Cultural Anthropology: Study Strategies Guide To Accompany
Cultural Anthropology: Study Strategies Guide To Accompany
Cultural Anthropology
A Perspective on the Human Condition
Ninth Edition
Margaret Rauch
St. Cloud State University
Robert H. Lavenda
St. Cloud State University
2 Taking Notes...............................................................................................................................3
3 Studying Effectively...................................................................................................................5
4 Asking Questions.......................................................................................................................7
5 Visualizing Information............................................................................................................8
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Introduction: To the Student
These study strategies are designed to help you learn the information in Cultural
Anthropology: A Perspective on the Human Condition, Seventh Edition, and prepare for tests in
the course. As you begin to study, ask yourself the following questions:
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Chapter 1: Previewing, Reading, and Reviewing
Getting Started
Previewing a textbook is a good way to become familiar with the structure and content.
First, read the preface to learn why the book was written. Second, read the table of contents to
learn how the book’s content is structured. Do you have problems concentrating on the
information and remembering what you read? Is much of the information new to you? Do you
think the course will be a real challenge? If so, try the preview-read-review method of studying.
Previewing
Previewing a chapter will help you understand the focus and purpose. Complete the
following three steps when previewing each chapter.
1. Go to the table of contents, note the title of the chapter, and read the outline of main headings.
2. Leaf through the chapter. Notice that key vocabulary terms appear in bold type, are defined in
the margin, and are listed at the end of the chapter.
3. Read the summary. It recaps the chapter’s main concepts and terms.
Reading
Sometimes we find information interesting to read. Other times we dread reading because
we think the information is dry and boring, or we’re tired and have trouble concentrating. Try the
following reading approach to overcome these problems and to increase your comprehension and
retention.
Turn headings into questions, and think about what you know. New information can be
easier to understand when you use your existing knowledge as a starting point. As you read,
continue to ask questions using the new vocabulary you come across. After reading a section,
stop and answer your questions.
Reviewing
Are you usually thrilled and delighted to finish a chapter? Do you usually close the book
and begin another project? To ensure that you understand the information and to help yourself
remember it, try the following strategies.
1. If you underlined or took notes while you read, review what you underlined or wrote. Recite
the ideas.
2. Sometimes a major section of the chapter is divided into parts. Ask yourself how these parts
are related to one another and to the main heading. Recognizing relationships among ideas helps
you understand information and do better on tests.
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3. Review the list of key terms. For each one, you could write the page number, definition, and
an example from the book.
4. Construct your own list of questions from each point in the chapter summary. Answering your
questions will help you determine whether you have a grasp of the main concepts and important
details.
5. On notecards, write key terms and page numbers on the front and the meanings plus examples
on the back. Although you can download the key terms as flashcards on the companion website,
writing the cards yourself can help you remember the terms and the definitions especially well.
Review them until you can recite the information without having to look at the answers. Take the
cards with you to review during the day. For example, do you ever have to wait in line? Have
five minutes before an instructor starts class? Are you waiting for a friend at the library? Use this
waiting time to review a few cards. You can also sort the cards by how well you know the words.
Study with a friend and quiz each other on the vocabulary.
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Chapter 2: Taking Notes
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2. Ask questions and participate in the class discussions.
3. Plan to take lots of notes even if you don’t need to. It’s difficult to write and sleep at
the same time. So write!
4. Every time you catch yourself drifting off, put a check mark on the top of your notes.
Make a commitment to decrease the number of check marks you make during succeeding
class hours.
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Chapter 3: Studying Effectively
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Procrastinating
Do you make plans to read your anthropology assignment but never get around to doing
it? Do you leave yourself so little time to get your reading done that you just skim?
Possible Solutions
1. Make a study schedule. The classes you like the least should come first on your
schedule. Be realistic; don’t underestimate the amount of time you need.
2. Study with a friend. This can increase your motivation.
3. Set definite, achievable goals; for example, plan to read five pages or write ten
vocabulary cards.
