2 Study Skills Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Study Skills In order to be successful in your academic career and your personal life, it will be necessary for you to develop study skills. A skill is some- thing an individual does well. Study skills are the strategies a person applies to effective learning. They are how you approach learning, select processes that work for you, and eliminate distractions that hinder you from achieving your goals. Study skills become good habits that help you become efficient, solve problems, and apply critical-thinking skills. They can make you a more attentive listener, better reader, and more efficient note taker. Practicing and developing these skills will help you become a better student. If your grades are suffering, developing good study skills can help you improve them. If your grades are average, improving your study skills can bring your grades up a notch. Examples of study skills are listed in Figure 1-1. Study skills are classified as soft skills. Soft skills are the skills used to communicate and work well with others. They are consid- ered essential transferable skills, which are skills that help an individual find a job, perform well in the workplace, and gain suc- cess in a job or career. Once you master study skills, you will apply them in your day- to-day life because they are not subject specific. For example, you will apply study skills as you prepare for the test to get your driver’s license. You will also apply them to learn how to use a computer or your smart- phone. Many study skills also transfer into employability skills you will need when you finish school and start a career. Developing Study Skills As you progress through school, you will value possessing the knowledge of how to get the most out of your study time. Every person studies differently, and strategies that work well for one person might not be effective for another. Through experience, you will learn how to develop the study skills that work best for you. Just as importantly, you will learn to disregard the less effective ones. The sooner you begin the process, the sooner you will experience success. The jour- ney begins with having a positive attitude, self-confidence, and focus. Self-confidence is being certain and secure about one’s own abilities and judgment. Norman Pogson/Shutterstock.com Goodheart-Willcox Publisher Figure 1-1 Study skills are the various strategies a person applies to learning. Study Skills • •• decision-making •• time management •• organization •• study environment •• avoid distractions •• comprehension • active reading •• vocabulary building •• active listening •• note taking •• active learning •• test taking •• research •• stress management