A Different Way to Study: Audio Study Aids

The semester has only begun, and exams are, thankfully, months away. However, study aids can be used throughout the semester to help prepare for class or to review topics that didn’t seem to quite make sense in class. If your eyes grow weary of the constant reading (in print or online), if you’d like to try and study while doing other things, or if you want to try the odd-sounding and probably dubious hypnopedia (sleep learning), audio study aids can offer something different. Check out the options available to UNC Law students below.

West Academic Study Aids , which publishes the Nutshell series and the Short and Happy series, also offers the Sum and Substances audio series. It covers 1L topics like Criminal Law, Contracts, but also higher-level courses like Wills and Trusts. If you are in a paper class, they even have audio resources on essay writing and legal research. One great feature is how West Academic divides each resource. Instead of a single long recording where you might have to guesstimate your place or would take a large loading time, subjects are broken down into topic segments that range from a couple of minutes to an hour for the very complex ones.

Another beneficial feature from West Academic Study Aids is their app. It is the beginning of the year and my favorite weather for going for walks in the woods. The chill makes a mug of a coffee just that much better. If you feel similar, you can pull up an audio book on your phone and listen to it like a podcast as you walk. Now to make sure your audio book appears on your phone, you will have to sign into your personal West Academic account through a browser and select the book for offline viewing.

Wolters Kluwer Study Aids Digital Library , the publisher of Examples and Explanations, also has an audio resource section called the “In Other Words Series.” You’ll find coverage of a wide range of legal topics from 1L  to more advanced topics such as Administrative Law. Wolters Kluwer breaks down each audio resource into small chunks for easy listening as well.

If you want to take a Wolters Kluwer audio books with you on the go you can login on a mobile browser or, their website will direct you to the iPublishCentral Reader app and a guide on how to download your study aids into the app.

Try something different and give your eyes a break from black 11-point serif font ink on glossy white pages. If you have any questions about navigating theses resource, please contact the Reference Desk at lawref@unc.edu!