Link To My Study Tips Series (strive-for-da-best)

Are the habits you have today on par with the dreams you have for tomorrow?

Something my coach texted me today. She had no idea how much I needed to hear this (via chasingapr)

An example of how I set up my bullet journal - a fancy page with an overview of to do list and column setup for detailed day to day tasks. Read more about how I use bullet journals here!

5 Tips when it comes to Mind Mapping

1) Decide on your paper size Before you start writing anything it’s really important to work out what size paper you want to do your mindmap on. Be it A3, A4, A5 or any other size you can think of, deciding this early on will make things much easier in the long run and leave you with a much more organised mind map

2) Work out the basics Before you actually start writing anything it’s a really good idea to work out the basics of your mind map. What type of bubble do you want the title to be in? Spiky or a cloud or just a plain circle? What kind of lines to you want leading off from it? Arrows or just plain lines? Straight or curved? Taking 30 seconds to work these out before you start will make everything much easier in the long run and leave you with a much neater and better organised mind map

3) Choose what to write with This part is all down to personal preference. Do you prefer writing in a plain colour and then highlighting later? Do you want each section in a different colour? Felt tips or biros? Fineliners or pencils? This is the time when you can think about what you’re most comfortable writing with and what’s going to make it easiest for you to retain the information 

4) Add pictures and diagrams Adding little drawings to aid your explanations is a really great way to help you remember what you write. You don’t have to be good at art to make this work, just add a few little diagrams here and there and you’ll be surprised how much more easily you retain the information

5) Have fun with it You may be looking at a picture of a mind map online and saying to yourself ‘that’s exactly what I want mine to look like’ but in reality that’ll never happen. You’ll never manage to get a mind map that looks exactly the same as someone else’s and in all honesty that would be a bit boring. Instead just get stuck in and create your own unique masterpiece

hey, everyone!! because this community has so much to offer in the way of advice, i decided to compile some of my favorite posts so they’re easily accessible and they can help all of you guys :))

(these are all original content from amazing studyblrs and i claim credit for none)

+general school advice

everything you need masterpost for students

everything you need to succeed in school

things top students do

ultimate school masterpost

university success tips

5 things to do at the end of a semester

+notetaking

a guide to the cornell note-taking system

annotating books

guide to pretty notes

how to effectively take notes

how to take notes

how to take notes from a textbook

mindmaps

notebook organization

notetaking system

notetaking 101

taking lecture notes

tips for notetaking

+organization

how to keep your school bag organized

how to organize

student organization tips

+printables

form your habits

printables masterlist

5 page study & revision planner

+studying

all-nighters

behind in school? get back on track in one day

exam masterpost

finals week masterpost

finals week masterpost 2

find your study spot

guide to happy(ish) revision

guide to kicking booty on exams

homemade textbook studying

homework completion tips

how to go through your readings

how to highlight

how to study

how to study (from the lazy perspective)

lazy study tips

online tools for studying

secret study tips

study tips for auditory, visual, and tactile learners

study tips masterpost

study tips review

study tips to actually get shit done

the 5-day study plan

tips on staying focused

5 things to do the morning of an exam

8 tips on getting started

2015 uni study tips

+supplies/stationery

journal & planner masterpost

journal/sketchbook resource masterpost

supply masterlist w/ reviews

another supply masterlist

studyblr alternatives (inexpensive stationery)

7 school supplies that make studying easier

+time management & productivity

how to beat laziness

how to manage time through post-it notes

how to stick to your schedule

productivity tips

time + task management

timeful

the science of procrastination and how to beat it

+writing

how to actually write an essay in an actual nutshell

how to: lab report

how to organize essay notes

how to plan and write literature papers

how to write an essay

+self-care

getting a good night’s sleep

how to relax before studying

5 things to do to enjoy life

+misc

friendly reminders

how to learn languages

exams masterpost

aka another post for my biology discussion board

studying for exams

last minute tips

exam prep tips

study-escapade’s tips

tips for exam preparation

study tips before exams

studying for exams that are close together

how to revise for exams

how to make a study plan

studying the week before an exam

surviving finals week

ap exam tips

a complete exam study guide

dealing with stress

staying healthy during exams

managing stress during exam season

self care during exams

managing exam anxiety

tips for exam motivation

reminders

the night before an exam + 

a finals survival guide

surviving finals with mental illness

more posts

aquajoggers’s post

another exams masterpost

exam resource masterpost

exam tips

Live. на We Heart It.

