Group Meeting #4: Plan, Part 2

The Mills College Study Hacks group has been meeting regularly. Today, during our fourth meeting, we discussed the importance of planning out our study schedule for each test and evaluating its efficiency it as we go, in order to get the most out of our time. We also discussed helpful steps in regard to writing a great research paper. We read 5 of the recommended blog posts and discussed them in relation to the overall focus of the meeting, the importance of planning and preparation.

After reading Monday Master class: Drizzle Test Preparation Over Many Days, we all were struck by the tip about the importance of not studying on the same day you organize your notes and fill in the gaps of your knowledge. We all agreed that separating the two different processes made the idea of studying a lot less stressful. We all tend to cram for tests just a few days before we take it. Kiya, especially, said she was going to try out the day-to-day plan outlined in the post.

Our overall favorite post was Monday Master Class: How to Use a Flat Outline to Write Outstanding Papers Fast, because for all of us, the traditional outline format has never worked. Personally, I really liked the idea of crafting each of your topics so that they aren't either too general or too specific -- sometimes I don't address that problem until I start writing the paper, which can be way more frustrating than if I do it early in the process.

Anyway, we're all in the process of taking midterms so this meeting was especially helpful. We'll meet again in two weeks time, right before Spring Break, when the chaos of midterms has subsided!