About the ged writing exam 5

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CHAPTER 2 Study Skills HOW MUCH time you spend studying each week is important. But how you study is the key to your success. This chapter shows you how to set up an effective learning environment, determine your learn- ing style, and create an effective study plan. M aybe it’s been a while since you last studied for an exam, or maybe you have never had to pre- pare for standardized tests like the GED. In any case, you may be unsure about the best way to get ready for these important exams. Fortunately, there are many strategies that can help you learn and remember the material you need to know to succeed on the GED. There are several important steps to take before you begin to study. E nvironment and Attitude To study means “to give one’s attention to learning a subject; to look at with careful attention.” Notice that the word attention comes up twice in this deﬁnition. To study well, you need to be able to focus all your attention on the mate- rial. So, the ﬁrst step is to make sure you have the right kind of learning environment and attitude. The Right Mood Studying can bring wonderful rewards. You can gain new knowledge. You can do well on tests—like the GED—that enable you to achieve your academic and professional goals. But it can still be difﬁcult to get in the mood to study. After all, studying can be hard work, and you might be worried about whether you will pass the exam. You may have many other things you would rather do, or you might just have trouble getting started. These are all reasons that may 11
– STUDY SKILLS – lead you to procrastinate and put off work that you need The Right Conditions You can have the best attitude in the world, but if you to do. But procrastinating can cause lots of trouble at test are tired or distracted, you are going to have difﬁculty time. If you procrastinate too much or for too long, you studying. To be at your best, you need to be focused, won’t be prepared for the exams. alert, and calm. That means you need to study under the One of the best ways to beat procrastination is to use right conditions. a reward system. Everyone likes to be rewarded for a job Everyone is different, so you need to know what con- well done, and if there’s going to be a reward at the end ditions work best for you. Here are some questions to of the work, it’s easier to get started. So promise yourself consider: a small reward for each study session. For example, you might promise yourself a trip to the gym or a phone call 1. What time of day do you work best—morning, to a good friend as a reward for an hour of study. You afternoon, or evening? How early in the day or might promise to treat yourself to a movie after you ﬁn- late in the night can you think clearly? ish a chapter or give yourself a nutritious snack after you 2. Do you work best in total silence? Or do you pre- ﬁnish a difﬁcult lesson. You can also think about the fer music or other noise in the background? reward you will give yourself when you pass the GED. 3. If you prefer music, what kind? Classical music Make sure this reward is a big one! often helps people relax because the music is soft You can also get in the mood for studying by thinking and there are no words. But you may prefer about the short- and long-term rewards you will receive music that energizes you, such as rock and roll. for your hard work. Keep in mind the beneﬁts you will Others work best with music that has special receive from your GED study time: meaning to them and puts them in a positive state of mind. You will gain or reinforce important knowledge ■ 4. Where do you like to work? Do you feel most and skills in ﬁve fundamental subject areas. comfortable sitting at the kitchen counter? At the You will be able to apply to U.S. colleges and ■ dining room table? At a desk in your ofﬁce or universities. bedroom? (Try to avoid studying in bed. You will You will be eligible for jobs and training pro- ■ probably be relaxed, but you may be too com- grams that require a high school diploma. fortable and fall asleep.) Or do you prefer to You will get the education you need for a success- ■ study out of the house, at the library or a local ful future. coffee shop? 5. What do you like to have around you when you Remember that while you are preparing for the GED, work? Do you feel most comfortable in your your attitude is very important. It can dramatically affect favorite chair? Do you like to have pictures of how much you learn and how well you learn it. Make family and friends around? sure that you have a positive attitude. You will study, you 6. What kind of lighting do you prefer? Does soft will learn, and you will do well. Your study time will be light make you sleepy? Do you need bright light? time well spent. If it’s too bright, you may feel uncomfortable. If it’s too dark, you may feel sleepy. Remember that Mood Booster poor lighting can also strain your eyes and give you a headache. 7. How does eating affect you? Do you feel most Whenever you need help getting motivated to energized right after a meal? Or does eating tend study, try saying the following out loud: ➧ I know more today than I did yesterday. to make you feel sleepy? Which foods give you a ➧ I will know more after I study than I know lot of energy? Which slow you down? 8. Can you put problems or other pressing con- now. ➧ Every minute I spend studying will help me cerns out of your mind to focus on a different task? How can you minimize distractions so you achieve my goals. can fully focus on your work? 12
