Not sure where to start when you’re studying for exams?
Review notes are the answer. They help you synthesize what you’ve learned and organize the course information for studying.
Maybe you’re wondering, “aren’t my lecture and reading notes enough?” Taking time to create review notes could improve your exam performance and here’s how:
You’ll combine, summarize and organize information from all your notes — textbook readings, lectures, labs, etc. It’s easier to study when all the information is in one place.
You’ll build connections between major concepts and key words in your review notes. This helps you develop a stronger understanding of the information.
Breaking up a large volume of information into smaller, manageable chunks makes it easier to study and less overwhelming.
Once you have your full overview of review notes, you can allocate how much time to spend studying each topic.
Follow these steps to create review notes.
This may include:
Course outline and syllabus
Textbooks
Assigned readings
Lectures and reading notes
Handouts
Assignments
Other supplementary materials
Here are some of the most common methods (you could also combine them!):
Identify major topics that will be covered on the exam by reading through your course outline/syllabus and previous notes. Your outline should include:
Focus of a topic
Concepts/terms
Definitions
Formulas
Use headings, subheadings and bullet points to organize supporting details from learning materials. You could consider adding:
Connections between concepts
Examples
Problems
Questions and answers
Links to additional resources
Visual cues can help represent sequence and relationships such as comparison, contraction, cause and effect, and hierarchies. These are some examples:
Charts
Graphs
Timelines
Sequential diagrams
Cyclical diagrams
Pyramid and branch
By creating review notes then quizzing yourself with them, you’ll recall knowledge, reinforce your understanding and retain information better for your next exam. Good luck!
