Tutor Tips

We asked our tutors for some expert advice on how students can form better reading/study habits. Here are their suggestions.

What to do if you find yourself nodding-off while reading.

First and foremost, STOP reading. Forcing yourself to wake up as you are still trying to read only makes you forget what it is you are reading! For some, it helps to get up, move around, then come back to reading. Sometimes this is not possible. The best thing to do is to put the book aside and spend about 5 minutes WRITING. This can be writing out your next day's schedule, writing notes to yourself, or even doing a cross word. These 5 minutes of writing puts a different part of your brain to work and helps you to refocus. When you go back to reading, you will find your attention span has increased and you will be able to pick right back up where you left off without forgetting much of anything. (It's okay if you have to do this several times, but once should be enough to get you through an hour of reading). - Tutor from Bucks County

What to do if you find your self re-reading paragraphs because you're unable to focus or remember what you just read.

Pull out a highlighter and highlight important information. This simple act will force you to focus on parts of your reading. Then, even if you still forget what you read, you now have highlighted the important information so you don't have to use up valuable time re-reading whole paragraphs. - Tutor from Philadelphia

General Homework/Study Techniques

After writing an essay read it aloud to yourself. Often your grammar mistakes or confusing sentences won't sound right and you can correct them!
- Abby Goldstein Slutsky , Montgomery County - PA

When studying, remove yourself from any other outside distractions. Find a place that helps you relax so you can focus on your study material
- Tutor from Center City Philadelphia, PA

Break up your studying into chunks or chapters and do a little bit each night, starting a week before the test. This will help you avoid cramming at the end and being overwhelmed with too much information. - Tutor from Lansdale, PA

Sometimes writing down your notes or study facts on flashcards can help you memorize the material. After you have written them onto flashcards play a game. Put facts on one set of cards and answers on the other. Then mix them all up and play a matching game (match the fact with the answer). This game will help you retain the material and you’ll have fun at the same time!
- Tutor from Montgomery County - PA

For more information or additional tutoring information please email info@yourteamtutor.com or call 215-657-1981.