The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB®) has compiled a list of the 10 vehicles most frequently reported stolen in the U.S. in 2005.
1991 Honda Accord
1995 Honda Civic
1989 Toyota Camry
1994 Dodge Caravan
1994 Nissan Sentra
1997 Ford F150 Series
1990 Acura Integra
1986 Toyota Pickup
1993 Saturn SL
2004 Dodge Ram Pickup
Source: National Insurance Crime Bureau. Hot Wheels: Do You Know Where Your Car Is? (November 1, 2006)
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the Highway Loss Data Institute, the 2003-05 model Cadillac Escalade EXT and Cadillac Escalade 4dr have theft claim rates seven to eight times the average for all cars.
Highest Theft Claim Frequencies, 2003-05 Model Passenger Vehicles:
Cadillac Escalade EXT 4dr 4WD
Cadillac Escalade 4dr
GMC Savana 1500 cargo
Dodge Ram 1500 quad
Which newer cars are stolen the least?
Lowest Theft Claim Frequencies, 2003-05 Model Passenger Vehicles:
Ford Taurus
Pontiac Vibe 4WD
Buick LeSabre
Buick Park Avenue 4dr
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
7 Ways To Make a Great First Impression
When you have an important event to attend there are 7 great ways to make sure you perform at your very best. These tips are relevant for social events and business meetings. Discover how to communicate with confidence while making great conversation.
1.
Decide what you want to say before the event. Review it in your mind to make sure it sounds okay. Keep rehearsing it until you can say it with conviction and confidence.
2.
Consider your potential listeners. Who will you be talking to and which topics of conversation will be welcome? You need to make sure your message matches your audience.
3.
Be yourself. The worst mistake is to pretend you are something you are not. People will see through you and distrust everything you say. Even if you communicate clearly and with confidence.
4.
Never expect things to work out perfectly. Be ready to deal with problems by deciding in advance what you will do. What will you do if people ignore your input? Now is the time to decide and not later on in the heat of the moment.
5.
Be flexible in your approach. Different people need to be treated differently. Pay very close attention to how people respond to what you say and keep adjusting your approach until you have a good rapport with your listener.
6.
Make the other person the focus of your attention and let him lead the conversation in the early stages. Let that person steer the conversation onto topics that are of interest to him.
7.
Anticipate what could go wrong. Then do what you can to make sure those scenarios do not occur. Adequate planning is the key to performing at your best in the moment.
1.
Decide what you want to say before the event. Review it in your mind to make sure it sounds okay. Keep rehearsing it until you can say it with conviction and confidence.
2.
Consider your potential listeners. Who will you be talking to and which topics of conversation will be welcome? You need to make sure your message matches your audience.
3.
Be yourself. The worst mistake is to pretend you are something you are not. People will see through you and distrust everything you say. Even if you communicate clearly and with confidence.
4.
Never expect things to work out perfectly. Be ready to deal with problems by deciding in advance what you will do. What will you do if people ignore your input? Now is the time to decide and not later on in the heat of the moment.
5.
Be flexible in your approach. Different people need to be treated differently. Pay very close attention to how people respond to what you say and keep adjusting your approach until you have a good rapport with your listener.
6.
Make the other person the focus of your attention and let him lead the conversation in the early stages. Let that person steer the conversation onto topics that are of interest to him.
7.
Anticipate what could go wrong. Then do what you can to make sure those scenarios do not occur. Adequate planning is the key to performing at your best in the moment.
Ten Tips You Need to Survive College
1. If you haven't already registered, try not to schedule back to back classes. You'll wear yourself out besides missing the best times to study--right before and right after class.
2. Begin the first day of class. Know what's expected of you Take notes from the first day even if it's routine stuff you think you already know.
3. Establish a routine time to study for each class. For every hour you spend in class, you will probably need to study two hours outside class. Studying for each subject should be at the same time, same place, if possible. Study includes more than just doing your homework. You will need to go over your notes from by class, labeling, editing, and making sure you understand them. Study your syllabus daily to see where you are going and where you have been. Be sure to do reading assignments. (Don't put them off just because there's not a written assignment.) Read ahead whenever possible. Prepare for each class as if there will be a pop quiz.
