it for the basic information or to just rewrite your notes in a form you can easily carry around with you.
Exam questions. This isn’t only for written learners, it’s for everyone. Anyone who ever has a test or exam for something. Use past exam papers or practise questions. Answer them and then use mark schemes to grade them. You’ll learn how to structure answers for different types of questions and you’ll also learn timing. It’s the best way to revise!
Overall tips🪄
You need to find something to motivate you. For you it can be getting into university, to show off to someone or even to just reward yourself. In all honesty, I use spite to motivate me. To prove people wrong and show that I’m more capable than they thought is an easy way to get myself to study.
You have to force yourself sometimes. There is never going to be a time where you want to study that extremely difficult topic that you haven’t been able to grasp. So you have to push yourself- this is harder for some than it is for others. But once you get into the swing of pushing yourself a little, it does become easier.
To counteract the point above, you have to take breaks. And I’m now taking, an hour break for 10 minutes of work. I mean, study for 25 minutes and have a five minute break and continue that. Get up, stretch, walk around, listen to song, get a snack and some water. Shake your body because sitting at a desk for hours on end is only going to hurt you.
Find a study buddy. Some people work better alone, I know I do. But some people need others to keep them on track and that’s perfectly okay! In my opinion, you shouldn’t choose your best friend as your study partner unless they are going to be strict with you. If you know that the person you plan to study with is only going to distract you, then pick somebody else.
Use a study group! Similar to a study buddy but in this case you can discuss the material you are going over and ask for other’s help. Peer mark fake questions for each other or again, do a quiz. Pick the right people and a study group will work perfectly!
Find a way to shut your brain off. Easier said than done, I know. But if you’re brain is pumping out thoughts about what you’re having for dinner or the show you watched last night, then you aren’t going to get anywhere. Some people use rain sounds (like me!!) but I wouldn’t recommend listening to music. You may think you’re new Playlist is going to get you excited to work but it’s only going to distract you. If you want to listen to music I would recommend purely instrumental music of songs that you don’t know- they’re plenty on YouTube!
Use reminders on your phone or study apps to keep you on track. I’ve heard so many people talk about the app, Forest. I have given it ago and I’d fully recommend it too. It has built-in reminders, sounds to listen to (and we know I love rain sounds) and small achievements to keep you motivated. You get rewarded with a tree or a few trees after your study session and if you get enough coins you can plant an actual real tree!! If you don’t want to pay £1.99, I completely understand so I would recommend Flora. It’s free and has almost all the same features as Forest. Give them a go!! (I will make another post about the differences:))
Speaking of phones, turn yours off!! Unless you’re using it for studying, in which case disable all notifications for a select period of time. You can set screen time limits on IPhones and if you really need it, get someone else to set the password so you can’t simply override it.
Study advice from a former/still procrastinator🧠🔍
So I’ve always stuggled with procrastination. I would stress myself out over doing no work and my solution was to continue doing no work. I got okay GCSE grades but if I would’ve revised/studied harder I could’ve done a lot better. These tips aren’t going to motivate you by themselves, unfortunately nobody can motivate you but yourself. I hope these help someone :)
Visual learners👀
Mindmaps help so much. Use as many or as little coloured pens and highlighters as you like. They really help you visualise the basic content of each topic.
Diagrams! But I don’t study a subject that uses diagrams? It doesn’t matter! Draw little diagrams and doodles to help you picture the content in a more fun way!
Colour code everything! Colour coding really helps you create cues. Cues are essential in recalling information so if you write your notes for one topic in purple and there is something purple in your exam you will activate that cue!
Sticky notes! You can put these everywhere. For my GCSEs, I had sticky notes: on the hallway mirror, in my sock draw, on the fridge, stuck to the TV remote. Literally everywhere you go on a regular basis or everything you use. Use digital sticky notes on MacBooks or set alarms with the info as the title of the alarm.
Use kahoot! Everyone knows what kahoot is so I’m not going to explain it. However, it is very fun and competitive and if you struggle to enjoy the content using a kahoot makes it a lot more fun.
Audio learners🎶
Record lectures or online lessons. You can use these to look back and listen to what your teacher is saying, listen to what they emphasise.
Watch YouTube videos on the topic. Honestly, ASAPScience’s songs helped me so much in GCSE science. It’s easier to understand and it gets stuck in your head if you want it to or not. (Just don’t listen to songs before opposing subject exams: I once had the periodic table song stuck in my head during an Literature exam- not helpful.)