4. Reward yourself when you have completed your goals.
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Chapter 4: Asking Questions
Improving Recall
After you have finished reading, the next essential step is to stop and answer your
questions and the authors’ questions. Stop and answer the authors’ questions and your questions
to ensure that you understand and recall the information.
Students who don’t stop to answer their questions often complain that they don’t
remember the information. It’s likely that these students did not focus their attention on what
they were reading. We have all experienced situations in which we’ve read five pages but
actually concentrated on only three. We just pronounced the words for pages four and five; our
minds were focusing on other things.
Students who complain that they can’t remember what they are reading should use the
study strategy of asking questions, reading, and stopping to answer their questions. Some
students may feel that this study strategy will take too much time. Any new behavior takes time,
like fitting a new exercise program into a daily routine. However, once we are accustomed to
doing something and the behavior becomes automatic, “time” does not seem to be such an issue
—the behavior is just a normal part of our life.
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Chapter 5: Visualizing Information
Drawing pictures
Visualizing information may enhance your ability to understand and recall new material.
The textbook includes numerous photos, tables, illustrations, and maps to help you visualize
what you are reading, but there may be places where you wish the authors had included an
image. See if you can draw one yourself.
When reading novels or short stories, it’s usually easy to visualize what is happening. In
the same manner, it’s usually easy to visualize what is happening in the stories the authors use at
the beginning of each chapter. Visualization may help you understand more difficult information
by requiring you to focus on it; mental images may help you make the information more
concrete.
Mapping
Mapping is like outlining using a diagram. Some students prefer outlining, whereas some
prefer mapping because it helps them visualize relationships among concepts.
Charting
Some students prefer to summarize information in a chart instead of writing it out in a
paragraph; seeing how the information is categorized helps them understand it more easily.
When reviewing, they can visualize their chart more easily than they can visualize their
paragraphs. Memory may be strengthened by coding information for storage in your mind by
using several senses—listen to yourself read, write notes, make charts, and visualize what is
happening.
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Chapter 6: Answering Fact and Application Questions
Types of Questions
Tests commonly include both fact and application questions. Fact questions can be
divided into main idea and detail questions and can usually be answered from information easily
found in the text. You may remember information covered by main idea questions because of the
structure of a chapter; that is, the title of the chapter indicates the main topic, the introduction
describes the purpose or focus, and the headings signal the major and minor topics in the chapter.
In addition, the main ideas appear in the summary. Application questions can be difficult
because they require you to not only know the information but also apply it to new situations.
You may think, I know the information, I’ve memorized the definitions of the terms, and
I can recall everything in my notes—I’m ready for the test. But how well do you know the
information? Do you understand it? For explanation purposes, let’s say there are three levels of
knowing information. In Level One, you know the book’s definition of a term and can recognize
it on the test. In Level Two, you know the definition and examples used in the book and
discussed in class by your instructor. You can explain the definition and examples in your own
words to your classmates or study group members, which means you are beginning to understand
the concept. In Level Three, you read a new situation and know that the new information is
another example of the concept you just learned. Now you are beginning to master the concept
and are ready for application questions.
Test-Taking Analysis
Analyze your test-taking. When you miss questions, what type of question do you miss
most often—fact or application? Why? Did you read too fast? Only skim the information? Did
you read passively, without asking yourself questions as you read? Did you allow yourself too
little time to read, review, and think about the information? Test-taking problems often occur
when students think they know the information and then hit a wall when answering higher-level
(application) questions. It takes time to develop a thorough understanding of new information;
evaluate your background knowledge and decide how much time you need to schedule for
reading, studying, thinking, and discussing the information with classmates.