(inspired by this post)

this is a mix of prompts to reflect on 2015 and prompts to look forward to and plan for 2016. feel free to add more to the list! here’s to another year of journaling. happy new year!

biggest events in your life in 2015

things to look forward to in 2016

things you learned in 2015

things you learned about yourself in 2015

health goals and health plan for 2016

a bucket list of things you want to learn

things to leave in 2015 - e.g. attitudes, habits, mindsets

things to adopt in 2016 - e.g. habits, mindsets, hobbies, self-improvement

2016 personal goals & philosophy

mental, physical, social, financial, academic, spiritual

2016 goals action plan

things you love about yourself

favorite pictures you took in 2015

favorite drawings of 2015

little things worth getting out of bed for

things worth staying alive for

beautiful moments of 2015 in pics, descriptions, and mementos

list of self-care regimens

places you want to go in 2016

parks, cafes, book stores, stationary stores, art stores, thrift stores, hiking trails, beaches, road trips, museums

review 2015 like a restaurant review - give it a rating out of 5 stars, review the experiences, moods, culture, aesthetic, etc

rate everything from 2015 on a scale of 1 to 10

mental health, physical health, spirituality, social life, sleep, grades, finances, work, relationships, etc

reflect on each rating

events you want to attend in 2016 (concerts, festivals, conventions, etc)

favorite songs of 2015

favorite bands/singers of 2015

new music for 2016

favorite art you discovered in 2015

foods you loved in 2015

foods you want to try in 2016

hobbies you want to try in 2016

activities you want to try in 2016

DIYs you want to try in 2016

list of things to reward yourself with when you’re feeling sad

favorite places you went to in 2015

don’t break the chain habit chart

stationary shopping list

clothes shopping list

room decoration shopping list

things you like to do outside of school and work

songs that make you happy

things worth your time and money

best and worst purchases of 2015

future plans from 2016 onward

news headlines that affected you the most in 2015

things that annoyed you in 2015

things you hope to see happen in the world in 2016

dates in 2015 that you want to remember

Disclaimer: These are online resources that I have found, They are not meant to be your only source of study, instead you can use them to your enhance your normal study. I don’t know what level these resources are aimed at, but I’ve tried to provide a range for a number of different topics.

The Body:

Teeth and Dentition

Take a look inside a cell (with some audio)

Explore human anatomy in 3D

Skeletal System

Muscular system

Cardiovascular system

Digestive system

Endocrine system

Nervous system

Immune/ Lymphatic system

Urinary system

Female reproductive system

Male reproductive system

What we didn’t know about penis anatomy - Ted Talks

Integumentary system

Sensory systems

3D Brain

Brain explorer program

How brains learn to see - Ted Talks

Body parts on a chip - Ted Talks

The real reason for brains - Ted Talks

A look inside the brain in real time - Ted Talks

Cells:

Amazing cells - inside a cell, how vesicles transport, communication during fight or flight, membranes.

Cell size and scale

The evolution of the cell

Interactive cell model 

The inside story of cell communication

Stem cells - cell differentiation, stem cells in use, potential use, stem cell debate.

Cloning

Animals and Plants:

Interactive tree of life

Buds and Twigs  (Background article: Buds and Twigs).

Seeds and Germination (Background article: Seed Structure). 

Vegetative Reproduction (Background article: Vegetative Reproduction).

Vegetative Reproduction - Tropical Examples

Flower Structure

Flower Structure - Tropical Examples

The beautiful tricks of flowers - Ted Talks

Fruit Formation

Fruit Formation - Tropical Examples

Protista 

Insect Life-Cycles 

Insect - Tropical. The Citrus Swallowtail Butterfly, Papilio demodocus 

Insects are awesome! - Ted talks

How a fly flies - Ted Talks

Fish: Characteristics 

Fish: Tilapia 

Amphibia 

Birds 

Fungi 

6 ways mushrooms can save the world - Ted Talks

Animals that amaze - Ted Talks

Humble plants that hide surprising secrets - Ted Talks

Genetics:

Alien population games

Make a Karyotype (game)

Pigeon Breeding: Genetics At Work

The secret of the bat genome - Ted Talks

The hunt for “unexpected genetic heroes” -Ted Talks

What’s a Genome? - An informative overview of genomics presented by the Genome News Network. Topics include: What’s a Genome?, What’s Genome Sequencing? and What’s a Genome Map?