4. Establish a place to study. Your place should have a desk, comfortable chair, good lighting, all the supplies you need, etc., and of course, should be as free of distractions as possible. It should not be a place where you routinely do other things. It should your study place.
5. Do as much of your studying in the daytime as you can. What takes you an hour to do during the day may take you an hour and a half at night.
6. Schedule breaks. Take a ten minute break after every hour of study. If possible, avoid long blocks of time for studying. Spread out several short study sessions during the day.
7. Make use of study resources on campus. Find out about and use labs, tutors, videos, computer programs, and alternate texts. Sign up for an orientation session in the campus library and computer facilities. Get to know your professors and advisors. Ask questions. "I didn't know," or "I didn't understand" is never an excuse.
8. Find at least one or two students in each class to study with. Studies show that students who study with someone routinely make better grades. You will probably find yourself more motivated if you know someone else cares about what you are doing in the class. Teaching a concept or new idea to someone else is a sure way for you to understand it. Studying in a group or with a partner can sometimes become too social. It is important to stay focused.
9. Study the hardest subject first. Work on your hardest subjects at a time when you are fresh. Putting them off until you're tired compounds the problem.
10. Be good to yourself. Studying on four hours of sleep and an empty stomach or junk-food diet is a waste of time. Avoid food and drink containing caffeine just before or just after studying.
2. Begin the first day of class. Know what's expected of you Take notes from the first day even if it's routine stuff you think you already know.
3. Establish a routine time to study for each class. For every hour you spend in class, you will probably need to study two hours outside class. Studying for each subject should be at the same time, same place, if possible. Study includes more than just doing your homework. You will need to go over your notes from by class, labeling, editing, and making sure you understand them. Study your syllabus daily to see where you are going and where you have been. Be sure to do reading assignments. (Don't put them off just because there's not a written assignment.) Read ahead whenever possible. Prepare for each class as if there will be a pop quiz.
4. Establish a place to study. Your place should have a desk, comfortable chair, good lighting, all the supplies you need, etc., and of course, should be as free of distractions as possible. It should not be a place where you routinely do other things. It should your study place.
5. Do as much of your studying in the daytime as you can. What takes you an hour to do during the day may take you an hour and a half at night.
6. Schedule breaks. Take a ten minute break after every hour of study. If possible, avoid long blocks of time for studying. Spread out several short study sessions during the day.
7. Make use of study resources on campus. Find out about and use labs, tutors, videos, computer programs, and alternate texts. Sign up for an orientation session in the campus library and computer facilities. Get to know your professors and advisors. Ask questions. "I didn't know," or "I didn't understand" is never an excuse.
8. Find at least one or two students in each class to study with. Studies show that students who study with someone routinely make better grades. You will probably find yourself more motivated if you know someone else cares about what you are doing in the class. Teaching a concept or new idea to someone else is a sure way for you to understand it. Studying in a group or with a partner can sometimes become too social. It is important to stay focused.
9. Study the hardest subject first. Work on your hardest subjects at a time when you are fresh. Putting them off until you're tired compounds the problem.
10. Be good to yourself. Studying on four hours of sleep and an empty stomach or junk-food diet is a waste of time. Avoid food and drink containing caffeine just before or just after studying.
10 skills job-hunting graduates need to learn.....
The job market, for young graduates, has never been better. There are opportunities galore in booming service sectors like BPO, retail and hospitality. Most of these jobs are customer centric and call for certain unique skill sets. BPOs and multiplexes hire fresh graduates as customer service/sales executives, while retail stores look for shop floor executives, supervisors and managers.
"The job market is currently demand driven and youngsters with good communication skills and a positive attitude will be spoilt for choices," says Prashant Kuruvilla, VP (HR) at Delhi based E-soft Technologies. So, if you are a fresh graduate looking to make a career in the service industry, here are the 10 key customer service skills you must brush up on.
1) Language skills:
Good communication is the lifeblood of the service industry and it is important that your language be devoid of grammatical errors. While we have all learnt the basics of grammar, the most important attributes in spoken English are sentence construction (your ability to form meaningful sentences) and word order (ability to use the right words as per the context). Speak to people in English as far as possible and watch English news channels and sit-coms. The objective here is to develop conversational skills.
