what are good study habits to take up for political science classes?

Great question! As a newly graduated law student who just took the bar, memorization is the name of the game. The trick is finding “fun” ways to repeatedly see that information. So, I encourage you to be creative and really try to have fun. For example, when I was learning criminal law, I “created” my own coffee shop to memorize all the different rules. I drew a coffee cup and labeled all the different ingredients as an element to the rule. For example, Murder in the first degree was a vanilla latte (vanilla syrup = willful intent), murder in the second degree was a hazelnut latte (different kind of intent requires a different kind of syrup!). This process allowed me to engage with the material in a way that did not feel like learning. When I was studying political science, I found that looking for real life examples of the theories and doctrines you are learning is helpful. These techniques worked for me because I am a visual learner and have some anxiety. They required me to “dive in” to all the cases and wrestle with the material until I could process it in a way that makes the most sense to me. You may have a different learning style, so do not be afraid to try new things. Maybe one day you draw and the next day you read outloud to yourself. My last most important piece of advice is: do not give up. Some days you will feel like you learned a lot, other days you might feel like nothing you are doing is working. Keeeeeeep working and don’t get discouraged. It’s all about trial and error until you find what works for you and know that what helped you learn one subject may not be helpful for another, and that is how it is! So be patient with yourself and curious about the material you are learning and about how you learn :) best of luck!

Allison Lee (above) is right about memorization being a key skill for anyone wanting to get into law. There is no getting around it. Anything that you can do to improve your concentration when you are memorizing course material will help.

If you are having trouble with memorization that may be because you are not connecting with the material. In short: work on making your studies more relevant and interesting to yourself. It is hard to remember things when you don't know why they should matter to you. Fortunately, politics is something that we all have opinions about -- even if we don't always know it. Pay attention to current politics and actively look for connections to what you are learning.

If you see yourself pursuing a public policy issue like immigration then you already share one of the key qualities of people who do well in political science and law: you have an issue. If you use some time of your day to find out how your studies connect with your issue you will find that your memory for the material improves. The process of a bill becoming a law is a lot more interesting when it is your law. Not to mention the long, complex histories of due process litigation, naturalization, and so on . Historical and legal facts are valuable tools that you will not forget when you have a reason to remember them. You have chosen to pursue an issue that reaches out in many directions of law and politics. Follow that. Use that. Have you tried looking at and following immigration policy websites, like https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org? Those kinds of sites go deeper than the news and help to point out the connections between what's happening in the news and processes of policy and legal change(bear in mind that many/most are advocacy organizations with a particular slant).

Are there opportunities at your school to pursue independent studies, experiential learning, or internships in your area of interest? I found that looking forward to things I could do in my junior and senior years helped me to get through the doldrums of prerequisite courses. I looked forward to taking seminars with professors I respected. One of my classmates set interning at the state house as her goal. Everybody has their own motivation.