Create mnemonics!! Just liked in primary school when we learnt the colours of the rainbow by remembering “Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain”, it’s so helpful. And, the stupider and funnier the more you will remember it.
Written learners📝
Rewrite them notes!! Rewrite them in different colours, type them up. Write them and see how much you can remember after 10 minutes.
Revision/note cards are amazing. You can lay out revision cards however you like. You can have them as questions with the answers on the other side, you can use it for the basic information or to just rewrite your notes in a form you can easily carry around with you.
Exam questions. This isn’t only for written learners, it’s for everyone. Anyone who ever has a test or exam for something. Use past exam papers or practise questions. Answer them and then use mark schemes to grade them. You’ll learn how to structure answers for different types of questions and you’ll also learn timing. It’s the best way to revise!
Overall tips🪄
You need to find something to motivate you. For you it can be getting into university, to show off to someone or even to just reward yourself. In all honesty, I use spite to motivate me. To prove people wrong and show that I’m more capable than they thought is an easy way to get myself to study.
You have to force yourself sometimes. There is never going to be a time where you want to study that extremely difficult topic that you haven’t been able to grasp. So you have to push yourself- this is harder for some than it is for others. But once you get into the swing of pushing yourself a little, it does become easier.
To counteract the point above, you have to take breaks. And I’m now taking, an hour break for 10 minutes of work. I mean, study for 25 minutes and have a five minute break and continue that. Get up, stretch, walk around, listen to song, get a snack and some water. Shake your body because sitting at a desk for hours on end is only going to hurt you.
Find a study buddy. Some people work better alone, I know I do. But some people need others to keep them on track and that’s perfectly okay! In my opinion, you shouldn’t choose your best friend as your study partner unless they are going to be strict with you. If you know that the person you plan to study with is only going to distract you, then pick somebody else.
Use a study group! Similar to a study buddy but in this case you can discuss the material you are going over and ask for other’s help. Peer mark fake questions for each other or again, do a quiz. Pick the right people and a study group will work perfectly!
Find a way to shut your brain off. Easier said than done, I know. But if you’re brain is pumping out thoughts about what you’re having for dinner or the show you watched last night, then you aren’t going to get anywhere. Some people use rain sounds (like me!!) but I wouldn’t recommend listening to music. You may think you’re new Playlist is going to get you excited to work but it’s only going to distract you. If you want to listen to music I would recommend purely instrumental music of songs that you don’t know- they’re plenty on YouTube!
Use reminders on your phone or study apps to keep you on track. I’ve heard so many people talk about the app, Forest. I have given it ago and I’d fully recommend it too. It has built-in reminders, sounds to listen to (and we know I love rain sounds) and small achievements to keep you motivated. You get rewarded with a tree or a few trees after your study session and if you get enough coins you can plant an actual real tree!! If you don’t want to pay £1.99, I completely understand so I would recommend Flora. It’s free and has almost all the same features as Forest. Give them a go!! (I will make another post about the differences:))
Speaking of phones, turn yours off!! Unless you’re using it for studying, in which case disable all notifications for a select period of time. You can set screen time limits on IPhones and if you really need it, get someone else to set the password so you can’t simply override it.
Study advice from a former/still procrastinator🧠🔍
So I’ve always stuggled with procrastination. I would stress myself out over doing no work and my solution was to continue doing no work. I got okay GCSE grades but if I would’ve revised/studied harder I could’ve done a lot better. These tips aren’t going to motivate you by themselves, unfortunately nobody can motivate you but yourself. I hope these help someone :)
Visual learners👀
Mindmaps help so much. Use as many or as little coloured pens and highlighters as you like. They really help you visualise the basic content of each topic.
Diagrams! But I don’t study a subject that uses diagrams? It doesn’t matter! Draw little diagrams and doodles to help you picture the content in a more fun way!
Colour code everything! Colour coding really helps you create cues. Cues are essential in recalling information so if you write your notes for one topic in purple and there is something purple in your exam you will activate that cue!
Sticky notes! You can put these everywhere. For my GCSEs, I had sticky notes: on the hallway mirror, in my sock draw, on the fridge, stuck to the TV remote. Literally everywhere you go on a regular basis or everything you use. Use digital sticky notes on MacBooks or set alarms with the info as the title of the alarm.
