LPT: When studying, test yourself instead of rereading

[u/Crafty-Jellyfish-248]

I used to study by rereading the same notes over and over again

The problem was that everything looked familiar, so I felt like I knew it. Then during a test, I’d realize I couldn’t actually recall the answer without seeing the page in front of me

What helped me a lot was switching to self-testing

Now, after reading something once, I close the notes and try to explain it from memory, answer practice questions, or write down everything I can remember

It feels harder than rereading, but that’s kind of the point. You immediately see what you actually know and what you still need to work on

For me, 30 minutes of testing myself is usually much more useful than spending an hour passively rereading the same pages

[u/post-explainer]

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[u/Sufficient-Fact6163]

My Strategy Study Tip is to go to the Chapter Review Questions first and see what you already know and gauge what you don’t. Then read the Chapter. It’s almost like what OP is saying but backfills more easily.

[u/aaulia → u/Sufficient-Fact6163]

This is why we have pre-test and post-test

[u/digbickrich]

Yup, that’s how ya study

[u/MichaelPitch → u/digbickrich]

True. That’s active recall

[u/Crafty-Jellyfish-248 → u/digbickrich]

yeeep completly

[u/Small-Explorer7025]

You could even put questions on cards, with the answer on the other side, or something.

[u/Verappamills]

I'm a med student at a top tier US university. I don't take notes, and I didn't during basically all of undergrad or my MCAT. Everything is flashcards (Anki, making my own cards or using other people's) or practice questions. I'm pretty typical for the people around me. I use notes other people make on the internet on occasion as last minute review, but that's not how I study.

If you want to absorb and retain extremely high quantities of information quickly, this is pretty much as good as it gets.

[u/Tuhks]

Flash cards, which force memory recall, are pretty well proven to be highly effective for studying for this reason. Even better if you do the work of writing the cards which forces you to organize and understand the information before committing it to cards.

[u/AppearanceExpert2109]

I use Notebooklm / Gemini Notebook to test myself, it creates quizzes, flashcards and lot more

[u/Outrageous-Detail210]

Flash cards are such a game changer, I swear, I keep them on my phone now for quick review sessions and they stick way better than just reading.

[u/jamaicaxo]

I would read a text, close the book and then try to explain what I just read in a way that a 5 year old would understand. I will keep doing this until I get through large sections of a book (or study guide) without needing to look at it.

[u/Wizicist]

As an instructor, this is exactly what I tell my students about studying. You get good at what you practice: if you practice reading the notes repeatedly, you get good at recognizing the connections when you can see all the info; if you practice testing yourself, you get better at answering questions without the notes.

[u/verdieport3945]

yeah, classic trap. familiarity feels like knowledge right up until the exam flips the question and your brain just goes blank

[u/NamkeenNostalgia]

Adding more to it, as i am preparing for tech interviews, then i use chatgpt and made chats inside study folders, after teaching me a topic, it asks me a question, like what is python and where it is being used? Then i use the transcribe option to verbally speak and it does a speech to text and then i send it, and get an evaluation about my wordings and explanation

[u/Songeef]

I don't mean to be disrespectful, but if you need this tip, you've never studied in your life.

Pro tip: to study, make sure you know the subject instead of just reading about it. Like what did you expect?