The Animated Genome - A 5 minute film about DNA.

Discovery of DNA - An interactive timeline of scientific discoveries

Heredity

Family Health History

Genetic Traits

Mendelian Inheritance

Mitochondrial Inheritance

Multifactorial Inheritance/Complex Disease

Sexual Heredity vs Asexual Heredity

RNA

Structure of the double helix

Chromosome Map 3D Animation - A 3D animation of a chromosome map

DNA Molecule - How DNA is Packaged - An animation of the packaging of DNA into chromosomes

Introduction to inherited traits

Chromosome and inheritance

Introduction to Medelian genetics

Introduction to pedigrees

Molecular genetics

What is DNA Replication?

Transcription (gene expression)

Translation

Replicating the Helix - A short animation of DNA replication

DNA Replication (Advanced Detail) -  A detailed animation of DNA replication

X or Y: Does it make a difference?

Molecular basis of heredity, Nucleic Acids

Molecular basis of heredity, Genomes

Molecular basis of heredity, Genetic variation

Molecular basis of heredity, gene identification

The DNA Files - A series of 14 one-hour public radio documentaries and related information.

Understanding Gene Testing -  An informative, illustrated tutorial on genes and genetic testing. 

Epigenetics

Genetic science

Evolution:

Genetic Drift

Natural Selection

Origins of Genetic Variation

Health:

Genetic disorders

Pharmacogenomics

Family health history

Gene therapy

Fighting a contagious cancer - Ted Talks

Other:

Biology GCSE & IGCSE Question Bank 

Can Bacteria Be Designed to Create Gasoline?

Model Earth (Ecology)

Extreme Environments: Great Salt Lake

Astrobiology

The Human Microbiome 

The Science of Addiction: Genetics and the Brain

Virtual labs

Biology textbook

Biology Experiments

Where are the baby dinosaurs? - Ted Talks

Digging up dinosaurs - Ted Talks

100 Best (Free) Science Documentaries Online

More Biology documentaries and videos

Ocean wonders -Ted Talks

The sea we’ve hardly seen - Ted Talks

A census of the ocean - Ted Talks

Deep ocean mysteries and wonders - Ted Talks

The weird, wonderful world of bioluminescence - Ted Talks

Online Lessons and Guides:

Chemistry of life

Elements and atoms – elements and atoms, matter, elements and atoms, introduction to the atom, atomic number, atomic mass, and isotopes.

Electron shells and orbitals – orbitals, electronic configuration, valence electrons, groups of the periodic table, the periodic table, electron shells, and orbitals.

Chemical bonds and reactions – ionic, covalent and metallic bonds, electronegativity and bonding, intermolecular forces, chemical bonds, chemical reactions introduction and chemical reactions

Water, Acids and bases:

Hydrogen bonding in water – hydrogen bonding in water, hydrogen bonds in water, water as a solvent, solvent properties of water.

Cohesion And adhesion – capillary action and why we see a meniscus, surface tension, cohesion and adhesion in water

Temperature and state changes in water – LeBron asks why does sweating cool you down, evaporative cooling, heat of vaporisation of water and ethanol, specific heat of water, liquid water denser than ice, specific heat, heat of vaporisation, and density of water

Acids, bases and pH – autoionisation of water, Arrhenius definition of acids and bases, bronsted-Lowry definition of acits and bases, definition of pH, acids bases, pH and buffers

Cellular and molecular biology

Cells – diffusion and osmosis, nucleim membranes, ribosomes, eukaryotws and prokaryotes, endoplasmic reticulum and golgi bodies, chromosomes, chromatids, and chromatin.

Introduction to cell division - Fertilization terminology: gametes, zygotes, haploid and diploid, zygote differentiating into somatic and germ cells

Mitosis – interphase, mitosis, phases of mitosis, mitosis questions.

Meiosis – comparison of mitosis and meiosis, chromosomal crossover in meiosis 1, phases of meiosis 1, phases of meiosis 2.