2) Vocabulary:
You need to have the words in your vocabulary to tackle all kinds of challenging communication and customer service scenarios. You should be able to demonstrate a satisfactory use of word choice so your customer maintains confidence in your skill sets. Follow the TIS rule (Think it, Ink it, Sink it). When you come across a new word, make a note of it in your personal diary and read it out loud at least three times.
3) Pronunciation:
You need to speak with clear pronunciation and diction so it does not interfere with overall communication with a customer. Institutes like the British Council offer courses in communication skills for call centres and service oriented jobs. These programmes also help you to neutralise your accent and sound more professional.
4) Tone:
It is important to speak with an upbeat, positive tone that reflects empathy and concern for your customer.This enables you to connect with
customers and colleagues and also build long lasting relationships. Negative emotions like anger, sarcasm, impatience, etc. can easily be communicated through your tone, so it is important to focus it.
5) Listening, a must:
Good listening skills will help you understand the main ideas of the person you are communicating with. It also enables you to understand the specifics of a particular situation you could be dealing with. Good listening skills will also ensure that you provide appropriate answers to customers' questions and understand the emotional clues he or she may drop.
6) Problem solving :
You should be committed and have a sincere desire to solve a customer's problems. Your ability to ask the right kind of questions will be a key factor in providing an effective solution. You also need to prioritise your time and understand a customer's needs and wants.
7) Flexibility :
You must be able to adapt to a customer's unique needs and changing circumstances. Be open to change, be willing to take the customer's feedback and act on it. Being flexible also helps you identify new business opportunities and generate more sales for your organisation.
8) Initiative and proactiveness :
It is important to anticipate a customer's problems.
Apologise and correct a mistake rather than hide behind the company's policies. Walking the extra mile for a customer will cement the relationship and lead to repeat business.
9) Professionalism :
You need to be friendly and courteous, yet professional. Being direct and expressive helps you build a strong relationship with the customer. Conveying respect for the customer, team members, company and competitors is also important, as this demonstrates confidence in self and the organisation. A professional attitude will leave the customer with a positive feeling.
10) Task orientation :
As a customer service professional, it is important to strike a balance between the job at hand and relationship / rapport building activities. While you need to engage in building a positive relationship with the customer, you must keep issue resolution and meeting targets as the top priority. "Most tele-sales consultants keep sweet talking with customers without asking for the order (closing the sale). This is ineffective as the objective of the organisation is also to generate sales and profits," says Kanishka Malhotra, Managing Partner at Hotel Solutions India, New Delhi.
Brush up on these skills and success will definitely be a lot easier to come by.
The author is a corporate training consultant based in New Delhi.
Above all, do your homework well. Analyse yourself properly and you can convert a SWOT analysis discussion in the interview into a positive conversation.
"The job market is currently demand driven and youngsters with good communication skills and a positive attitude will be spoilt for choices," says Prashant Kuruvilla, VP (HR) at Delhi based E-soft Technologies. So, if you are a fresh graduate looking to make a career in the service industry, here are the 10 key customer service skills you must brush up on.
1) Language skills:
Good communication is the lifeblood of the service industry and it is important that your language be devoid of grammatical errors. While we have all learnt the basics of grammar, the most important attributes in spoken English are sentence construction (your ability to form meaningful sentences) and word order (ability to use the right words as per the context). Speak to people in English as far as possible and watch English news channels and sit-coms. The objective here is to develop conversational skills.
2) Vocabulary:
You need to have the words in your vocabulary to tackle all kinds of challenging communication and customer service scenarios. You should be able to demonstrate a satisfactory use of word choice so your customer maintains confidence in your skill sets. Follow the TIS rule (Think it, Ink it, Sink it). When you come across a new word, make a note of it in your personal diary and read it out loud at least three times.
3) Pronunciation:
You need to speak with clear pronunciation and diction so it does not interfere with overall communication with a customer. Institutes like the British Council offer courses in communication skills for call centres and service oriented jobs. These programmes also help you to neutralise your accent and sound more professional.