– STUDY SKILLS – Think carefully about each of these questions. Write from the world around them. But most of us tend to down your answers so you can develop a good study plan. use one way more than others. That’s our dominant For example, say you work best in the morning but need (strongest) learning style. How you would handle getting total silence to work. If you have children, you would be directions, for example, suggests which learning style you wise to schedule your study time early in the morning use most often: before the kids are up or ﬁrst thing after they leave for Visual. Visual learners learn best by seeing. If you ■ school. If you wait until they are in bed, you will have a would look at a map for directions, you are prob- quiet house, but you may be too tired to study well. Sim- ably a visual learner. You understand ideas best ilarly, if you have trouble concentrating when you are when they are in pictures or graphs. You may hungry, schedule study time for shortly after meals, or be learn better by using different colors as you take sure to start your study sessions with a healthy snack. notes. Use a highlighter (or several, in different colors) as you read to mark important ideas. The Right Tools Mapping and diagramming ideas are good learn- Help make your study session successful by having the ing strategies for visual learners. right learning tools by your side. As you study for the Auditory. Auditory learners learn best by ■ GED, have: listening. If you would ask someone to tell you directions, you are probably an auditory learner. a good English dictionary, such as Merriam- ■ You would probably rather listen to a lecture than Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition read a textbook, and you may learn better by paper or legal pads ■ reading aloud. Try recording your notes on a tape pencils (and a pencil sharpener) or pens ■ player and listening to your tapes as one of your a highlighter, or several highlighters in different ■ main study strategies. colors Kinesthetic. Kinesthetic learners learn best by ■ index or other note cards ■ doing. (Kinesthetic means feeling the movements of folders or notebooks ■ the body.) They like to keep their hands and bod- a calendar or personal digital assistant, such as a ■ ies moving. If you would draw a map or copy Palm Pilot® down directions, you are probably a kinesthetic a calculator ■ learner. You will beneﬁt from interacting with the graph paper ■ material you are studying. Underline, take notes, and create note cards. Recopying material will As you gather your supplies, keep your personal pref- help you remember it. erences in mind. Perhaps you like to write with a certain Sequential. Sequential learners learn best by ■ kind of pen or on a certain kind of paper. If so, make sure organizing. If you would create a step-by-step list you have that pen or paper with you when you study. It of driving directions, you are probably a sequen- will help you feel more comfortable and relaxed as you tial learner. You may learn better by creating out- work. lines and grouping ideas together into categories. Learning How You Learn Think carefully about how you learn. Which is your Imagine that you need directions to a restaurant you dominant learning style? Keep it in mind as you read have never been to before. Which of the following would about learning strategies in Chapter 3. you do to ﬁnd out how to get there? Look at a map. ■ Ask someone to tell you directions. ■ C reating a Study Plan Draw a map or copy someone’s written directions. ■ List step-by-step directions. ■ Sometimes, we put off work because the task just seems Most people learn in a variety of ways. They learn by too big to handle. But you can make any task manageable seeing, hearing, doing, and organizing information 13
– STUDY SKILLS – I f English Is Your Second Language Whatever your general learning style, most of A Time to Kill us learn to speak and understand language The Client best by listening. If English is not your native The Firm language and you need to improve your read- The Pelican Brief ing and writing skills, take some time to build Of course, there’s more to movie adaptations your listening skills, too. The more familiar you than legal thrillers. Here are some more good become with the sounds and rhythms of the choices, from classics to contemporary, from language, the more quickly you will learn. American to world literature: Spend as much time as possible around peo- Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt ple speaking English. Go to places where you The Cider House Rules by John Irving will see and hear English, such as to plays or The Color Purple by Alice Walker to the cinema. The more you hear the lan- The Commitments by Roddy Doyle guage, the more comfortable you will be The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander thinking in that language. This will make it Dumas easier to understand written English and to Doctor Zhivago by Boris Leonidovich write effectively. Pasternak Of course, the best thing you can do to Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell improve your English writing and compre- The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan hension skills is to r ead. Read as much as The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx you can in English to learn the structure and Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson style of the language. Rent movies based on To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee novels. Watch the film to build your listening You can also read English versions of books skills, and then read the book to improve your that you have already read in your native lan- reading comprehension and writing skills. guage. The plot and characters will already Good novel/movie combinations to try are be familiar to you, so you will be able to those by John Grisham, including: understand more as you read. by creating a project plan. Follow these four steps to cre- In addition to these administrative matters, ate a successful study plan for the GED: you need to learn as much as possible about the tests. What exactly will be tested on the exams? 1. Get the correct information. Your ﬁrst step is to What subjects? What kinds of questions? Chap- ﬁnd as much as you can about the exams. Get all ter 1 provides general information about the the details about the GED. Contact your local basic structure of the GED exams. Parts II–VI testing center to ﬁnd out: each begin with a summary of the content cov- ered on each exam and the type of questions you speciﬁc state eligibility requirements (make sure will be asked on the tests. Be sure to read these ■ you are eligible to take the exams) sections carefully. when the tests will be offered 2. Find out what you already know and what you ■ where they will be held need to learn. To create an effective study plan, ■ what you need to do to register you need to have a good sense of exactly what ■ when you need to register you need to study. Chances are, you already ■ how much the tests cost know much of the test material well. Some of it ■ if you must take all the tests at once or if you can you may only need to review. And some of it you ■ take individual exams may need to study in detail. Take the pretests at 14
– STUDY SKILLS – the beginning of each section or take a practice Week 10 Review errors. Review math and GED to get an idea of how you would do on the science. exam. How did you score? What do you seem to Week 11 Study grammar/writing. Focus: sen- know well? What do you need to review? What tence structure, usage. do you need to study in detail? 3. Set a time frame. Once you have a good sense of Week 12 Study grammar/writing. Focus: how much studying is ahead, create a detailed mechanics, organization. study schedule. Use a calendar to set speciﬁc Week 13 Study grammar/writing. Focus: essay deadlines. If deadlines make you nervous, give writing strategies. yourself plenty of time for each task. Otherwise, you might have trouble keeping calm and staying Week 14 Take practice writing test. Review on track. errors. To create a good schedule, break your study- Week 15 Review social studies, math, and ing into small tasks that will get you to your science. learning goals. A study plan that says “Learn everything by May 1” isn’t going to be helpful. Week 16 Study reading/literature. Focus: literary However, a study plan that sets dates for learning vs. nonﬁction texts. speciﬁc material in March and April will enable Week 17 Study reading/literature. Focus: you to learn everything by May 1. For example, comprehension and application. take a look at the following ﬁve-month study plan created by a GED candidate who needs to Week 18 Study reading/literature. Focus: focus on both Language Arts exams: analysis and synthesis. Week 19 Take practice reading exam. Review Week 1 Study math. Focus: geometry and errors. number operations. Week 20 Review all subjects. Week 2 Study math. Focus: algebra and data analysis. Notice how this schedule builds in time to review each subject and establishes different top- Week 3 Take practice math GED. Review ics to focus on each week. errors. As you set your deadlines, think carefully Week 4 Study science. Focus: life sciences, about your day-to-day schedule. How much time start physical sciences. can you spend on studying each week? Exactly when can you ﬁt in the time to study? Be sure to Week 5 Study science. Focus: physical sci- be realistic about how much time you have and ences, and Earth and space sciences. how much you can accomplish. Give yourself the Week 6 Take practice science GED. Review study time you need to succeed. errors. Review math. 4. Stick to your plan. Make sure you have your plan written on paper and post your plan where Week 7 Study social studies. Focus: national you can see it. (Don’t just keep it in your head!) history. Look at it regularly so you can remember what Week 8 Study social studies. Focus: world and when to study. Checking your plan regularly history. can also help you see how much progress you have made along the way. Week 9 Study social studies. Focus: geography It’s very important that you don’t give up if and economics. Take practice social you fall behind. Unexpected events may inter- studies GED. rupt your plans. You may have to put in extra time at work, you may have to deal with a 15