10th February 2010 | The Urbanest Team | Comments [0]
Study Techniques – Summarizing Tips
University students need to learn an immense amount of information each semester and the easiest way to study is to perfect summarizing techniques. Students who learn to summarize effectively find it much easier to study and to take on board all the information they need to pass their exams. Here are some techniques that can help you to summarize information quickly.
Use Headings and Sub-headings
Headings and sub-headings help you to separate information into segments. This means you can find the notes that are relevant to a particular section quickly when you are reviewing your study notes. Pick out the most important piece of information and make that your heading for your study notes. If the lecturer says he is discussing three main points in the lecture, put each of those as sub-headings. You can do this at the start of the lecture by placing each sub-heading about a third of a page apart.
Then, you have a small amount of space to write your summary notes for each of the three main points. This will help you to be concise.
Work in Bullet Points
While students need to write in full sentences for assignments and essays in exams, it is not necessary to write sentences when you are summarizing information for your own study notes. In fact, it is much easier to take only bullet points. Write a single bullet point or phrase for each of the main points under discussion. Add key words that will help you to remember the whole discussion.
When you are working on summarising a chapter of a book, try to write a single bullet point for each paragraph. Eventually, you’ll be able to summarize whole sections in phrases, bullet points, and key words. Use sentences for clarity, but aim at being concise when writing study notes.
Never use unnecessary words like “also” – it just wastes space and time when you need concise notes.
Summarize Again
After you have taken your summarized notes, re-read your notes. See if you can cut more out. You may want to summarize your notes, using the same techniques. Combine bullet points and key words for some sections into smaller sections. If your original study notes are three pages long, see if you can cut them down into two pages. Every time you write a concise bullet point, you will find it much easier to study that information in the future.
University students who learn these summarizing techniques will find it much easier to study effectively. Practice writing concise bullet points that convey the key information and points you will need to remember for the exam.
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