4) Tone:
It is important to speak with an upbeat, positive tone that reflects empathy and concern for your customer.This enables you to connect with
customers and colleagues and also build long lasting relationships. Negative emotions like anger, sarcasm, impatience, etc. can easily be communicated through your tone, so it is important to focus it.
5) Listening, a must:
Good listening skills will help you understand the main ideas of the person you are communicating with. It also enables you to understand the specifics of a particular situation you could be dealing with. Good listening skills will also ensure that you provide appropriate answers to customers' questions and understand the emotional clues he or she may drop.
6) Problem solving :
You should be committed and have a sincere desire to solve a customer's problems. Your ability to ask the right kind of questions will be a key factor in providing an effective solution. You also need to prioritise your time and understand a customer's needs and wants.
7) Flexibility :
You must be able to adapt to a customer's unique needs and changing circumstances. Be open to change, be willing to take the customer's feedback and act on it. Being flexible also helps you identify new business opportunities and generate more sales for your organisation.
8) Initiative and proactiveness :
It is important to anticipate a customer's problems.
Apologise and correct a mistake rather than hide behind the company's policies. Walking the extra mile for a customer will cement the relationship and lead to repeat business.
9) Professionalism :
You need to be friendly and courteous, yet professional. Being direct and expressive helps you build a strong relationship with the customer. Conveying respect for the customer, team members, company and competitors is also important, as this demonstrates confidence in self and the organisation. A professional attitude will leave the customer with a positive feeling.
10) Task orientation :
As a customer service professional, it is important to strike a balance between the job at hand and relationship / rapport building activities. While you need to engage in building a positive relationship with the customer, you must keep issue resolution and meeting targets as the top priority. "Most tele-sales consultants keep sweet talking with customers without asking for the order (closing the sale). This is ineffective as the objective of the organisation is also to generate sales and profits," says Kanishka Malhotra, Managing Partner at Hotel Solutions India, New Delhi.
Brush up on these skills and success will definitely be a lot easier to come by.
The author is a corporate training consultant based in New Delhi.
Above all, do your homework well. Analyse yourself properly and you can convert a SWOT analysis discussion in the interview into a positive conversation.
10 Tips to improve your CV
Your CV is often the first sight an employer gets of you. Here are ten tips to improve the impression recruiters get of you:
1. Whatever the layout, a CV should look well designed. Print it with a laser-printed on fresh, good quality paper.
2. Keep your CV to 2 sides in length, with each side on a fresh sheet of paper.
3. Most CVs will be photocopied, so use black type on white A4 paper.
4. Background shading behind blocks of text often comes out blotchy when photocopied. Ditch the blocks and let your words do the talking.
5. If you are thinking about using coloured paper, forget it.
6. Graphics can be a nice addition; however, they can also be dreadful. Maybe a professional-looking business head shot of you is enough. Save the Clip Art for your granny.
7. Use the same paper for your covering letter as you use for your CV and put them in a large envelope.
8. Don’t put your CV in a separate presentation folder. It will be circulated and copied, most probably.
9. Avoid the temptation to do something freaky or weird with the layout/paper of your C —unless you’re applying for a job in the ad industry.
10.Remember to put your name on each page!
1. Whatever the layout, a CV should look well designed. Print it with a laser-printed on fresh, good quality paper.
2. Keep your CV to 2 sides in length, with each side on a fresh sheet of paper.
3. Most CVs will be photocopied, so use black type on white A4 paper.
4. Background shading behind blocks of text often comes out blotchy when photocopied. Ditch the blocks and let your words do the talking.
5. If you are thinking about using coloured paper, forget it.
6. Graphics can be a nice addition; however, they can also be dreadful. Maybe a professional-looking business head shot of you is enough. Save the Clip Art for your granny.
7. Use the same paper for your covering letter as you use for your CV and put them in a large envelope.
8. Don’t put your CV in a separate presentation folder. It will be circulated and copied, most probably.
9. Avoid the temptation to do something freaky or weird with the layout/paper of your C —unless you’re applying for a job in the ad industry.
10.Remember to put your name on each page!
How To Improve Your Study Habits and Remember Better
If you're a student attending classes, you have probably experienced many moments when it was hard to make yourself settle down and study, even when an important exam was coming up.