Use kahoot! Everyone knows what kahoot is so I’m not going to explain it. However, it is very fun and competitive and if you struggle to enjoy the content using a kahoot makes it a lot more fun.
Audio learners🎶
Record lectures or online lessons. You can use these to look back and listen to what your teacher is saying, listen to what they emphasise.
Watch YouTube videos on the topic. Honestly, ASAPScience’s songs helped me so much in GCSE science. It’s easier to understand and it gets stuck in your head if you want it to or not. (Just don’t listen to songs before opposing subject exams: I once had the periodic table song stuck in my head during an Literature exam- not helpful.)
Create mnemonics!! Just liked in primary school when we learnt the colours of the rainbow by remembering “Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain”, it’s so helpful. And, the stupider and funnier the more you will remember it.
Written learners📝
Rewrite them notes!! Rewrite them in different colours, type them up. Write them and see how much you can remember after 10 minutes.
Revision/note cards are amazing. You can lay out revision cards however you like. You can have them as questions with the answers on the other side, you can use it for the basic information or to just rewrite your notes in a form you can easily carry around with you.
Exam questions. This isn’t only for written learners, it’s for everyone. Anyone who ever has a test or exam for something. Use past exam papers or practise questions. Answer them and then use mark schemes to grade them. You’ll learn how to structure answers for different types of questions and you’ll also learn timing. It’s the best way to revise!
Overall tips🪄
You need to find something to motivate you. For you it can be getting into university, to show off to someone or even to just reward yourself. In all honesty, I use spite to motivate me. To prove people wrong and show that I’m more capable than they thought is an easy way to get myself to study.
You have to force yourself sometimes. There is never going to be a time where you want to study that extremely difficult topic that you haven’t been able to grasp. So you have to push yourself- this is harder for some than it is for others. But once you get into the swing of pushing yourself a little, it does become easier.
To counteract the point above, you have to take breaks. And I’m now taking, an hour break for 10 minutes of work. I mean, study for 25 minutes and have a five minute break and continue that. Get up, stretch, walk around, listen to song, get a snack and some water. Shake your body because sitting at a desk for hours on end is only going to hurt you.
Find a study buddy. Some people work better alone, I know I do. But some people need others to keep them on track and that’s perfectly okay! In my opinion, you shouldn’t choose your best friend as your study partner unless they are going to be strict with you. If you know that the person you plan to study with is only going to distract you, then pick somebody else.
Use a study group! Similar to a study buddy but in this case you can discuss the material you are going over and ask for other’s help. Peer mark fake questions for each other or again, do a quiz. Pick the right people and a study group will work perfectly!
Find a way to shut your brain off. Easier said than done, I know. But if you’re brain is pumping out thoughts about what you’re having for dinner or the show you watched last night, then you aren’t going to get anywhere. Some people use rain sounds (like me!!) but I wouldn’t recommend listening to music. You may think you’re new Playlist is going to get you excited to work but it’s only going to distract you. If you want to listen to music I would recommend purely instrumental music of songs that you don’t know- they’re plenty on YouTube!
Use reminders on your phone or study apps to keep you on track. I’ve heard so many people talk about the app, Forest. I have given it ago and I’d fully recommend it too. It has built-in reminders, sounds to listen to (and we know I love rain sounds) and small achievements to keep you motivated. You get rewarded with a tree or a few trees after your study session and if you get enough coins you can plant an actual real tree!! If you don’t want to pay £1.99, I completely understand so I would recommend Flora. It’s free and has almost all the same features as Forest. Give them a go!! (I will make another post about the differences:))
Speaking of phones, turn yours off!! Unless you’re using it for studying, in which case disable all notifications for a select period of time. You can set screen time limits on IPhones and if you really need it, get someone else to set the password so you can’t simply override it.
