Success in studying and learning has a lot to do with taking results-driven action. Regardless of what other people may have told you in the past, forget the standard comments about “luck.” Instead, take the time and learn some simple but highly effective studying and learning techniques.

By DAN VANDON

Tackling your daily study tasks and succeeding in tests and exams has much to do with the intelligent use of some basic mental tools; and those tools are pretty easy to understand. In my book Red Rubber Duck's Learning & Study Skill Guide, I focus on three important tools that I consider to be the basic algebra of the art of studying and learning: the Association Tool, the Big Picture Tool and the Structure Tool. My personal experience is that using these three tools will help boost your ability to digest information. More importantly, they can also facilitate the recall of information on demand, which you know is crucial during an exam.

Red Rubber Duck's Learning & Study Skill Guide may be your passport to success if:

• You are a college student or studying towards professional qualifications, and

• You are dealing with an overflow of information, especially information from written texts and notes and

• You need to understand and memorize this overflow of information for your next important exam.

The study guide advocates the following set of mental learning tools, techniques to help you get the most out of your studying efforts:

Combined, the chapters of Red Rubber Duck's Learning & Study Skill Guide adopt a practical and down-to-earth focus. By adding the presented tools and techniques to your existing portfolio, you can almost instantly benefit from them. The bit of theory presented here and there has been carefully chosen to help you better understand how and why the tools and techniques work.

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