If you're like most students, you put off studying until the very last minute. The night before the exam, you'll stay up all night cramming, getting little or no sleep. In the morning, you'll drag yourself out of bed, psych yourself up with lots of coffee and some cigarettes, and go into the exam feeling exhausted, drained and jittery all at the same time. You'll find it hard to focus or think, and you'll be cursing yourself for not starting to study sooner.
And not surprisingly, unless you're blessed with natural brilliance, or you happen to know the subject matter extremely well, you'll probably do terribly on the test.
If this is your typical method of studying, you already know it doesn't work. Every time you go through this ritual, you tell yourself that you're going to smarten up the next time you face a big exam. Next time you'll start to study weeks in advance, you say. But instead, you keep repeating this crazy pattern. Why does this keep happening? And what should you be doing instead if you want to get better marks?
A big problem for most people, especially those who are young students, is that life gets in the way. If you're a student, you probably have a part time job, and like most young people, you also want to have a social life.
Studying can seem very boring compared to all the exciting temptations just outside your door. Or the games on your computer. Even watching old reruns of Sesame Street can seem more interesting than the biology text your teacher is expecting you to master!
One reason we often don't start studying until the last possible minute is that we have misjudged how long it will actually take us to absorb and understand the material. If your mid-term is still six weeks away, that might seem like plenty of time left before you need to get around to studying. You might find however, that the subject matter is a lot harder to understand than you thought it would be, and all of a sudden there's no time left to ask someone to explain it to you.
Another reason we often put off starting to study is that we are too overwhelmed with how big the project actually seems to be. Somehow we convince ourselves that putting off a tough study project can be the best way to avoid feeling overwhelmed by it.
When we are faced with a study project that seems exceptionally difficult and overwhelming, it can be to maintain a high level of interest and motivation for the duration of the learning process.
If you have been guilty of all these bad study habits, it's not too late to learn some other habits that will work better for you.
First, remind yourself why you want to do better in your studies. Maybe you need a good mark to get into a good college. Maybe you want a chance at a career that will pay you well. Always keep your end goal in mind.
You can put little cards up around your room with inspirational messages, and attractive photographs that will remind you why you want to do well in school.
If you feel very overwhelmed, you can improve your motivation and your performance by breaking up the project into smaller sections, or “chunks”. Each time you accomplish one little bit successfully, give yourself a meaningful reward.
If you have a deadline looming, decide how much of the project you need to tackle at one time.
Let's say you have six weeks to master the content of a difficult biology text. Looking through the book you realize that if you study one chapter each night, you can get through the book in 28 days, leaving two weeks in which you can again review the material.
With this knowledge you can pace yourself. You know what your assignment is. You know how much you need to read every night. Concentrate on the immediate task at hand. You don't need to feel overwhelmed by the entire book at one time. Next, work out a system of rewards for yourself. Give yourself a series of small rewards each time you master one chapter, and a larger reward for completing the entire book.
For rewards to work they must be immediate, and personally meaningful to you. There is no point in rewarding yourself with a new fishing rod if you hate fishing.
Rewards don't need to be material objects if there is something else that would really motivate and inspire you. How about attending a special concert, or taking a special trip? You decide. Get creative and think of something that will spur you to take action.
It's very important that the reward take place soon after the work has been accomplished. This creates a sense of positive reinforcement. Give yourself a small reward every time you finish a small part of the job, and a bigger reward when the project is completed. If there is too long a gap between the activity and the reward, it will not have the effect of reinforcing the desired activity.
Besides motivating yourself with a series of external rewards, learn to motivate yourself internally. Tell yourself you're a good learner. Tell yourself you enjoy learning. Tell yourself you enjoy giving your brain a good work out. Congratulate yourself for your efforts. Tell yourself you love acquiring new knowledge, and let yourself feel a joy in learning. Be proud of yourself for the work you do to gain more knowledge.
For information to sink into your brain and be accessible to you, you need to review it several times, and your brain needs to sleep properly for the memories to be encoded in your neurons. You need to reduce your mental stress. Your brain needs good nutrition and it needs to be in a peaceful, confident state. Drugs and alcohol don't help the process of learning.