Tips for Reading with ADHD
(or without ADHD, if they help regardless)
Physical print:
cover the page with a piece of paper and reveal lines/paragraphs as you read them
use a highlighter to emphasize important/interesting parts
take notes as you go to be physically engaged with the material
Digital media:
copy and paste the text into a doc/word processor
change the font size/style/colour to something more legible
make your own paragraphs and spacing
copy and paste one paragraph at a time to isolate them from the distraction of the rest of the text
install a browser extension like BeeLine Reader or Mercury Reader
zoom in on the page and scroll slowly so you’re revealing lines as you read them
physically cover the screen and reveal lines as you read them
if you do better with physical media, print it out or find a physical copy
Both:
read out loud
pace, move around, or use a fidget while reading
set a timer for 5 minutes and read in small chunks with breaks in between
divide the material into sections and read one section at a time with breaks in between
have another person, audio book, or text-to-speech program read it aloud as you follow along
How to study Math
It’s gonna be similar to my Learning to like Physics post, and I really hope this helps anyone who needs it. I’m not gonna ramble about my tragic backstory with math, just that I had a really bad math teacher in high school which made me completely lose interest in math/physics. Having to study it on my own however, I realized I actually liked it, and I am currently pursuing a Math degree.
This turned out longer than I thought so I added a cut.
I think these tips can apply to anyone who is studying math, be it high school/college students or anyone self studying. Alright, here goes:
It’s so much easier to understand something if you can visualize it. I can guarantee most math topics (except higher level/multidimensional math) have a visual representation or a diagram you can refer to. Wikipedia is good for pictures, but Khan Academy and 3blue1brown on youtube are even better because they explain the concepts with beautiful graphics, and they honestly saved my life.
Related to the previous point, you really should know how to graph the most common functions, because it comes in handy with pretty much anything tbh. You can even solve equations just by drawing out the two sides! Or at the very least it tells you how many solutions the equation has. If the functions are complicated by all means use a graphing calculator! My favorite online one is desmos.
Break it down. I get really discouraged when I see long sums and formulas because I already know I won’t be able to remember them. So I usually try to split them into parts and see where each comes from, or I try to figure out how someone would come up with this in the first place. Your profs might also have explanations or mnemonic devices to help you remember it.
Seeking out applications in physics, or anywhere really is also very helpful. For example, I didn’t understand divergence and curl at all until I saw them in electromagnetic fields, and what they mean in terms of how the charge/particles flow.
Note taking: I learned the hard way that what your prof says but doesn’t write, is way more important than what they write on the board. Mostly because what they write down (theorem, proofs, calculations) can also be found in the textbook. On the other hand, more high level explanations (as in informal and more accessible) often aren’t. WRITE THOSE DOWN. It’ll be useless to have written down the theorem word by word, if you don’t take note of what it means an how to use it. In exams as well, they are mostly gonna test your understanding of it. Also, write down why you’re doing a certain passage, or why you’re allowed to do it.
If you know your prof goes too fast and you can’t keep up, record your lectures. Not everyone might need this. Even though it is very time consuming to go through it again, you can always skip to the parts you need or listen on 1.5x. Better to spend time on listening to the lesson again, than to stare at your notes without understanding what you wrote and why. For me, something that I didn’t get at all in class might be very easy to understand if I hear it again while I don’t have to focus on writing it down.
Messy notes are okay, and encouraged. Prioritize understanding your notes rather than their neatness. I write faster in cursive, so now that’s all I use even though my notes look awful. But at least I get more stuff down. Moreover, my need for pretty and neat notes was just a symptom of my obsession with perfection, which I’m trying to let go of because it just adds extra stress.
Flash cards are the best. Super useful to memorize theorems and proofs. What I usually do is write the name of the theorem on one side and the statement on the other. You can also separate hypotheses and statement. I’ll mark the theorems for which I need to learn the proof, then go through them one by one and try to prove them. They also help to keep a list of all the theorems you need to know for a certain course all in one place.
Get a study buddy/study group. I’m pretty unsociable so I know it’s hard, but if even I could find a person to revise with before exams, then you can to. Don’t worry about being judged because you’re all there to learn and you all want the same thing. Talking about something out loud helps you understand it and memorize it better, and at least a fellow student can ask you questions about it as well. Unfortunately your wall can’t do that.
Office hours. One on one time with your prof is the best, trust me. Asking questions in front of 100 people is intimidating, and it often feels like your profs are rushing through lectures and don’t have time to properly answer you. During office hours, you can ask about anything and they can even show you how to work something out step by step. Bring a friend if you’re anxious about it (but you shouldn’t be! most of them are friendly, and going there shows you’re putting in effort for their class).
