Introduction

Welcome! You are about to explore a website that has been designed to improve your college study skills. The mere fact that you’ve taken time to visit this site suggests that you are already aware of the need to improve some area of your academic skills, but in case you’re still uncertain about whether the information available here is appropriate for you, ask yourself the following questions:

Does college work seem overwhelming compared to what you did in high school?
Do you often find yourself short of time to get your coursework completed?
Do you only seriously study the course material a day or two before an examination?
When you read a textbook, do you often find yourself asking “what did that mean”?
Is it difficult for you to take accurate notes during lectures or class discussions?
Do your exam scores not reflect how well you really know the course material?
Do you feel like you never really get to know your professors or other instructors?

If you answered yes to ANY of these questions, then this site can help you to become a better student! There is information on general study habits, including fundamental differences between high school and college lifestyles as well as the academic expectations that college faculty have of you. There are tips on how to more successfully manage your time. There are strategies for taking better class notes, effectively reading textbooks, and translating that knowledge into success on all types of examinations. And there is information on ways to develop productive relationships with your instructors that will help you get the most out of your academic experiences. In short, there is plenty of useful information here.

This site is divided into several sections that you can explore in any order. However, if this is your first visit, you might want to start with the section on general study habits before proceeding to more specialized topics. After finishing a section, you can take a short quiz to test your knowledge of the material that you just covered. There are also links to commercial websites that offer study skills improvement services that you may wish to investigate further. At the end of this site you will also find a list of Clemson University faculty (organized by their colleges and departments) who are willing to talk to you personally about your study habits. Simply click on their e-mail address and ask to arrange an appointment.

I hope you find this site useful. With careful application of the techniques described here and some focused effort on your part, the road to classroom success can be made a much smoother one. If you have comments about this site’s content, or can offer suggestions for how to improve it, please e-mail me by clicking on the address given below.

Good luck and study well!

Dr. Jerry A. Waldvogel
Dept. of Biology Instruction & Agricultural Education
Clemson University
waldvoj@clemson.edu