note-taking and examinations. Its value is further recognized by the
requirements of themes and term-papers. These are all mediums by which
you may develop yourself, and they merit your earnest cooperation.

Another medium of expression that students may profitably employ is
drawing. This is especially valuable in such subjects as geology,
physiology and botany. Students in botany are compelled to do much
drawing of the plant-forms which they study, and this is a wise
requirement, for it makes them observe more carefully, report more
faithfully and recall with greater ease. You may secure the same
advantages by employing the graphic method in other studies. For
example, when reading in a geology text-book about the stratification
of the earth in a certain region, draw the parts described and label
them according to the description. You will be surprised to see how
clear the description becomes and how easily it is later recalled.

Let us examine the effects of the expressive movements of speech,
writing and the like, and see the mechanism by which they facilitate
the study process. We may describe their effects in two ways:
neurologically and psychologically. As may be expected from our
preliminary study of the nervous system, we see their first effects
upon the motor pathways leading out to the muscles. Each passage of the
nerve current from brain to muscle leaves traces so that the resulting
act is performed with greater ease upon each repetition. This fact has
already been emphasized by the warning, Guard the avenues of
expression.

Especially is it important at the first performance of an act,
because this determines the path of later performances. In such studies
as piano-playing, vocalizing and pronunciation of foreign words, see