Try to do your calculations in your head, or with pen and paper. I know calculators are way faster, but it’s good exercise. If it’s too hard to get an exact answer, try ballparking it and then check to see if you were close enough. Ballparking comes in handy and it sharpens your intuition.
Practice tests and solved problems are the best, bonus if the solution explains what is happening and it’s not just calculations. You can try to do them then check the answers, then try again and see if you can get it on your own.
Theory and practice are two different things. Even knowing all the theorems and proofs you sometimes won’t be able to work out a problem that uses them. They’re both equally important so make sure you include both when preparing a test.
Weiterlesen
How to study Math
It’s gonna be similar to my Learning to like Physics post, and I really hope this helps anyone who needs it. I’m not gonna ramble about my tragic backstory with math, just that I had a really bad math teacher in high school which made me completely lose interest in math/physics. Having to study it on my own however, I realized I actually liked it, and I am currently pursuing a Math degree.
This turned out longer than I thought so I added a cut.
I think these tips can apply to anyone who is studying math, be it high school/college students or anyone self studying. Alright, here goes:
It’s so much easier to understand something if you can visualize it. I can guarantee most math topics (except higher level/multidimensional math) have a visual representation or a diagram you can refer to. Wikipedia is good for pictures, but Khan Academy and 3blue1brown on youtube are even better because they explain the concepts with beautiful graphics, and they honestly saved my life.
Related to the previous point, you really should know how to graph the most common functions, because it comes in handy with pretty much anything tbh. You can even solve equations just by drawing out the two sides! Or at the very least it tells you how many solutions the equation has. If the functions are complicated by all means use a graphing calculator! My favorite online one is desmos.
Break it down. I get really discouraged when I see long sums and formulas because I already know I won’t be able to remember them. So I usually try to split them into parts and see where each comes from, or I try to figure out how someone would come up with this in the first place. Your profs might also have explanations or mnemonic devices to help you remember it.
Seeking out applications in physics, or anywhere really is also very helpful. For example, I didn’t understand divergence and curl at all until I saw them in electromagnetic fields, and what they mean in terms of how the charge/particles flow.
Note taking: I learned the hard way that what your prof says but doesn’t write, is way more important than what they write on the board. Mostly because what they write down (theorem, proofs, calculations) can also be found in the textbook. On the other hand, more high level explanations (as in informal and more accessible) often aren’t. WRITE THOSE DOWN. It’ll be useless to have written down the theorem word by word, if you don’t take note of what it means an how to use it. In exams as well, they are mostly gonna test your understanding of it. Also, write down why you’re doing a certain passage, or why you’re allowed to do it.
If you know your prof goes too fast and you can’t keep up, record your lectures. Not everyone might need this. Even though it is very time consuming to go through it again, you can always skip to the parts you need or listen on 1.5x. Better to spend time on listening to the lesson again, than to stare at your notes without understanding what you wrote and why. For me, something that I didn’t get at all in class might be very easy to understand if I hear it again while I don’t have to focus on writing it down.
Messy notes are okay, and encouraged. Prioritize understanding your notes rather than their neatness. I write faster in cursive, so now that’s all I use even though my notes look awful. But at least I get more stuff down. Moreover, my need for pretty and neat notes was just a symptom of my obsession with perfection, which I’m trying to let go of because it just adds extra stress.
Flash cards are the best. Super useful to memorize theorems and proofs. What I usually do is write the name of the theorem on one side and the statement on the other. You can also separate hypotheses and statement. I’ll mark the theorems for which I need to learn the proof, then go through them one by one and try to prove them. They also help to keep a list of all the theorems you need to know for a certain course all in one place.
Get a study buddy/study group. I’m pretty unsociable so I know it’s hard, but if even I could find a person to revise with before exams, then you can to. Don’t worry about being judged because you’re all there to learn and you all want the same thing. Talking about something out loud helps you understand it and memorize it better, and at least a fellow student can ask you questions about it as well. Unfortunately your wall can’t do that.
Office hours. One on one time with your prof is the best, trust me. Asking questions in front of 100 people is intimidating, and it often feels like your profs are rushing through lectures and don’t have time to properly answer you. During office hours, you can ask about anything and they can even show you how to work something out step by step. Bring a friend if you’re anxious about it (but you shouldn’t be! most of them are friendly, and going there shows you’re putting in effort for their class).
