How Do/Did you Study?

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jesposito
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How Do/Did you Study?

Post by jesposito »

I've been wondering this a lot recently, how do people in quiz bowl study? I'm mostly talking outside of practice, but if there are some interesting things you guys do in practice that's fine too! The way I study is mainly through Quizlet. For literature, I am working my way down through the frequency list. I'll read the Wikipedia page, or Sparknotes, for the plot, then put the book title into Quizdb. I'll make flashcards to remind me of certain plot points or interesting things, then I'll look at the questions on Quizdb to see any clues that come up particularly often that I've missed. It's a very similar process for history and fine arts. That being said, how do (or did) you guys study?
Joe Esposito
Aurora, Ohio, 2019
Ohio State University, 2023
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vinteuil
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Re: How Do/Did you Study?

Post by vinteuil »

viewtopic.php?f=30&t=14099

[alternatively: textbooks or just, like, books]
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Re: How Do/Did you Study?

Post by Auks Ran Ova »

write questions
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Couch's Kingbird
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Re: How Do/Did you Study?

Post by Couch's Kingbird »

For literature, I'd also highly encourage reading a lot- especially poems and short stories or excerpts from plays/novels, if you're short on time. Find what you're interested in!
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dnlwng
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Re: How Do/Did you Study?

Post by dnlwng »

if you have lots and lots of cards try using specialized flashcard software (see: anki, mnemosyne). they use cool formulas to help you retain information and you don't need to have an internet connection
Daniel Wang
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tksaleija
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Re: How Do/Did you Study?

Post by tksaleija »

dnlwng wrote:if you have lots and lots of cards try using specialized flashcard software (see: anki, mnemosyne). they use cool formulas to help you retain information and you don't need to have an internet connection
This. I use Anki religiously (I've got well over 2000 cards I study using it). It helps you retain by letting you stagger the amount of time it takes for a card to pop back up. It's free for Android but not Apple. There's loads of other functions, but it's best to learn through experience.
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jesposito
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Re: How Do/Did you Study?

Post by jesposito »

tksaleija wrote:
dnlwng wrote:if you have lots and lots of cards try using specialized flashcard software (see: anki, mnemosyne). they use cool formulas to help you retain information and you don't need to have an internet connection
This. I use Anki religiously (I've got well over 2000 cards I study using it). It helps you retain by letting you stagger the amount of time it takes for a card to pop back up. It's free for Android but not Apple. There's loads of other functions, but it's best to learn through experience.
I bought Quizlet Pro, which allows you to do that spaced retention too, mainly because I can allow the rest of my quiz bowl team to access them. But yeah, this is how I do almost all of my studying.
Joe Esposito
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Ohio State University, 2023
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Re: How Do/Did you Study?

Post by Father Comstock »

tksaleija wrote:
dnlwng wrote:if you have lots and lots of cards try using specialized flashcard software (see: anki, mnemosyne). they use cool formulas to help you retain information and you don't need to have an internet connection
This. I use Anki religiously (I've got well over 2000 cards I study using it). It helps you retain by letting you stagger the amount of time it takes for a card to pop back up. It's free for Android but not Apple. There's loads of other functions, but it's best to learn through experience.
2000 is a good start but you will definitely want more!!! I would say 10000 is a pretty good amount to be dominant on a category in HS. I used about 2000 history cards and definitely needed more.
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naan/steak-holding toll
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Re: How Do/Did you Study?

Post by naan/steak-holding toll »

Auks Ran Ova wrote:write questions
basically - you not only learn about what you put in the question, but what you tangentially learn while researching it, clues in previous questions on similar topics, and so much more!

If you want a "growth spurt" I do recommend putting your head down and reading through about five tournaments, focusing on a mix of difficulties in whatever categories you're really trying to improve at. If I were to go back to school, this would probably be high on my priority list.
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