Stem cells and cancer – embryonic stem cells, cancer.

Cellular respiration – ATP, ATP hydrolysis mechanism, introduction to cellular mechanism, oxidation and reduction review from biological point of view, oxidation and reduction in cellular respiration, glycolysis, krebs cycle, elctron transport chain, oxidative phosphorylation and chemiosmosis.

Photosynthesis – light reactions, photophosphorylation, calvin cycle, photorespiration, C-4 photosynthesis, cam plants

Human Biology:

Circulator and pulmonary systems – the lungs, red blood cells, circulatory system, haemoglobin.

The neuron and nervous system – neuron anatomy, sodium potassium pump, action potentials, salutatory conduction, neuronal synapses.

The kidney and nephron – kidney and nephonr, secondary active transport.

Muscles – myosin and actin, tropomyosin and troponin, role of sarcoplasmic reticulum in muscle cells, anatomy of skeletal muscle fibre.

Immunology – phagocytes, immune responses, b lymphocytes, antigen presenting cells and MHC II complexes, helper T cells, cytotoxic t cells and MHC I complexes, review of cells, inflammatory response.

Heredity and evolution

Evolution and natural selection – introduction, ape clarification, intelligent design and evolution, natural selection and the owl butterfly, variation in a spcies.

Heredity and genetics – introduction, Punnett squares, allele frequency, Hardy Weinberg equation, sex linked traits, DNA, RNA transcription and translation, alleles and genes.

Tree of life – taxonomy and the tree of life, species, bacteria, human prehistory

Crash Course

Biology and ecology – pollution, conservation, ecosystems, nitrogen cycle, history of life on earth, population growth.

(Spotlight Lessons): Ecology

Estimating Population Size – simulate mark and recapture by using small objects to trap and tag.  A simple formula will tell you what the overall population size is which can be verified by counting the objects in the bag.

Owl Pellet Dissection –  owl pellets are undigested bits of fur and bones  that owls regurgitate. Students can examine the contents, reconstruct the skeleton of the prey and make inferences about the owl’s diet.

Interpreting Ecological Data – examine charts, data tables  and graphs to answer questions about population size, growth, and carrying capacity.

Biome Project – as a group, investigate a biome and present to the class the main features, animal and plant species present and general climate.

Isopod Behavior Lab – collect isopods (pillbugs) and design a chamber to test their response to different environments, such as temperature, moisture, and substrate.

not up to buying stabilo or staedtler? restricted access to resources? this post might help!

credit to studyception​ and ray over at fistudy for helping out with this post, because figuring out brands, stores, and prices in america is easier when you have a friend in america to talk to.

** note: i’m an upper class teenager, and i’m not an authority on what is/isn’t cheap. i also haven’t tried all of the things on here.

supplies

walmart has cheap five-star notebooks that are $1-2

at target 1-subject 5-star notebooks are $1.97, 3-subject is $3.87, 5-subject $5/6

also, five-star folders there are ~$2

do not use moleskines, especially if you can’t find them cheap, and i can’t say moleskines are often cheap. they are not worth their price.

a spiral or composition notebook works fine – compositions have sturdier spines, but spirals’ pages are easier to turn or tear out if they’re not perforated, so keep that in mind.

mead composition notebooks at target are $0.50

papermate flair pens can be found at costco, among other places. they’re $12 for a pack of 14 and are quite pretty. also, they’re better quality than stabilo — more ink, bleeds less.

dollar tree. you won’t find anything fancy there, but you don’t need fancy. use dollar tree.

don’t worry about brand names as long as it’s quality. yes, muji is expensive.

don’t buy those sets of 20 colored pens. if you’re into color coding, you need, what, 4-7 colors? three different shades of red isn’t necessary.

or if you don’t want a bunch of colors at all, go with blue and black and maybe a highlighter.

if looking for basic pens with black ink, do not bother with anything fancy just get one of those packs of 10 gel pens that are for like $2 or something (they better have these in the usa)

paperback books are cheaper. just make sure to treat them well.

free sat/ap prep materials here

english class: for finding novels (need that book for english?), tuebl has free epubs, you just need to know how to search it (there’s no viruses, though!). if you can’t read epubs because of the format, then download the epub and convert it to pdf (or another format). if you need a hard copy, book depository can be cheap but isn’t free.

