Organization

bi·ol·o·gy \bī-ˈä-lə-jē\ noun - the branch of knowledge that deals with living organisms and vital processes

I’ve noticed that there are quite a few younger studyblrs and since biology is usually the first high school science students take, I thought I’d make a post on how to study for it as it is my favorite subject. 

1. Use Diagrams

Biology textbooks are full of diagrams and they’re there for a reason. Always look over the diagrams and copy ones on important topics (e.g. photosynthesis, taxonomy) into your notes.

2. Memorizing & Understanding

I have heard many people say biology is just memorization, but it’s really not that simple. There is a lot of memorization involved for vocabulary and basic information, but biology is also full of processes (e.g. cellular respiration, evolution). You cannot just memorize the steps, you must fully understand what purpose each step serves. Many tests have short answer or essay portions and there’s no way you can answer them by just memorizing the steps of a process without understanding them. I recommend drawing out diagrams and mind maps for understanding processes and cycles as that really helped me. Once you can teach someone else how that process/cycle works, then you really know it.

3. Color code

Color coding is useful for many subjects including biology. Color code your diagrams (it always comes back to the diagrams) and graphs as it makes looking back over your notes much easier and it keeps things organized and easy to study which is important since there are many complicated processes and cycles (e.g. DNA replication, transcription, & translation) that can get confusing if drawn all in one color.

4. Pay attention to labs

You’ll probably do quite a few labs during your time taking biology. Labs serve to let you see concepts in action for yourself which can really aid understanding. Always record data down in your lab notebook and do the conclusion questions. The conclusion questions gauge how well you understand the labs. Most importantly never ever record results you didn’t get. A lot of times (especially in basic high school biology), you will go into a lab with a pretty good idea of what will happen, but if your results don’t match your hypothesis, it’s okay. I remember once I did a lab involving different sugars and enzymes and I was sure of my hypothesis, but my results didn’t match my prediction. After a class discussion, we found out that quite a few other people didn’t get their expected results either and it turns out the enzymes we were using were expired. So if you don’t get the expected results, maybe you did the lab wrong or maybe not, either way don’t fake data, talk to your teacher instead.

5. Learn your word roots

A lot of biology terms (particularly anatomy and biomed) are from Greek and Latin roots. Now you don’t need to go take a Latin class or anything, but look up etymologies and focus on recurring prefixes and suffixes (e.g. hemo-, hypo-, -cyte, -derm) and soon you’ll begin to be able to predict what a term means before looking it up. 

6. Review

A lot of concepts in biology are interconnected and you need to know one topic to understand another. For this reason, always review anything you’re rusty on especially if you plan on taking other biology classes in the future. 

MASTERPOST

Hi! This is going to be pretty long and I have tried my best to cover as much as I could. If there are any specific requests, please message me on my personal blog! (Linked in the description.)

Study stuff

How to make a study schedule 

Daily printable planner (with to-do list)

By the hour detailed planner (printable)

2015 printable calendar

Improve vocabulary in 5 minutes

Cornell note-taking method

More note-taking

10 general study tips

Crash Course

Best damn tutoring

Math tutor

Khan Academy (obvs)

University of reddit

Coursera

edX

Ways to boost your note-taking

Awesome study flowchart

Websites to increase productivity

Get shit done even when you don’t feel like it

How to not freak out during finals

Subject-specific tips:

Square root calculator

Cube root calculator

Oil painting

Reading a painting

Free language tutorials (20 LANGUAGES)

Shakespeare deaths infographic

A HUGE ASS WRITING TIPS MASTERPOST 

Synonyms for commonly used words

Put your feelings into words (I know, I know, it’s complicated. Maybe this will help?)

Common grammar mistakes

More common mistakes (after all, to err is human)

Masterpost with music to influence your writing

Words. You’re welcome.

Try this math game

Wolfram Alpha

Text books are fucking expensive. Go here, okay?

How to not say the word ‘very’

‘Everyday compounds’ infographic

Online courses masterpost (apart from the sites I’ve mentioned)

Nervous system chart

Endocrine system chart

Common pre/post fixes chart for med students

Types of stitches (???)