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Tips for Studying Your Notes
Notetaking will be easier if you read the assigned material before attending class. If you
do not have time to read a chapter, at least preview it: read the headings, tables, figures, and
summary. You will then be able to recognize the main ideas. Another effective notetaking
strategy is reviewing your notes often. Reviewing notes as
soon as possible after class and reviewing your entire set of notes often helps you keep the ideas
fresh in your memory. Reviewing notes often means you won’t need to cram, and you will be
able to retrieve the information more easily when writing your test. Reviewing often can
certainly help with fact questions. Additional notetaking strategies are cross-checking and
discussing your notes with classmates. Have you ever cross-checked your notes and found that
your classmate had more information from the lecture than you had? Two or more sets of notes
can be more helpful than one set. Discussing the information with classmates is helpful because
you’ll hear it from another perspective. These other viewpoints can increase your depth of
understanding and help you with application questions.
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Chapter 7: Taking Essay Exams
Psyching Out The Professor: Or, What Is the Essay Really Supposed to Be About?
The breadth of an essay exam question may cause an inexperienced essay writer to panic
—what can a professor be thinking to give a prompt such as “Discuss the relationship between
kinship and biology”? A student may reason, “To answer this question correctly, I would need to
write a whole book! But the professor knows I can only write a few paragraphs. So this must be a
trick question. I’ve got to figure out what the professor is really after.”
Some questions do require you to keep your wits about you. But in general, the fear of
broad essay questions, and the conviction that professors must really be after something other
than what the questions ask, is misplaced. Most essay questions are broad for a reason, but that
reason is not to trap students. A broad essay topic may make it easier for you to write a good
essay. Asking you to “discuss” a broad topic is a graceful way of asking you to write down, in as
full and orderly a way as possible, all you know about that topic. You have the freedom, under
the umbrella of a broad essay prompt, to decide on an approach to the topic, collect as much
relevant information as you can, organize it to the best of your ability, and write about it as
clearly and logically as you can. You have the freedom to show the instructor how much you
know and how well you know it, in the best English you can muster.
Essay exams offer you a certain freedom. Look again at the prompt mentioned above:
“Discuss the relationship between kinship and biology.” To answer, one student may decide to
write about the relationship between marriage patterns and biology, saying little about descent. A
second student, however, may choose to emphasize the relationship between patterns of descent
and biology, saying little about marriage. If both essays were well written, well organized, and
full of relevant information, both would merit an “A,” even though they didn’t answer the
question in exactly the same way. The broader the question, the more room there is for you to
write essays that reflect what you know best.
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• Review your notes. Are there major concepts or points that stand out?
• Review the outline of the chapters in the table of contents and chapter summaries of
your textbook. What major concepts or points would make good essay questions?
• Talk with your classmates and with students who have had the class before.
4. Form a study group.
Ask “What information did the instructor discuss in class?” Make an outline of
information (main ideas, facts, examples) for each question you think the instructor may ask.
5. Go through your notes and readings, looking for material relevant to the questions you
predicted.
Write down information that should be part of your answers. Check for overlap between
class notes and assigned readings. Write down definitions and examples for all technical terms.
Write down details concerning examples you wish to use to illustrate your answer, so that the
examples will be complete and convincing.
6. Think about the material you have gathered and its relation to the questions.
What information is the most important? Least important? Which examples are
strongest? Where would the examples best fit into your essay answers?
7. Organize your answers.
Think of an essay as having three parts: introduction, body, and conclusion. The
introduction may consist of only a few sentences in which you summarize the main points to be
developed in the body of the essay. The body should be the logical presentation of information
gathered from notes and readings that justifies your answer. The conclusion need be only one or
two sentences that tie up loose ends and restate the major points of your essay.
8. Practice writing your essays ahead of time.
The more you write, the better you will get at writing. Practicing writing out your essays
will also give you a chance to see just how sure you are of your arguments and where you need
further work. Finally, writing things down is an excellent way to lodge them in your memory.