Write out what you are learning in your own words, and find a learning buddy. Practice explaining to someone else what you have learned. This will increase the likelihood that your brain will remember it.
If you start to cram the night before, you are putting your brain at a big disadvantage.
You're increasing your physical and mental stress, and you're not giving yourself time to review the material several times. By cutting back on your sleep, you're not giving your brain a chance to put the information you've been studying into the hard drive storage of your brain.
By starting your studies early, and reviewing what you've learned, you have a much better chance of remembering and understanding what you need to know when you face a big exam.
If you're like most students, you put off studying until the very last minute. The night before the exam, you'll stay up all night cramming, getting little or no sleep. In the morning, you'll drag yourself out of bed, psych yourself up with lots of coffee and some cigarettes, and go into the exam feeling exhausted, drained and jittery all at the same time. You'll find it hard to focus or think, and you'll be cursing yourself for not starting to study sooner.
And not surprisingly, unless you're blessed with natural brilliance, or you happen to know the subject matter extremely well, you'll probably do terribly on the test.
If this is your typical method of studying, you already know it doesn't work. Every time you go through this ritual, you tell yourself that you're going to smarten up the next time you face a big exam. Next time you'll start to study weeks in advance, you say. But instead, you keep repeating this crazy pattern. Why does this keep happening? And what should you be doing instead if you want to get better marks?
A big problem for most people, especially those who are young students, is that life gets in the way. If you're a student, you probably have a part time job, and like most young people, you also want to have a social life.
Studying can seem very boring compared to all the exciting temptations just outside your door. Or the games on your computer. Even watching old reruns of Sesame Street can seem more interesting than the biology text your teacher is expecting you to master!
One reason we often don't start studying until the last possible minute is that we have misjudged how long it will actually take us to absorb and understand the material. If your mid-term is still six weeks away, that might seem like plenty of time left before you need to get around to studying. You might find however, that the subject matter is a lot harder to understand than you thought it would be, and all of a sudden there's no time left to ask someone to explain it to you.
Another reason we often put off starting to study is that we are too overwhelmed with how big the project actually seems to be. Somehow we convince ourselves that putting off a tough study project can be the best way to avoid feeling overwhelmed by it.
When we are faced with a study project that seems exceptionally difficult and overwhelming, it can be to maintain a high level of interest and motivation for the duration of the learning process.
If you have been guilty of all these bad study habits, it's not too late to learn some other habits that will work better for you.
First, remind yourself why you want to do better in your studies. Maybe you need a good mark to get into a good college. Maybe you want a chance at a career that will pay you well. Always keep your end goal in mind.
You can put little cards up around your room with inspirational messages, and attractive photographs that will remind you why you want to do well in school.
If you feel very overwhelmed, you can improve your motivation and your performance by breaking up the project into smaller sections, or “chunks”. Each time you accomplish one little bit successfully, give yourself a meaningful reward.
If you have a deadline looming, decide how much of the project you need to tackle at one time.
Let's say you have six weeks to master the content of a difficult biology text. Looking through the book you realize that if you study one chapter each night, you can get through the book in 28 days, leaving two weeks in which you can again review the material.
With this knowledge you can pace yourself. You know what your assignment is. You know how much you need to read every night. Concentrate on the immediate task at hand. You don't need to feel overwhelmed by the entire book at one time. Next, work out a system of rewards for yourself. Give yourself a series of small rewards each time you master one chapter, and a larger reward for completing the entire book.
For rewards to work they must be immediate, and personally meaningful to you. There is no point in rewarding yourself with a new fishing rod if you hate fishing.
Rewards don't need to be material objects if there is something else that would really motivate and inspire you. How about attending a special concert, or taking a special trip? You decide. Get creative and think of something that will spur you to take action.
It's very important that the reward take place soon after the work has been accomplished. This creates a sense of positive reinforcement. Give yourself a small reward every time you finish a small part of the job, and a bigger reward when the project is completed. If there is too long a gap between the activity and the reward, it will not have the effect of reinforcing the desired activity.
Besides motivating yourself with a series of external rewards, learn to motivate yourself internally. Tell yourself you're a good learner. Tell yourself you enjoy learning. Tell yourself you enjoy giving your brain a good work out. Congratulate yourself for your efforts. Tell yourself you love acquiring new knowledge, and let yourself feel a joy in learning. Be proud of yourself for the work you do to gain more knowledge.
