Stephen Ede

10/02/2026

How to motivate your supervisors to read your work

Turn it into a manuscript and tell them you want to send it out for journals publications with their names listed.

Lol, they will read it with glasses👓

Not nececassry because they want paper shaa, well, they don't want you sending out rubbish with their names 🙄

06/02/2026

The thoughts and the paper takes shapes simultaneously and develops slowly with revisions

06/02/2026

Writing is not the expression of thought, it is thought itself

You need writers/thinkers in your team

09/05/2025

23/10/2024

I had to discuss the decision making tree for statistical test/ data analysis with some group.
I needed a diagram to help facilitate the discussion but all I found online was either incomprehensive or hard to understand. So I decided to draw a more self explanatory one. Here is what I got. Let me know if you find it helpful...

15/07/2024

15/07/2024

Continuing with the how to read and understand series....

How do you know you have grasped a point and are ready to move on to those you have not?
This would be possible by using tools like flashcards, nailing your understanding to things that help you remember them effortlessly.
Mnemonics and acronyms are made using the power words in a text arranged in their orders. There is what is called PPT for slide making. Therein are power words. These words help you remember the rest of the context and content of that passage.
Mnemonics are created by using the first letters of the power words to create easy-to-remember phrases, rhythms, or poems. For instance, the four lobes of the brain can be remembered using Frued Tore his Pants Off. Which are frontal, temporal, parietal, and occipital.
Whereas, acronyms are like abbreviations, created by just joining the first letters to form something easy to remember. For instance, if I am reading about the symptoms of PD, I might use acronyms like BMR.PT. This is an acronym and it is easy for me to remember because as PT, this is my qualification.
With these memorable resources as a flashcard, you could spot what needs more attention.
The figure on the right is more like a summary of what we’ve discussed—a new material…

13/06/2024

Note-taking helps to listen better. It re-affirms the neural passages when you write and listen. Is commonly said that to write is to read thrice.
Many times, the most you can get from note-taking is jotting. This is like a piece of information written swiftly.
But in note-making you are creating your own reading material during your study time; it could mean consolidating/summarising from multiple sources. Say-the jotting and recommended reading materials. Sometimes first years have lots of source materials on the same topic-. Is okay to read all of them but you might not be able to do that for long. So here is where you make one source material that will ease your memory after applying the principles of repetition and all the rest.

09/06/2024

Studying is a step further in your reading. Here you are orgasnising the information given and extending it to know more than has been given. Say after the lecture, for instance, you want to put the information in a more accessible format for yourself, as well as consult your texts and recommended sources. This stage is more like a research phase in your study. The skills you need to consolidate what you get from this stage with the original lecture material are what I have called study skills including note-making and summary, then Mnemonics and Acronyms for the last-revision stage.

08/06/2024

Now let us talk about the systematic practices you can apply to your reading.
To begin with, you will need to be organised, and take practical steps towards building an Effective Reading Habit.

There are many wise sayings around habit- “Will Durant said that We are what we repeatedly do. that Excellence is not an act, but a habit.”

For me, I have found that Organised reading can compete better over the advantages of a high IQ. This means, excellent performances in school might not be only a function of individual's IQ (nature in the psychological behavioural sciences) but could also be influenced by their nurture (habits of organised and diligent work). Such habits could be nurtured through mentorship, or by the individual sitting back to reflect on their strength and weaknesses and making plans to do things better.

I have noted some principles of an Organised & Effective Reading Habit including the use of a Timetable. Timetable could mean any orderliness in your reading. It could be say, I will read two topics in anatomy each day, one in physiology, and two in biochemistry. Or I will read my general studies in the afternoon, like putting things you think are less complex and easier to understand in the periods of the day when you feel you will be less settled to understand complex information. Also, knowing the times you are most relaxed to ‘R&U’.

Repetition, Patience, and Consistency: information passage through the neural synapses gets stronger in transmission with repetition. This is a neurophysiology principle of its impact is in the use of rhythms repeated consistently for the teaching of nursery/primary school levels. Depending on the complexity of the material, you might need patience and plans to consistently repeat your reading of the material.

Having made plans to repeat the material, you might want to start by Scanning & skimming on it. This is an initial quick review of the material. Scanning involves quick reading without picking many details. Skimming allows little stops on the details.

Next is Chunking: Divide the material and give attention to each section before progressing. The entire learning and education system is structured on chunking in the form of a curriculum. This means that, you may not be well productive if you go through the material from the first topic to the last. You might want to spend more time on the first section- say the first five topics all the above principles of repetition and checking you have grasped it before progressing to more sections.

Avoiding distraction: could be environmental, or from the mind/body. In my first years, one key distraction I struggled with was food. I would eat heavy food, and then struggle with sleep. So, you need to know your body and plan for less distraction. Check your mind, if there is something bothering you, you might need to handle it first.

06/06/2024

Reading involves more than just comprehending the literal meaning of the text. It requires analysing, interpreting, and critically evaluating the information presented.
So, when you read, you are carrying out six or more unified cognitive processes including – Attention, Visualisation, Correct interpretation, Critical analysis, Synthesis and Memorisation.
This division into stages is to emphasis that everything may not happen at first reading. As such, you might need to take your time, to plan to come again on it-repetition and other principles and study skills as we will see later in this session, might need to be implemented to meet a satisfactory understanding of the information.
Applying study skills and principles would afford you to be systematic in your reading, helping you put less effort and anxiety toward understanding what you are reading. It will also help you to avoiding poor reading habits like regression and slowed reading speed.
Regression is different from repetition-eg. Regression causes a waste of time and poor comprehension. So, in your reading practice, one of the parameters you could use to measure your effectiveness is your speed. Well, that does not mean you should read with the speed of light.




Just like in reading, there are also levels of understanding.
1. The literal or surface level: understanding of the word combinations that are elements of a given sentence. Here the points of a sentence can be hindered by the presence of any unfamiliar word. Hence the need for a dictionary. However, for fast reading, one can derive the meaning of a word without consulting the dictionary by applying the context (the background of the subject of discourse) or by using the co-text, which is the adjacent words.
2. The implied or underlying meaning: Here, a sense of reasoning is deployed to synthesize the real intentions of the writer, especially in cases where the writer is not being direct.
3. Then there is The conjectural level: Which is the level of application of knowledge. You generate ideas using the facts given. You also operate at this level to critique the material (agree and disagree). At this point, memorization is easier because you have reflected and personalised what you are reading.

As explained before, these levels might not take place at once depending on the complexity or familiarity with the subject of the material.

06/06/2024

Reading and Understanding (‘R&U’) would be perhaps, one of the most familiar phrases among students.

How do you read?
How do you know, you understand?

First, let’s talk about why reading is fundamental to your success as an undergraduate.
The ability to ‘R&U’ effectively is essential in helping you adjust adequately to the demand of higher education, in its quest and search for knowledge. This skill is crucial not just academically, but in our daily lives as well. It empowers us to make informed decisions, solve problems, and communicate effectively.

When faced with complex material, some might feel anxious and have doubts about their understanding.
This feeling can be reduced by being systematic in your reading approach, which is the focus of this series.