Try to do your calculations in your head, or with pen and paper. I know calculators are way faster, but it’s good exercise. If it’s too hard to get an exact answer, try ballparking it and then check to see if you were close enough. Ballparking comes in handy and it sharpens your intuition.
Practice tests and solved problems are the best, bonus if the solution explains what is happening and it’s not just calculations. You can try to do them then check the answers, then try again and see if you can get it on your own.
Theory and practice are two different things. Even knowing all the theorems and proofs you sometimes won’t be able to work out a problem that uses them. They’re both equally important so make sure you include both when preparing a test.
Weiterlesen
“The love of learning, the sequestered nooks, And all the sweet serenity of books” - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Learning is one of the greatest accomplishments of our mind. And even if many associate it with school and studying, there are so many skills and knowledge you can acquire in your free time! Here is just a little “masterpost” of some of the options on the internet.
Languages (you have always wanted to learn a new language?)
How to choose a language
Duolingo
Memrise
French Masterpost by @studenting
German Masterpost by @languageoclock
Mandarin Chinese Masterpost by @floernce
Danish Masterpost by @baernat
Dutch Masterpost by @languagesordie
Finnish Masterpost by @hardluckbones
Greek Masterpost by @katlearnslanguages
Hindi Masterpost by @wonderful-language-sounds
Hebrew Masterpost by @wonderful-language-sounds
Italian Masterpost by @languagegirl
Japanese Masterpost by @somestudy
Korean Masterpost by @somestudy
Latin Masterpost by @learnal
Portuguese Masterpost by @educaution
Spanish Masterpost by @funwithlanguages
Swahili Masterpost by @spraakhexe
Free Courses!!! (you want to educate yourself on subjects you are passionate about? or find something that you love?)
edX
coursera
OpenLearn
FutureLearn
open2study
openculture
Stanford Online
Harvard Online Learning
MIT Open Courseware
Udemy
Khan Academy
Coding (you have always wanted to learn how to code?)
Codeacademy
Khan Academy Computer Programming
HTML5ROCKS
Codeschool
code.org
FreeCodeCamp
codewars
Dash (+ learning how to create a tumblr theme!)
TheCodePlayer
Coder’sGuide
DevsTips
LearnCodeAcademy
TheNewBoston
Creative (you always wanted to paint pretty pictures, take beautiful photographs, start a fashion blog or practice your calligraphy skills?)
Learn How To Draw
Color Theory
Graphic Design Basics
Fashion Blogging
Beginners Acrylic Paint Course
Acrylic Paint Strategies
Calligraphy Beginner
A Beginner’s Guide To Modern Calligraphy
Learn Calligraphy
The Ultimate Graffiti Guide
Photography Basics
How To Keep A Diary And Stick To It
Scrapbooking For Beginners
Writing Apps Extensions And Websites by @uglystudies
Writing Resources by @wordsnstuff
Miscellaneous (the suns, solar systems, stars and moons? playing the guitar, the piano?)
Space And Astronomy Masterpost by @thescholarlysquad
Microsoft Excel Tutorial
Absolute First Beginner Acoustic Guitar Lesson
Piano 101
CrashCourse
How To Create Music In Minutes (Fruity Loops Free)
“The love of learning, the sequestered nooks, And all the sweet serenity of books” - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Learning is one of the greatest accomplishments of our mind. And even if many associate it with school and studying, there are so many skills and knowledge you can acquire in your free time! Here is just a little “masterpost” of some of the options on the internet.
Languages (you have always wanted to learn a new language?)
How to choose a language
Duolingo
Memrise
French Masterpost by @studenting
German Masterpost by @languageoclock
Mandarin Chinese Masterpost by @floernce
Danish Masterpost by @baernat
Dutch Masterpost by @languagesordie
Finnish Masterpost by @hardluckbones
Greek Masterpost by @katlearnslanguages
Hindi Masterpost by @wonderful-language-sounds
Hebrew Masterpost by @wonderful-language-sounds
Italian Masterpost by @languagegirl
Japanese Masterpost by @somestudy
Korean Masterpost by @somestudy
Latin Masterpost by @learnal
Portuguese Masterpost by @educaution
Spanish Masterpost by @funwithlanguages
Swahili Masterpost by @spraakhexe
Free Courses!!! (you want to educate yourself on subjects you are passionate about? or find something that you love?)
edX
coursera
OpenLearn
FutureLearn
open2study
openculture
Stanford Online
Harvard Online Learning
MIT Open Courseware
Udemy
Khan Academy
Coding (you have always wanted to learn how to code?)
