Gather assignments, syllabi and past tests. Assignments explain what material will be tested. Past tests demonstrate the teacher's testing methods. Syllabi provide useful resources, clarify test subject matter and provide the professor's contact information.
Contact your professor or teacher, a learning lab or the study skills lab if you don't understand an assignment. Study in a group if the material is difficult or if the assignment contains a question for discussion with others.
Explore your course textbook. Studying the table of contents, bold words, graphs and other study aides included by the textbook company will help you find and organize your information.
Choose a consistent time place to study. Your brain will learn to associate a particular location with studying. Pick a study time when you are most wide awake; some people work better in the mornings, while others prefer afternoons or evenings.
Set goals and objectives, record them in a daily planner and prioritize them. For instance, if you plan to study for two hours, set a goal to study the hardest or most boring material first, while you are less fatigued. Study experts suggest that two hours' study for each hour of class, on average, is the most effective way to learn. Create a study schedule and revise it if necessary.
Use the SQ3R -- survey, question, read, recite and review -- method of study. Survey the text you are going to read. Read chapter questions and question the text: who, what, when, where, why and how? Read for the main idea of each paragraph, and keep in mind that chapters contain an introduction, body and conclusion. Recite the most important ideas of the text in a simple and understandable way. Review the material for clarification and understanding.
Date all notes and organize them in an informal outline. Highlight important terms, definitions and dates in blue to trigger the memory. Record definitions on notecards. Practice relevant math problems, reversing them to check answers.
Develop your own acronyms and mnemonics to help you to remember the material better. For example, "Every good boy does fine," reminds you that the notes on the treble clef lines E, G, B, D and F.