if you need a laptop or tablet cheap, like <$100 cheap, pls try reading this post!!

for color coding, walmart and staples sell sets of four colored pens for $2-3 each

like the kipling 100 case? this is similar and $9 to kipling’s $40

advice

if you have a job or too many activities and get home late, squeeze in studying when you can – breaks between classes, at lunch, whatever you’ve got. if you’ve got a free period, use it. a’s before baes.

also, sometimes overworking yourself is your only option, especially if you’re short on time. do your best to prevent it — remember to eat something, don’t procrastinate, don’t get distracted.

want to use the pomodoro technique for studying, but you don’t have a computer or phone? use any clock you have and mark down the times on a piece of paper

if you want to minimize the amount of supplies: pens. highlighters. paper + cheap notebooks. i don’t recommend much else

workspaces

to be a studyblr, you do not need a pretty workspace (or even have one, use the floor, dinner table, couch, whatever), but if you want one, here’s some cheaper ways of keeping your workspace looking nice!

don’t clutter — put your paper in stacks, and if you have drawers/cabinets, use them

but if you don’t have too many papers put them in folders or binders

if you have boxes small enough to do so but large enough to hold your clutter, put the extra papers + stuff you don’t need often but may need later in the boxes and shove them under the desk.

containers help, esp. for pens, but they cost money. try using cups — the tiny, flimsy disposable ones will tip over for sure, but you can put smaller things like tape or erasers in there. bigger, more stable ones for pens.

want decorations? try making paper flowers [x x x x x] or glitter jars [x x x x x]. put up drawings if you’ve got the space.

buy washi tape if you can use up money on something pointlessly pretty, michael’s has so many varieties, and they’re $1-2 each. target also has some with thicker rolls, but it’s more expensive + less variety. costco has some as well! i’m recommending it for decorating. as far as its function as tape, you can use it as a label, but don’t try to actually hold anything together with it.

don’t like the look of those pen containers? add a strip of washi tape around the brim. put it on boring notebook covers. loop it through some paper clips and use that as bookmarks. you can try this [x] for inspiration, but it’s buzzfeed and i don’t recommend you try to washi tape your car or use it as wallpaper. some other suggestions: [x x x x x x]

(hint: yes, we use filters. photo editing is a thing.)

highlight your notes omg if you want to spend hours rewriting them to look pretty, that’s awesome, but highlighters will work

software

sometimes it’s easier to do things online than wasting paper or notebooks on it! means less stuff to carry around with you, too.

however, not everyone owns a macbook (or even has their own computer), so i tried to post sites that can be accessed across all computers and aren’t mac-only.

here, some websites — wolframalpha and mathway, and you can google some math things!

sparknotes will probably save you at some point

check your writing for things like cliches, passive voice, adverbs, etc, or just for grammar with:

prowritingaid editminion hemingwayapp autocrit spellcheckplus

search engines: ipl, orion’s arm (for science), ecoasia (save trees!), library of congress (about the usa), sweet search

also, if you don’t want to buy a planner/sticky notes/whatever that involves to-do lists, try todoist - available on the web, ios, android, chrome, firefox, windows, and os x / or wunderlist - available on windows, mac, android, iphone, ipad, windows phone, chromebook. i’m fond of both!

create citations with bibme or easybib

need somewhere quiet to study and don’t have much of a workspace? find uncrowded places in your area with avoidhumans

microsoft word costs so much money. use libre office. it’s free and basically the same thing. or try openoffice.

if you need to use public computers (there are probably some at your library or something): get a gmail account and use google chrome. when you’re using it, log into the account. bookmark all the things you need. as long as you log into that account when you get on a computer, those bookmarks will be with you, as well as your browser data/settings.

speaking of syncing across computers, evernote is cool for notetaking & google drive is your friend

other posts

internet resources

if you don’t have much money and you’re getting your first apartment

free online courses

sat help [because expensive prep books/classes, ew]

find cheaper or free textbooks/classics online [2] / but maybe read this post first [warning, all bold]

“i’m so poor because i buy too many books”

cheap online colleges

100 recipes for the starving student / similar: [x x x]

feel free to add onto this post x