In my article over at Study Hacks (The Intersection of Technology and Productivity) I mentioned the study guide. Now, the study guide is one of those things I go to great pains to produce and keep updated. It is, quite frankly, the most concise and practical implementation of the information you need to know.
But, you’re thinking, “I’ve got these 30 pages of notes I can use.” That, my friend, is no way to study. Even if you’ve been using the Cornell method, it is highly inefficient. Most classes contain about 75% throw-away information, and most people’s notes even more.
Not all classes benefit from study guides, but most do - any class where you must know rather than analyze (and obviously, good analysis requires knowledge.) So math, science, languages, history.. study guides work for all of them. But what goes into a study guide, how does one construct them?
Well, obviously that depends largely on what you need to know and how you best learn. I do best with charts, graphs, etc. I tend to be a conceptual learner and sheer memorization does not do a lot for me - seeing the relationships between the data is how I remember best. Others may just want lists. Some may want lots of pictures. It’s all about you, baby.
I wish I had kept more of my own study guides, but since I have not, I will share with you the one I created for this week’s German chapter.
As you can see, I’ve got a lot of info in this tiny space. I’ve a full list of this weeks vocabulary, the nouns color-coded by gender (color is a powerful tool, don’t neglect it. When dealing with many objects it is a quick visual cue to their category.)
I did mine using Curio and Apple Numbers. When using Windows I’d often use OneNote or Word. Generally speaking, you want at least two columns as most information tends to be in smaller bursts or bullets, and sentences are inefficient. And in both Curio and Onenote, you need to pay attention to where the page breaks and work around them. I believe both have a setting where you can see them.
At this point, you just fill it in it. Charts are great, as is boxing pieces of separate info. Feel free to put in a map, pictures, drawings or mind maps as well! But keep your goals in mind - what do you need to know. And if you know it already? Well, that depends…. these study sheets work great as general reference tools as well, you may want to include them. However, if you’re cramming for a test - better to stick what you don’t know.
07/09/2007 at 8:08 am Permalink
That’s a beautiful looking study guide. Wish I knew how to make them look so good.
Just thew up a link to this post over at Study Hacks
22/09/2007 at 1:32 pm Permalink
How far in advance do you suggest making a study guide?
23/09/2007 at 1:11 pm Permalink
@Jess:
Generally, I try to put them together as soon as I have the information. For instance, in German I try to make one immediately as it helps with my day to day assignments. In some cases, however (like now, in my Greek and Roman Religion course) I am putting my study sheet together as I review and collect all the relevant info for the test.
23/10/2007 at 6:45 pm Permalink
(I’m back! Thanks for the previous tip.)
How do you suggest setting up a study guide for, say, a history class? The professor has given us a bunch of terms we should know for the exam, but there’s not much else besides information that I could include (we don’t really have images or charts of any sort).