Study Skills

What are Study Skills

Study skills are the skills you need to enable you to study and learn efficiently – they are an important set of transferable life skills.

Our pages (see the link below) provide generic study skills advice – appropriate to learners across all disciplines and in different life circumstances: employed students, those returning to education later in life, those engaged in professional development and anybody who wants to learn how to learn effectively.

We are constantly being asked to provide guidance to our students in how to take an effective approach to their studies and learning, and have now produced this series of seperate pages that enable you to 'dip in and dip out' of the areas you need help with.  Please do not look at this website and think you have to read/review it from start to finish (unless you really want to?) - it is simply an aid to help you in areas where you need guidance i.e. answering multiple choice questions or how to write longer answers or an essay. It also provides you with information on what type of learner you are and as a result what is the best approach for you to study.

Finally there is a section on looking after you, and your mental health as an important overview on adjusting to the balance of work and study, or studying 'whilst everything else is still happening'.

Key points about study skills:

  • You will develop your own personal approach to study and learning in a way that meets your own individual needs. As you develop your study skills you will discover what works for you, and what doesn’t.
  • Study skills are not subject specific - they are generic and can be used when studying any area. You will, of course, need to understand the concepts, theories and ideas surrounding your specific subject area. To get the most out of your studies, however, you’ll want to develop your study skills.
  • You need to practise and develop your study skills.  This will increase your awareness of how you study and you’ll become more confident.  Once mastered, study skills will be beneficial throughout your life.
  • Study skills are not just for students.  Study skills are transferable - you will take them with you beyond your education into new contexts. For example, organisational skills, time management, prioritising, learning how to analyse, problem solving, and the self-discipline that is required to remain motivated.

Study skills relate closely to the type of skills that employers look for.

Click here:

PMI Study Skills - Tips, Techniques and Learner Wellbeing