Don't Panic! There's Online Help for Studying, Test-taking

Midterms already? But we just got here! If the realities of student life are just now sinking in, perhaps it's time for a review of good study habits and test-taking skills.

The Study Guides and Strategies Web site at http://www.iss.stthomas.edu/studyguides/index.htm is an excellent compilation of advice and guidance on a variety of topics, including tips for better learning, classroom participation, studying and test preparation.

The "Preparing to Learn" section discusses self-awareness, as well as such practical matters as effective study habits, managing your time, setting goals and coping with stress.

Under "Participating in the Classroom" are links to pages about class preparation, how to take notes, contributing to discussions and making presentations.

"Studying" covers how to think critically, memorize and organize effectively and avoid procrastination.

"Testing Skills" discusses ways to reduce anxiety, as well as how to prepare for and take exams. Much of it is common sense, but sometimes even that becomes elusive when the academic pace seems to quicken.

That's when this well-designed Web site from the Learning Center at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn., will seem most useful and help to put matters into perspective. It's aimed at college students, but high schoolers and adults can find sensible information about real-life skills, too.

There are numerous pages devoted to writing and reading skills, plus a section entitled "Webtruth," which deals with the increasingly important issues of evaluating and understanding Web sites. Hundreds of links to useful resources from publishers and other universities lead in many wise and diverse directions, but there's a search feature that allows you to seek keywords with Boolean efficiency.

And, if that isn't help enough, the material on the site has been translated into several foreign languages, including German, French, Italian, Ganda, Russian, Chinese, Arabic and Turkish.

For help with connecting to the World Wide Web, contact the CIT Help Desk at 645-3542.

-Will Hepfer and Nancy Schiller, University Libraries