Learn programming

COLLEGE! 

How to grow the fuck up (masterpost)

How to become an adult (masterpost)

Dorm essentials checklist

THIS DORM CHECKLIST!

What to do with your major

Read this before you join a Sorority/Fraternity 

Deal with a hangover

Food to buy

Fix your leaky faucet

Remove a carpet stain

Organise your closet

More food to buy

WINTER SURVIVAL

FOOD BC WHY NOT

100 Ramen recipes

Triple Chocolate and Salted Caramel Cookies

Really nice recipes. Every hour.

Healthy, but tasty snacks

Apple pie inside a fucking apple

Disney inspired recipes

Deep dish mug cookie

Food hacks

Recreate food porn

More food porn recipes

Some of you have requested that I show you my note taking technique. This is in no way a proven technique, but it really works for me and many of my professors have applauded my structure. So try it, and if you like it and it works for you, great! If not, I commend you on having a more structured system! These are my general rules when I take notes:

1. Leave space. A lot of space. While going through previous notes, whether it be right after class or a month later, I always found that I had information that I wanted to add, and cramped pages never allowed for that. Plus, it’s a bit less daunting on the eyes when there is some room between ideas. I do realize that this is not very eco-friendly, but hey! 

2. Use the margins in a smart way. I have developed a “legend” of symbols to draw in the margins so that when I need a quick scan of what pages in the textbooks I referenced or vocab, I can find what I need easily. It might not seem useful on this one page, but when you have a whole 3″ binder full of notes, it’s a blessing.

3. Write on one side of the page. Again, not a eco-friendly option. However, I’m sure there are those of you (my past self included) who have wished you just had another page to write down book notes or additional thoughts without having to get a fresh paper. This solves that! 

4. Make it pretty later. I know this page is visually appealing, but keep in mind that I was in my nice warm room by myself and listening to music while writing this. My notes straight out of class aren’t color coded and they definitely don’t have cute little decorations on them; just get the information down, worry about aesthetics later.

5. Put yourself in the classroom. You might think: “but I’m physically in the room what the hell are you talking about”. The concept is weird but it works. I always try everything I can to make sure I place as many visual cues in my notes as I can so that when I look back on them later I remember exactly where I was and what was happening. Are you not paying attention and thinking of food? Write it down. Did someone fart? Write it down. Placing yourself in the room is the most beneficial thing you can do for future you.

6. Keep it short. I can’t tell you how many times I freaked out when I first got to college because I was trying to write everything down. I was certain I was going to miss something. WELL HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU. You aren’t going to miss anything if you keep your bullets to a minimum of one sentence. It’s proven that short phrases in your own words help memory better than full sentences that the professor gives you. 

Finally, make it yours. This is a system that works for me because my brain is weird and can’t take notes the Cornell or outline way. The most important thing to learn in school is your own flow of things. Experiment, be creative! I hope I have helped those of you who aren’t traditional learners realize that there isn’t just one way to process information. If any of you have any questions or need specific examples, let me know! (I realize there is a typo on this but hey don’t worry about it) 🙈 

firstly, some general tips from me:

don’t use spark notes/schmoop/other reference sites until AFTER you have read your book and formed your own opinions, because it makes your essays a lot more interesting, which your teacher will appreciate, if everyone is doing the same essay on something! (However, don’t do this if you don’t have time, rely on those sites when you are racing a deadline or juggling tons of stuff ofc)

do the in-class reading beforehand! this sounds so silly, but doing the reading beforehand can help so much if there is an in-class discussion on it after

highlighters (or other writing utensils in various colors) are your best friend when there is an in-class essay! while obviously in general they are great, if you have a few different colors you can quickly mark up the text to find recurring elements and structure essays around that!

look up the social-cultural-historical context of a book! this is super great for reading nonfiction, but also great for most fiction because it allows you to understand the lens the author was writing through and their motive for doing so, which gives you great fodder for discussion if you need to discuss purpose

other useful tips + guides:

mla official formatting

general essay help (basically recipe for a good essay)

SOAPSTone method

words that connote tone

standard themes in literature

i know this isn’t a comprehensive list, but i hope it helps with untangling the mess that is understanding some lit classes!

