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Do you study best visually? Verbally? Or aurally?

There are seven main learning styles, and knowing them will help you become more efficient with your time. Let Thea take you through them.

Phase 1

Have you ever felt like you made it all this way without knowing how to study? Or have you ever found yourself studying for hours yet not remembering any of the content afterwards? If so, then it might be time to find your best learning style.

Below is a list of the seven major learning styles, along with useful study techniques.

1. Visual (Learning by seeing)

Visual learners can study through creating mind maps, posters, drawing diagrams and graphs, and even watching videos related to their topic.

2. Verbal (Learning by listening)

Methods of learning include recording yourself reading out your textbooks and listening to the recordings throughout the day, maybe during your daily commute to university

3. Physical (Learning by doing)

One method of learning by doing is to study as if you are preparing to teach a class, then organising an event where you and your friends can present your lessons to each other.

4. Aural (Learning through sound and music)

Study techniques can include composing a song about your topic (e.g. the trigonometric tunes), creating a clever rhyme or poem based on information from textbooks, or even rewriting your favourite song!

5. Logical (Learning by reasoning)

The logical learning style uses structured reasoning and systems to understand content. A strong study technique for this style is to simply research beyond what is required by the course to see the entire picture.

6. Social (Learning through communication)

For social learners, one way to study is to form serious study groups (at Queen Mary you can book study rooms in the library for sessions with friends and classmates).

7. Individual (Learning by yourself)

Unlike social learners, individual learners usually prefer to study on their own. The individual style is ideal for last-minute assignments and projects that require a lot of focus.

However, don't forget that you may not fit into just one learning style. Many people have a combination of styles that they're comfortable with. No matter what method you use, the best thing you can do is to always make sure you sleep regularly and use your time wisely!

By Thea Paraguas, BSc Mathematics with Management (2019)

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