Codeacademy
Khan Academy Computer Programming
HTML5ROCKS
Codeschool
code.org
FreeCodeCamp
codewars
Dash (+ learning how to create a tumblr theme!)
TheCodePlayer
Coder’sGuide
DevsTips
LearnCodeAcademy
TheNewBoston
Creative (you always wanted to paint pretty pictures, take beautiful photographs, start a fashion blog or practice your calligraphy skills?)
Learn How To Draw
Color Theory
Graphic Design Basics
Fashion Blogging
Beginners Acrylic Paint Course
Acrylic Paint Strategies
Calligraphy Beginner
A Beginner’s Guide To Modern Calligraphy
Learn Calligraphy
The Ultimate Graffiti Guide
Photography Basics
How To Keep A Diary And Stick To It
Scrapbooking For Beginners
Writing Apps Extensions And Websites by @uglystudies
Writing Resources by @wordsnstuff
Miscellaneous (the suns, solar systems, stars and moons? playing the guitar, the piano?)
Space And Astronomy Masterpost by @thescholarlysquad
Microsoft Excel Tutorial
Absolute First Beginner Acoustic Guitar Lesson
Piano 101
CrashCourse
How To Create Music In Minutes (Fruity Loops Free)
“The love of learning, the sequestered nooks, And all the sweet serenity of books” - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Learning is one of the greatest accomplishments of our mind. And even if many associate it with school and studying, there are so many skills and knowledge you can acquire in your free time! Here is just a little “masterpost” of some of the options on the internet.
Languages (you have always wanted to learn a new language?)
How to choose a language
Duolingo
Memrise
French Masterpost by @studenting
German Masterpost by @languageoclock
Mandarin Chinese Masterpost by @floernce
Danish Masterpost by @baernat
Dutch Masterpost by @languagesordie
Finnish Masterpost by @hardluckbones
Greek Masterpost by @katlearnslanguages
Hindi Masterpost by @wonderful-language-sounds
Hebrew Masterpost by @wonderful-language-sounds
Italian Masterpost by @languagegirl
Japanese Masterpost by @somestudy
Korean Masterpost by @somestudy
Latin Masterpost by @learnal
Portuguese Masterpost by @educaution
Spanish Masterpost by @funwithlanguages
Swahili Masterpost by @spraakhexe
Free Courses!!! (you want to educate yourself on subjects you are passionate about? or find something that you love?)
edX
coursera
OpenLearn
FutureLearn
open2study
openculture
Stanford Online
Harvard Online Learning
MIT Open Courseware
Udemy
Khan Academy
Coding (you have always wanted to learn how to code?)
Codeacademy
Khan Academy Computer Programming
HTML5ROCKS
Codeschool
code.org
FreeCodeCamp
codewars
Dash (+ learning how to create a tumblr theme!)
TheCodePlayer
Coder’sGuide
DevsTips
LearnCodeAcademy
TheNewBoston
Creative (you always wanted to paint pretty pictures, take beautiful photographs, start a fashion blog or practice your calligraphy skills?)
Learn How To Draw
Color Theory
Graphic Design Basics
Fashion Blogging
Beginners Acrylic Paint Course
Acrylic Paint Strategies
Calligraphy Beginner
A Beginner’s Guide To Modern Calligraphy
Learn Calligraphy
The Ultimate Graffiti Guide
Photography Basics
How To Keep A Diary And Stick To It
Scrapbooking For Beginners
Writing Apps Extensions And Websites by @uglystudies
Writing Resources by @wordsnstuff
Miscellaneous (the suns, solar systems, stars and moons? playing the guitar, the piano?)
Space And Astronomy Masterpost by @thescholarlysquad
Microsoft Excel Tutorial
Absolute First Beginner Acoustic Guitar Lesson
Piano 101
CrashCourse
How To Create Music In Minutes (Fruity Loops Free)
I just made this acronym up and if anyone needs this for science to help memorize the periodic trends, here it is!
Atomic radius
Ionization energy
Reactivity
Electronegativity
Electron affinity
Almost all of the trends go up and to the right = stronger, with the atomic radius going down and to the left = stronger!