How to learn and write effectively

These tips will help you structure your learning and writing to prepare for your written examinations.

Learning environment

Illustration: Adobe Stock

Quick links

Written examinations: revision tips

WHEN DO YOU LEARN BEST?

Are you an early bird or more of a night owl? Think about when you study best and structure your day accordingly.

Early bird: You are wide awake, motivated and highly productive in the early morning. Early birds prefer to go to bed early and avoid working and studying in the evening.
Night owl: You are most productive from the afternoon until late at night. Night owls tend to have difficulty getting out of bed in the morning and stay awake late into the night. You usually catch up on your sleep at the weekend.

WHERE DO YOU LEARN BEST?

The right learning environment will have a huge impact on the quality and efficiency of your revision. Whether at home, in the library or outdoors in the summer, find a place where you feel comfortable and can study without any interruptions. Put any distracting devices like smartphones to one side.

REVISION SCHEDULE

Create a clear exam timetable. How well do you already know each topic? Structure the weeks leading up to your examinations, put together ‘revision packages’ and set revision periods for each day. It’s best to use a monthly calendar to keep on top of everything.

Schedule enough breaks between each revision period – and remember to give yourself a day off where you do nice things that you enjoy. And keep rewarding yourself for what you have achieved!

Arbeitsblatt Coping with examinationsExternal linkde
We have provided you a template worksheet which you can use to check your current level of learning.

Method of loci: Learn faster and better!

Establish links between abstract information (e.g. terms, numbers and formulas) and practical things from your everyday life. This will create associations and images in your head that are much easier to remember.

Living room
Illustration: stock.adobe.com

How it works:

Step 1: Think of a place that you know well. (Example: your living room).
Step 2: Visualize your way around the room or set a specific order that is easy to remember. (Example: first the fruit bowl, then the bookshelf, the sofa, the plant, the lamp, etc.). Set as many stations as the number of terms or numbers you want to learn.
Step 3: Choose the first term and say it out loud. Now it’s time for some word association! What word do you associate with the term? It’s best to come up with unusual associations. (Example: If you have to learn the Spanish word for ‘dog’, i.e. ‘perro’, the keyword could be ‘pear’, which you could associate with the following: ‘The naughty dog stole a pear’).
Step 4: Now place the association at the first station in the room and visualize the situation. (Example: The naughty dog stole a pear from the fruit bowl on the living room table while his owners were away.)
Step 5: Repeat this method for all other terms you want to learn.
Step 6: Now retrace your steps around the room to learn the terms – you might like to do this 10 minutes later, 24 hours later, one week later and a few days before the examination. This method will make it easier for you to memorize lots of information by engaging different senses and giving your revision more structure.

Arbeitsblatt Method of lociExternal linkde
We provide you a worksheet that summarizes the Method of loci.

Seminar papers: writing tips

TEXT STRUCTURE

Create an outline for your academic paper. A mind map may help to organize your thoughts. Now jot down three sentences for each part of the outline to summarize the core ideas. Read through what you have written and check for any holes or inconsistencies in your structure.

WRITER’S BLOCK

Get to the bottom of your problem: Are you struggling to relate to the topic? Are the requirements unclear? Or is it the fear of failure? If you can’t make any progress at all, do something else for the time being. For example, keep reading up on the topic until you feel the urge to write. Plan your work in stages and remember that you can always revise your text at the end.

ADVICE AND SUPPORT

Take advantage of the advice and support offered by the Writing Centre at the University of Jena de. Students from all degree programmes can go there. You will also find an extensive collection of materials with writing tips on the website. You can learn more here de.

Tips and materials from the Writing Centre de

What type of writer are you?

Four different types of writer
Picture: Sophie Bartholome

_Quelle:_{Writing Centre (Schreibenlernen)}

PLANNER

Before you start writing a text, you like to draw up a plan. You think carefully about your content and structure before the writing process actually begins.

Tip: Don’t be scared of a little spontaneity: Practise free writing, carry a notebook with you, express your ideas and impressions.

FREE SPIRIT

You write a diary, enjoy direct messaging and tend to produce texts quickly and easily. New ideas for content and structure usually arise during the writing process.

Tip: Develop more structured methods, create mind maps, maintain an overview of your content, keep the actual topic in mind, don’t lose sight of your objective.

TINKERER

Each of your texts remains a draft for a long time. You revise your introductions and individual passages or sometimes even rewrite them completely (several times).

Tip: Summarize your ideas as a guide, realize the objective of your text, determine and define your goal.

PATCHWORK WRITER

You write completely different passages at the same time. You often interrupt the writing process to look something up or jump to parts of the text that are easier for you.

Tip: Summarize your ideas, develop more structured methods, create mind maps, maintain an overview of your content.

Questionnaire: What type of writer am I?pdf, 67 kb · de

Additional information

Central Student Advisory Service

University Main Building / SSZ
Fürstengraben 1
07743 Jena Google Maps site planExternal link

Office hours:
We offer consultations in person, by telephone, and via Zoom. You can make an appointment by calling us on +49 3641 9-411111 (Mondays to Fridays from 9:00 to 11:00) or outside these office hours on +49 3641 9-411200. You can also use our remote help desk.

Consultation hours:
Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays (9:00 to 12:20), Tuesdays (14:00 to 18:00), and Wednesdays and Thursdays (14:00 to 16:00).

Video chat: Zoom – Video chat Videochat ZeitenMondays to Fridays (12:30 to 13:00) Password ZSB2020 Data protection informationpdf, 101 kb