For me, there are a few things that come in very handy.
1. sql mode in emacs. That'll let you copy and paste your commands.
2. Schema browsers like either DBA Studio from Oracle, or TORA
3. selecting from user_tables will get you what you need wrt the table name (i.e. select table_name from user_tables where table_name like 'ACS%').
4. desc is short for describe.
Good luck.