9. Proofread your essays and evaluate your answers for content and structure.
Content: Did you include all the arguments, concepts, details, examples, and
illustrations? Structure: Did you include an introduction? Are the main ideas, details, and
examples in the body of the essay clearly delineated by paragraphs? Did the ideas flow from one
idea to the next? If appropriate, did you use transitional words such as “first,” “second,” “third”?
Did you include a brief summary? If you have written and proofread practice essays in
preparation for the exam, you will discover that test-taking anxiety virtually disappears the day
of the test. All the hard work will have been completed before you even walk into the classroom.
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Writing Your Essay Answer in Class
1. Read each question carefully.
Be sure you understand what is being asked of you. Some essay questions are short and
broad in scope: “Discuss the relationship between kinship and biology.” Other questions may
have several parts to them: “The anthropological perspective is described in your text as holistic,
comparative, and evolutionary. What does this mean? What are the subfields of anthropology?
What is the role of each subfield in the integrated study of human beings that is anthropology?”
Write down all the parts of the question that need to be answered, so that you don’t overlook any
of them. In this case, you might write a question-inspired outline:
A. Define holistic, comparative, evolutionary.
B. List the subfields of anthropology.
C. What is the role of each subfield in anthropology as an integrated study?
In all cases, write down terms that need to be defined, as well as possible examples that
could illustrate your answer.
2. Have a mental conversation.
Carrying on a mental conversation as you analyze the question can be a helpful way to
count the separate parts of the question and to decide what information to include in your answer
for each part.
3. Consider both content and structure.
After thinking about the content of your answer, decide on the structure. Divide the
answer into an introduction, body, and summary or conclusion. If the question contains many
parts, you may want to restate and answer the first part in the first paragraph.
4. Evaluate your answer. Imagine that you are the instructor grading this essay.
Did you write an introduction? Did the body of your essay include all the required points,
details, and examples? Did you answer every part of the question? Do the ideas flow in a logical
manner? Did you write a conclusion? Although answers that receive full credit will vary, each of
them will include a wealth of information written in an organized, easy-to-follow manner.
5. Do not assume that the reader of your essay knows more than you do.
Students who forget to define their terms or illustrate with examples sometimes plead,
“But I knew the instructor would know what I meant!” True enough— the instructor does know
what technical terms mean, and which examples are relevant. But the essay exam is supposed to
show the instructor that you know what the terms and examples mean and can use them properly.
As high school math teachers say, “Show your work!”
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6. Think of each essay question as a chance for you to tell your instructor everything you think is
important about the topic.
This means giving evidence that you have done the assigned readings and attended the
relevant lectures, by making clear reference to the material covered in them. Nothing is more
disappointing than an essay that attempts to answer the question using “common sense”—that is,
an essay that shows no evidence that its writer ever opened the textbook or attended a single day
of class, even if she or he has done both. Include as much detail and as many appropriate
concrete examples as you can cram into the four or five paragraphs you write.
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Chapter 8: Evaluating Your Progress at Midterm
Do a midterm evaluation to determine what you expect your grade to be, what you must
still do for the class, what strategies are most effective for you, and what changes you plan to
make to help you learn the information.
Because the factors of attitude and motivation may have an impact on your achievement,
you should also consider your attitude toward your classes and your motivation to study.
Students who are effective learners analyze what they know and must do, decide on the study
strategies that will fit the situation, monitor their comprehension and retention (Am I
understanding? Am I remembering?), and modify or change their strategies as needed. So, how
are you doing? What is your plan for the rest of this anthropology course?
Midterm Evaluation
• Papers/projects: What
do you have to do?
• Essay test?
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4. How much
background knowledge
do you have of
information in the rest
of this book?
• Notecards: Would
writing vocabulary cards
help?
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answers to practice and
determine whether you
know the information?
• Procrastination: Are
you avoiding the
procrastination virus?
allowing yourself
adequate time to read
and learn the
information?
6. What additional
strategies would help
you?
7. What is your
attitude? Positive?
Negative?
Overwhelmed?
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