This is week 4 of the “12 Weeks – Study With Me” program.
If you missed last week’s tip, you can view it here.
In summary, the purpose of the 12 week program is to ace your exams using 12 sets of effective and actionable tips. Each tip is brought to you weekly with the hope to keep you on track.
Let’s now move on to today’s tip.
It’s a good idea, if your schedule allows, to review your lesson notes as soon after class as possible while the material is still fresh in your mind. This way, you can make your notes as clear as possible as well as start the repetition learning process.
The best time to start reviewing and studying your notes is within a day after taking them. If you go much longer, it will only be more difficult to go back and re-teach yourself the material. This can be especially true when it comes to more difficult topics or those that you have more trouble understanding. By setting a few minutes aside each day, you’ll allow yourself to learn more material in less time and with less effort than almost any other technique you can practice.
While reviewing notes, it’s super important to identify the material that you struggle with more than others.
You’ll need to allocate more time and dedication to these sections in preparation of exams and final essays. When studying and attempting to understand difficult material, do so more actively. This includes adjusting your speed in which you go through the material and re-reading sections often.
Make notes as you read and keep your book and any relevant study materials close by. Circle or make a note of any word or concept you don’t fully grasp, look it up and then write down the understanding in your own words.
Furthermore, when you are just learning new or difficult material, don’t treat it the same as you do the material you already understand. Break down the material into parts or sections.
First go straight through all the material a couple of times quickly. Then break up the material into logical parts that you can then study separately. At the end, go back and review everything from beginning to end.
To keep track of the topics you struggle with, I’ve put together a study planner. It will allow you to record the topics you’ve already studied and identify and keep track of your level of understanding. You can download the study planner here;
At the end of this week you should have accomplished;
- Reviewing your lesson notes
- Identifying the difficult topics and
- Putting together a record to keep track of what you’ve already covered and your level of understanding.
Next week you’re going to do what many students neglect and often take for granted. It’s going to make a huge difference in your results.
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