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Students of MLPForums, how do you study/revise?


MorningFlash

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First, I always read the material or chapter that my class is going to discuss in class. I try to take good notes in class (it really helps if my professor uses PowerPoint) and then study them as best as I can before a test. With some classes I have also gone back and reread certain sections of the book to try and remember key facts and ideas. I've also made flashcards to try and memorize certain things before taking a test, but that isn't something I do all that often.

 

For math-related subjects I also practice as many problems as I can and will go to my professor for assistance.

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I usually wing it and still pull in A's since I have a fairly good memory if I put my mind to it, but usually I read my notes / the textbook. Sometimes, but rarely, I make flashcards.

Edited by Shift
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Engineering isn't like high school, that much I've learned by now...

 

When it comes to study subjects, they can come in two forms. You have the engineering subjects and you have what I call the terminology subjects.

 

For the engineering subjects, it's about gaining perspective on the subject at hand. You can have mastery in the science and math that is applied but if you don't have any perspective on the subject, you're just not going to know what's being asked of you on the exam. (Something I learned the hard way.) 

 

As for what I do with these subjects, there's a specific goal that I work towards when studying for these subjects and that is: "would I be able to take the teacher's place and teach the subjects to students myself?"

If that's something I'm able to do well, then surely I must have a good understanding of my subject. Even better if I'm able to do so with some degree of pedagogy (which basically mean explaining things without confusing the hell out of people).

 

For doing this, I keep two separate notes:

  1. A list of points I must be able to explain or demonstrate without the answer being in plain sight.
  2. Notes in the traditional sense.

Alright. That's what I do with my engineering study subjects but now what about the other one?

Well, it's more drudgery than anything else so may as well get stuff organized. First and foremost: don't waste your time trying to gain perspective on this because that's just going to give you a frustration-induced headache. Treat it for what it is and just make a list of the terminologies that you're going to need to memorize and their definitions. Because really, all you're really doing with these kinds of subjects is memorizing a what is for all intents and purposes; a dictionary. 

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So I have not really seen anyone doing what I do but firstly I :

 

1. Makes notes on the powerpoint slides of the lecture that gets given to me.

 

2. Create an online mindmap of everything important from that lecture (normally done at a later date as revison) --< this works well for getting key knowledge in your brain but not learning lots of facts>--

 

3. Create lists of various series I need to know, I often also write a song about the series if I know that it is a long series and will help!

 

4. Discipline to start revising early (5-6 weeks prior) to exams and starting off doing a few hours a day to ramping up to 10 hours a day (this reduces cramming and helps me remember everything better).

 

People respond well to different methods :)! But defiantly make sure you make good initial notes and start revising earlier. Bad nots means you have gaps in your knowledge, and if you start to late you just can't remember everything well.

 

Practising writing essays for questions and planning and memorising plans for certain topics can also be great in non multiple choice exams!

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I just review by going over my notes and using my inability to think about 1 thing (literally, not ADHD or small attention span) to reason with myself about WHY something is the way it is in my head, so that I can then remember it for the exam.  Normally, though, heavy studying should only be needed on Finals or Midterms, don't take notes verbatum, you will not memorise anything that way, and that's why students who type their notes are more likely to fail. They end up copying verbatum since they have the advantage of being able to type faster than they can normally write. I even do this sometimes. Which is why I use my tablet to HANDWRITE with. Technology just doesn't replace your brain sometimes.

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I slip on some mood music, get comfortable, warm up a cup of coffee, and get cracking. I go over materials again and again, i read the lecture files and data handed out making sure to understand each and every word, and proceed to solving problems and exercises until i understand the material on an intrinsic level. 

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Verbosity, as well as intuition, at their finest have allowed me a good leeway in the amount I need to actually "study" for certain subjects.  Providing a seemingly solid structure of understanding of a subject usually only requires one to only know an adequate amount, not an extensive amount about the subject - IF, that is, one has the ability to use enough intuition to be able to come to certain conclusions, and the ability of being a good writer.  If you are blessed with intuition and verbosity, basically, writing about something to prove your worthiness of a good grade comes naturally.

 

But, unfortunately, math is not one of those subjects.  Numbers are a totally different language.  Other subjects, though, hehe, can be fulfilled in the likewise.

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I study by reading and highlighting certain key points.  Yet, most of the time, I skip the "crappy" areas and focus more on the important sections. 

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  • 4 months later...

I've finished with public education by this point, but I used to just get the textbooks/class notes and rewrite them into summary sheets as bullet points. I'd summarise even further and highlight the key words to make myself notice and remember them more easily, then I'd get to the point where I can remember some of it without the notes so I could just cross parts out or whatever :)

Edited by Edwardo_Brony
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If you're in high school, normally, you shouldn't need to study as hard. If you do not copy notes verbatim and actually put them into your own words, they will stick much faster. This is a college student talking to you, btw. But anyway, here is what I did for High School Finals and College regularly. I never studied for regular high school tests.

 

Review my notes

Revise and clear any questions

Make crosswords out of definitions and ideas

Use my knowledge to create questions and essays out of the terms in my notes, going into extensive detail about them.

Review my notes again and make sure I understand what I'm saying/reading/writing

Eat nothing after 22:00 - and get a good night's rest

If my class is before 12, I eat afterwards. If I can, I take mints with me. 

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Study? What's that?

 

Anyway, I actually don't usually study. I pretty much go in with the knowledge I've acquired in class, wing it, and succeed. Though, admittedly, I've made some flashcards once or twice. AP History was hard, man.

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GODDAMIT 

YOU CAUGHT ME

TYPING PONY WORDS WHEN I SHOULD BE REVISING

-_-

 

Lel

Normally, due to various factors I dont revise, but I have been turning my life around and my most used techniques are: summarize in own words what I did in maths. Create a small mind.... chest? That I attach various objects to various points and thoughts (its not common, mostly because it requires much more work and practically meditation).

That and flashcards occasionally.

For maths? Just do things

Over and over

and over

and

over

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