School is starting again soon and it is time for students everywhere to think about brushing up on their study techniques. Here is some advice from Elizabeth on our youth team about how she approaches her studies. Have a read and you will be well prepared when we head back to school!
Schools Ballymena – How to make study notes
There is no a specific way that you have to take notes and many people learn in different ways whether it’s by doing, seeing or hearing – it depends on the person. However, I find that making study notes is an effective way to learn for exams. The key thing to ensure that they are successful is just by keeping your brain engaged throughout. It is easy to copy sentences out word for word, so here are some time on how to make interesting notes to prepare for an upcoming exam.
Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash
- Summarise
Do not copy out a huge quantity of factual details out word for word. It will be very difficult to remember. You could try a mind map, bullet points or flash cards - Be neat
If you have naturally nice handwriting this is good for you, however if your writing is a little more messy you could try and train your writing. To be honest, this isn’t really necessary since it takes a lot of time and doesn’t really help very much with the whole learning process. Make sure you find a nice pen that writes well, is not too thick or thin or smudgy. - Headings
Divide your notes into headings and subheadings. Use tick boxes and try to cover a specific topic and when you are done you can tick that box. I find that tick boxes really help to make you feel like you are getting something done and motivate you to keep going. - Spread out
Leave spaces between your notes so that you can add more details later or so that it doesn’t look too cluttered and your brain won’t be as distracted. - Aesthetics
If you are a bit more creative and want to make your notes look prettier you could try these things to help your notes look a little nicer…
Wreaths – they are incredibly easy to draw
Banners – there are so many on Pinterest that are super easy to copy
Arrows – if making a bullet point list try different styles of arrows etc
Handwriting – try different fonts to make it look more interesting
Colour coding – use different colours for different things/topics - Underline or highlight important things in different colours
- Summaries at the end of a topic
I hope that this helps give you some techniques on how to make effective study notes!