10 Important Organic Chemistry Study Tips
Once the school year begins, it becomes more difficult to make changes to the ways you do things, especially when it comes to a course like Organic Chemistry. That’s simply because of all the demands on your time, and the added stress that can come with those demands. Those demands could be other classes, a job (or jobs), friends, family, sleep, student clubs/organization, and more. Therefore, in order to have the best study habits for Orgo when the course begins, it can be very helpful to already have those study habits under your belt before the course begins. And my Summer Orgo Prep self-paced short course can help you build those habits.
With that in mind, here are 10 important study tips for Orgo:
1. Focus on understanding and applying concepts instead of just memorizing.
Memorizing might work for the first few weeks, but eventually the amount of information becomes overwhelming, and things are easily mixed up. Understanding and applying concepts, on the other hand, can help keep things a lot more manageable, because there are relatively few concepts to know, and they’re pretty straightforward.
2. Work problems to diagnose strengths and weaknesses.
When your professor assigns a problem set, they don’t do so just to give you busy-work. Instead, the problems on those problem sets tend to be chosen to be good representations of the kinds of things your professor wants/needs you to know—especially for an upcoming exam. Therefore, instead of approaching a problem set as something that just needs to get done, it’s a good idea to use those problems as a way to diagnose what you’re good at, and what you’re not so good at. And by knowing your specific strengths and weaknesses, you’re empowered to make yourself better by working on strengthening your weaknesses.
3. Get your questions answered.
By using assigned problems as a way to diagnose your strengths and weaknesses, you’ll naturally end up developing really good questions. When you have such questions in-hand, don’t sit on them, but rather make sure to ASK. Take those questions with you to your professor’s or your TA’s office hours, or ask a fellow classmate. Try figuring out the answers to those questions by going to the appropriate section(s) of your textbook to find explanations and examples. Sometimes the internet can help, but the internet comes with risks that can end up making things worse: (1) It’s hard to tell good quality internet resources from bad ones, and (2) even if an internet resource is good quality, it’s really hard to tell whether the level of what’s being presented matches where you’re at with things in your own Orgo course.
4. Start problem sets early.
I just mentioned the importance of getting your questions answered, especially the questions that come from using problems on problem sets to diagnose your strengths and weaknesses. In order to generate good questions to ask from working those problems, you need to have enough time to work the problems properly. If you wait to the last minute to start a problem set, you’ll find that you’re just rushing to write down or submit answers for credit. And that will get in the way of your ability to generate the right questions to ask. To avoid that kind of situation, get going on each problem set as early as possible.
5. Work problems for practice.
I explained working problems for you to diagnose your strengths and weaknesses as you go. When you feel like you’ve done enough diagnosing for a particular topic, it’s a good idea to shift your focus to practicing solving problems. The reason is that, for a particular topic, the problems that you might need to be able to work can come in all shapes and sizes, and you’d stand to benefit from having seen and worked through those variations. Where can you find good practice problems? Among the best resources is your textbook, where you’ll find dozens of problems written for each chapter. And your professor might even give you a list of recommended problems from each chapter. There are also plenty of problems on the internet, or in separate workbooks for purchase, but those things can be risky if they haven’t been approved by your professor, and they could cause more damage than good. That’s because it’s hard for you to tell whether those resources are quality, or at the right level.
6. Start studying for exams early.
For the same reason it’s a good idea to start your problem sets early, it’s a good idea to start studying for each exam early. Not the night before, but days in advance. Any questions or confusions that come up while you’re studying (and you should always expect questions or confusions to come up) you’re going to want to get answered. And to get those questions answered, you need time. Cramming the night before can severely get in the way of the time you’ll need.
7. Stay engaged during class.
In class, it’s easy to fall into the mindset that your job there is to simply write down everything the professor says, and everything your professor writes on the board. But if that’s all you do, you’re missing out on important learning opportunities during class. That’s because, if you’re scrambling to write everything down, it’s really hard to process the higher-order things in your brain. And it’s those higher-order things that tend to cause the most trouble later on, especially if they didn’t quite make sense when they were first presented in class. Therefore, it’s generally better to approach class time with the mindset of really paying attention, processing things thoroughly in your brain as they happen, and asking questions when you need to. That is, stay engaged in class as much as you can. And try to write down just those things that seem particularly important, or particularly challenging, or are otherwise easy to forget if they’re not written down.
8. Come prepared to class.
I just explained the importance of staying engaged during class. And the more prepared you are for class, the more engaged you’ll be able to be during class. That’s simply because, when something is being presented in class, it’ll be the second time you’ve seen it, and as a result, you’ll tend to feel less pressure to write down every single detail of what your professor says or writes. What are ways you can prepare for class?
One of the best ways is to read through the sections of your textbook that are scheduled for class that day. Often times, your professor will have a schedule of textbook sections in the syllabus, or posted in a separate document online. Related to that, you can try to work some of the in-chapter textbook problems you encounter while you’re reading; it’s never too early to start working problems to diagnose your strengths and weaknesses. Also, watch videos your professor assigns, and be engaged while you do so. Any of these things you do to prepare for class can end up generating really good questions to ask, and your professor’s or TA’s office hours are excellent places to get those questions answered.
9. Join or start a study group.
A study group is a good idea for a few reasons. First, many of the things I’ve outlined above will lead to questions you should be asking. Your study group partners are often great resources to get those questions answered, especially because they will be at the same point in Orgo as you are. Also, they will occasionally be the ones asking you questions, and every time you explain something, you’ll understand that thing a little better yourself. Study groups are good for the intangibles as well. Your study group members can help provide the motivation you need at various times throughout the course, and your study group can be an excellent support system if something doesn’t quite go as planned.
10. Take care of yourself both physically and mentally.
To have your best success in Orgo, it’s important to perform at your peak. And to have peak performance, you’ll want to be at your best, both physically and mentally. Don’t underestimate the importance of eating properly, sleeping well, and exercising regularly. Do your best to manage your stressors, perhaps by doing what you can to reduce the noncritical things you commit yourself to. Or maybe you can focus more on surrounding yourself with people who are good for you.
In Closing...
Each of the things I’ve outlined above can help spell out success in your Orgo course. And as I said, making these kinds of changes after classes begin can be really difficult. So, in the weeks or months you have before Orgo begins, you can use your time wisely, and take advantage of my self-paced Summer Orgo Prep short course.