// not like anybody cares but here’s my summer study notes //

This is how heart works <3 <3 <3

How to mind map.

Note taking masterpost:

An anon requested this today. I though I had already made one, but apparently not.

General note taking and guides:

Combining lecture and reading notes

Resources about making chapter outlines

Recognising key points in a lecture / reading (for efficient note taking)

10 tips for good note taking in lectures

Guide to note taking (the major approaches and techniques)

What to do after you take your notes

Organising a notebook

Taking notes that work (By Dustin Wax)

Top note taking tips

An example of me using cornell notes

Visual / Pretty Notes:

Visual guide to illustrating notes

How to make your notes prettier!

Pros and cons of pretty notes

Guide to colour coding

Guide to my graphic notes

How to make notes cute and neat

Inspiration: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 /

Electronic Note taking:

Guide to taking typed notes

Handwriting versus typing your notes

Organising your typed notes

Note taking apps

if you’re looking for some journal inspiration, i recommend following pepperandtwine on instagram! she posts beautiful journal spreads every day that are just so inspiring and creative❤️

Masterpost

I’ve seen a lot of masterposts lately, but this one is the first I’ve ever done. Feel free to add to it, or make suggests for things I should add. Links will be under certain categories, so feel free to skip to the one you feel like you need. If you see something you posted and you’d like me to take it off, please let me know.

Study Tricks/Tips/Advice

1. Tips from A+ students

2. Find Your Study Style And Methods That Work For You

3. How To Study When You Don’t Feel Like It

4. Science Backed Study Tips

5. More Learning/Studying Techniques 

6. Whole Page Dedicated To Studying/Organizing 

7. Homework Help 

8. Tips For Effective Studying 

9. How To Study Like A Straight A Student 

Note Taking

1. Tips For The Lazy Student

2. Info On Cornell Notes 

3. Note Taking Masterpost 

4. Good Note Taking Summary/Tips 

Test Prep

1. How To Prepare For A Test 

2. Free SAT/AP Prep Resources 

Health Related

1. How To Avoid A Breakdown

2. Books Dealing With Mental Illnesses 

When You Need To Read

1. How To Read Shakespeare/Old English Texts {1} {2} {3}

2. Assigned Reading Tips 

3. How To Read Difficult Books 

Course Specific Help- Math

1. Square Root Calculator

2. Cube Root Calculator

3. Solve Any Equation {1} {2}

4. How To Multiply Big Numbers  

Course Specific Help- Chemisty

1. Chemical Equation Balancer 

2. Chemistry Help Motherload (Textbooks/Resources/Help/ETC) 

3. Tips For Studying Chemistry 

Websites/Apps

1. Final Grades Calculator 

2. Feed Hungry People And Improve Your Vocabulary At The Same Time

3. Legal Textbook Websites/Help 

4. Editor That I Use For All Writing/Typing (And it’s wonderful) 

5. Note Taking Website (With App) 

Language Learning 

1. Duolingo (I use this personally and it’s awesome)

2. German Colors List 

3. Language Learning Masterpost 

4. Learn 8 Chinese Words In The Cutest Way 

5. Language Learning Websites 

6. Tips For Self Teaching Japanese 

7. Sign Language People Commonly Use 

8. A Faster Way To Learn A Language 

Sleep

1. Sleep Tips 

2. How Long Should You Sleep For? 

3. Successful Sleep Habits (Infographic) 

Motivation

1. 100 Reasons To Study 

2. Motivation Masterpost 

3. Motivation Quotes (Via Google) 

Time Management

1. Advice Graphic/Comic 

2. The Pomodoro Technique 

3. Time Management Masterpost 

4. How To Manage Your Time Effectively 

Music

1. Classical Study Playlist 

2. Hit The Books Playlist {1} {2} 

3. Playlists Masterpost 

4. Mini Masterpost Of Playlists