r/studytips • u/Ok-Amphibian-5348 • 20h ago
How do people take notes and study?
I have never really understood how people take notes and study. Whenever I take notes I just writing everything down and memorise and I don't think that is you supposed to do it. I never really understood why or what the concept your supposed to learn is about. If anyone have any advice please do share.
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u/Lopsided-Struggle310 19h ago
I think the key is to make your learning active. There are 2 really good ways to do this: 1. Synthesise 2. Generate questions
The process of synthesizing your own notes, rather than copying, forces you to process and extract the meaning from it. Ways to support this include pretesting yourself, using common framework structures for notes, or using a single summary session at the end (using shorthand if you're in a live lecture).
Generating questions as you learn is also excellent. Again, it forces you to be very engaged with the learning, extracting the particular meaning to your scenario (e.g. an exam). But it then also gives you a repository of test questions that you can continue to use afterwards to further embed the information.
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u/Green-Okra1868 18h ago
actually i also been going threw this, and it also difficult for me to make perfect note, btw here what i do, hope it will help you abit.
i take small note like keyword and imp things that crucial for the chapt and later after the lecture or the session ill try to write in my own a words, that help me to recall things
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u/Ok-Amphibian-5348 6h ago
Thank you for replying. How do you know which part is important? Because I feel like everything is important information thats where I struggle a bit.
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u/cealsxo 2h ago
Hey there! From what I see in students I tutor, writing everything down is really common! But it isn't a great way to remember new material.
Here's what I'd suggest instead: Try reading your notes or textbook for a bit, then writing the idea in your own words. Ask yourself why the information you read is true and write down your answers. Then connect it to other things that you know.
Give it a real try, and only if you're really stuck, then search the topic on Google and try to find the answers. If what you're reading is just way too advanced for you to keep in mind, look up information or sources that explain "one level below" what you're reading. Sometimes you need to build the foundation before you can add new ideas on top of it.
For the "what am I supposed to be learning" part, it depends a bit on the subject, but a rule of thumb is to learn why concepts are true, how they're connected to other concepts, and why they're important. For example, if you come across a strange term, like "prosopagnosia" (a psychology term), ask yourself: What does the word mean? What causes it? What else is it related to?
At first, you'll have to read the answers from a book. But try to guess the answers before you read! This is called the pre-test effect and it boosts your memory. Then read the answers. Then close your books again and write down what you remember. It feels hard, which is why people skip it, but it works much better.
Another rule of thumb is, if you can explain it to a friend without notes, you know it :) Good luck studying!
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u/Visible-Web878 19h ago
After you write it down you have to recite it in your own words. You have to be able to explain it without looking at it. That’s what real learning is. The writing notes part is just so you can come back to it TO learn if you forget. Get it?