For information to sink into your brain and be accessible to you, you need to review it several times, and your brain needs to sleep properly for the memories to be encoded in your neurons. You need to reduce your mental stress. Your brain needs good nutrition and it needs to be in a peaceful, confident state. Drugs and alcohol don't help the process of learning.
Write out what you are learning in your own words, and find a learning buddy. Practice explaining to someone else what you have learned. This will increase the likelihood that your brain will remember it.
If you start to cram the night before, you are putting your brain at a big disadvantage.
You're increasing your physical and mental stress, and you're not giving yourself time to review the material several times. By cutting back on your sleep, you're not giving your brain a chance to put the information you've been studying into the hard drive storage of your brain.
By starting your studies early, and reviewing what you've learned, you have a much better chance of remembering and understanding what you need to know when you face a big exam.
A Strategy for Reading Textbooks
SQRW is a four-step strategy for reading and taking notes from chapters in a textbook. Each letter stands for one step in the strategy. Using SQRW will help you to understand what you read and to prepare a written record of what you learned. The written record will be valuable when you have to participate in a class discussion and again when you study for a test. Read to learn what to do for each step in SQRW.
Survey.
Surveying brings to mind what you already know about the topic of a chapter and prepares you for learning more. To survey a chapter, read the title, introduction, headings, and the summary or conclusion. Also, examine all visuals such as pictures, tables, maps, and/or graphs and read the caption that goes with each. By surveying a chapter, you will quickly learn what the chapter is about.
Question.
You need to have questions in your mind as you read. Questions give you a purpose for reading and help you stay focused on the reading assignment. Form questions by changing each chapter heading into a question. Use the words who, what, when, where, why, or how to form questions. For example, for the heading "Uses of Electricity" in a chapter about how science improves lives, you might form the question "What are some uses of electricity?" If a heading is stated as a question, use that question. When a heading contains more than one idea, form a question for each idea. Do not form questions for the Introduction, Summary, or Conclusion.
Read.
Read the information that follows each heading to find the answer to each question you formed. As you do this, you may decide you need to change a question or turn it into several questions to be answered. Stay focused and flexible so you can gather as much information as you need to answer each question.
Write.
Write each question and its answer in your notebook. Reread each of your written answers to be sure each answer is legible and contains all the important information needed to answer the question.
As you practice using SQRW, you will find you learn more and have good study notes to use to prepare for class participation and tests.
HINT: Once you complete the Survey step for the entire chapter, complete the Question, Read, and Write steps for the first heading. Then complete the Question, Read, and Write steps for the second heading, and so on for the remaining headings in the chapter.
Survey.
Surveying brings to mind what you already know about the topic of a chapter and prepares you for learning more. To survey a chapter, read the title, introduction, headings, and the summary or conclusion. Also, examine all visuals such as pictures, tables, maps, and/or graphs and read the caption that goes with each. By surveying a chapter, you will quickly learn what the chapter is about.
Question.
You need to have questions in your mind as you read. Questions give you a purpose for reading and help you stay focused on the reading assignment. Form questions by changing each chapter heading into a question. Use the words who, what, when, where, why, or how to form questions. For example, for the heading "Uses of Electricity" in a chapter about how science improves lives, you might form the question "What are some uses of electricity?" If a heading is stated as a question, use that question. When a heading contains more than one idea, form a question for each idea. Do not form questions for the Introduction, Summary, or Conclusion.
Read.
Read the information that follows each heading to find the answer to each question you formed. As you do this, you may decide you need to change a question or turn it into several questions to be answered. Stay focused and flexible so you can gather as much information as you need to answer each question.
Write.
Write each question and its answer in your notebook. Reread each of your written answers to be sure each answer is legible and contains all the important information needed to answer the question.
As you practice using SQRW, you will find you learn more and have good study notes to use to prepare for class participation and tests.
HINT: Once you complete the Survey step for the entire chapter, complete the Question, Read, and Write steps for the first heading. Then complete the Question, Read, and Write steps for the second heading, and so on for the remaining headings in the chapter.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
