What is the best way to study?

Encyclopedia of Opinion

Question: What is the best way to study?
Position1 of 3›: Long-term study skills
Argument1 of 3›: Be organized

Having all materials and your workspace environment organized is the best way to study.

The argument

Getting organized is the most important method of study, because organization is what determines whether the effort spent studying produces anything. Without it, studying is ineffective at best and fruitless at worst — the time is spent either way, and disorganisation decides how much of it is wasted on finding things, starting over, and working in conditions that prevent concentration. The first step is dedicating a clean, quiet space to study. A fixed location matters for two reasons: it removes the distractions that make sustained attention impossible, and it means that sitting down there is itself the beginning of work, rather than something that has to be decided afresh each time. Within that space, students should gather their materials, categorize them, and keep them there where possible, or otherwise always have them on hand — so that nothing pulls them away once they have started. Going over one's schedule and allotting specific time slots to studying nurtures good, stable habits, since study that has been assigned a time does not have to compete each day with whatever else might fill that time. Maintenance is part of the same discipline, which is why the space and materials should be cleaned and decluttered at least once a week: a system that is not kept up reverts to disorder without anyone deciding it should. Gathering and organizing materials is likewise a must, and the point of doing it in advance is that none of it has to be done during study itself. Among the most vital items are a notebook, color-coded flash cards, sticky tabs, pens, pencils and highlighters, blank paper and a stapler, alongside whatever specific classes require — textbooks, rulers, protractors and the like.

Premises

[P1]Organization is the most important study method, since studying without it is ineffective at best—starting with a clean, quiet, dedicated space and a schedule that allots specific time slots to nurture stable habits. [P2] Gathering, categorising and weekly maintenance of materials—notebooks, color-coded flash cards, tabs, and class-specific tools—keeps everything on hand and ready for effective study. [C] Therefore being organized is the foundation of good long-term study skills.

Counter-arguments

Being organized is indeed important to study, but it is only a part of the studying process. There are other, equally important methods of study, such as using audio-visual aids, forming study groups, reviewing all notes after each class, etc. Whichever method is "most important" is up to the individual student.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1} While being organized is important, it is not the only study method out there, nor is it the "most" important.