Study Skills

noun a brief review or practice to refresh one's memory or skill

verb to improve or refresh one's knowledge or skills in a particular subject

• I need to brush up on my knowledge of the new tax laws before the meeting.
• I should brush up on my guitar skills before the talent show.
• I better brush up on my dance moves if I want to impress at the party.
• After years of not speaking, it was time to brush up on our friendship and reconnect.

verb A word used to describe an action, state, or occurrence. In this case, 'examining' is a present participle form of the verb 'examine'.

• The researchers are currently examining the data to draw conclusions.
• I'm just examining these documents to see if there's anything interesting.
• I'm just eyeballing this report to see if there are any red flags.
• She spent hours examining her thoughts before making a decision.

verb to commit to memory; learn by heart

• It is important to memorize the key concepts before the exam.
• I need to memorize my friend's phone number.
• I can't believe you memorized all those lyrics so quickly!
• She could memorize a room with just one glance, her memory was that sharp.

noun a general description or plan giving the essential features of something but not the detail

verb to give a brief account or summary

• The professor provided a detailed outline of the course material for the semester.
• Can you give me a quick outline of the plan for tomorrow?
• I need you to sketch out the outline of the project before we start working on it.
• She outlined her goals for the year, painting a clear picture of what she hoped to achieve.

noun a person's mental focus or interest on someone or something

verb to focus one's mental energy on someone or something in order to understand or remember it

• It is important to pay attention during the lecture in order to fully understand the material.
• Hey, can you please pay attention while I'm talking to you?
• Dude, you need to seriously pay attention or you'll miss out on all the important details.
• In life, it's crucial to pay attention to the signs and signals that guide us on our path.

noun a reduction in speed or the act of decreasing speed

verb to reduce the speed of something

• The driver was advised to slow down as he approached the sharp curve.
• Hey, you need to slow down a bit on those turns!
• Dude, you gotta chill and slow your roll.
• It's important to slow down and enjoy the journey instead of rushing through life.

verb to read quickly or superficially in order to get a general idea of the content

• I had to skim-read through the lengthy report to find the key points.
• I usually just skim-read articles online to get the main idea.
• I'll just skim-read this textbook before the exam.
• She skim-read his text messages, not paying attention to the details.