Study Tips — Study Better

Take Notes Using Your Own Words

Notes

Copying sentences from a textbook produces a second textbook. Writing in your own words produces understanding.

Why this may help

To write something in your own words, you have to understand it well enough to express it differently. This act of translation is itself part of learning. Copying, by contrast, can be done without understanding anything.

How to use it

After reading a section, close the book. Write the main idea in your own words from memory. Then check whether the note is accurate.

Step-by-step

1Read a section or paragraph.
2Close or cover the text.
3Write the main point in your own words.
4Check the original to see if anything important was missed.
5Correct or add only what was genuinely missed.

Try this

Read the next section of material you are studying. Then cover it and write three sentences explaining the main idea in your own words.

Common mistake

Copying notes from a source and feeling that the job is done. Copying is not the same as note-making.

Easier version

If writing in your own words feels difficult, begin with a single key word from each paragraph, then build a sentence from those words.

When it works best

For all subjects, but particularly valuable for sciences, social sciences, and humanities where understanding concepts matters more than memorising exact phrasing.

Reflection

When you look back at your notes, can you tell which parts you wrote in your own words and which you copied? Which are easier to understand now?

Separate Main Ideas from Supporting Details

Notes

Not all information in a textbook or lecture deserves the same amount of space in a student's notes.

Why this may help

Main ideas are the concepts that must be understood for the topic to make sense. Supporting details provide context and examples. Capturing both as if equally important makes notes difficult to revise from later.

How to use it

While taking notes, use a simple visual distinction: write main ideas clearly at the margin or in a larger format, and indent or write supporting details beneath them.

Step-by-step

1Identify the main idea of each section before writing anything.
2Write the main idea prominently.
3Add only the supporting details that help explain or prove the main idea.
4Skip examples that are clearly redundant.

Try this

Take one page of your recent notes and mark each line: "M" for main idea or "D" for detail. Does the balance look right?

Common mistake

Writing all information at the same level of importance, producing notes that are difficult to scan or revise from.

Easier version

Use a two-column format: main ideas on the left, supporting details on the right.

When it works best

Most valuable in lectures, large textbook chapters, and any source where information is dense.

Reflection

If you had only five minutes to review your notes before a test, which parts would be most useful?

Turn Headings into Questions

Notes

A chapter heading tells you the topic. A question based on that heading tells you what understanding you are trying to reach.

Why this may help

Reading to answer a question is more active than reading for general familiarity. Questions create a clear purpose for each section and make it easier to notice whether understanding has been achieved.

How to use it

Before reading each section, convert the heading into a question. For example, "The Water Cycle" becomes "How does water move through the water cycle?" Read the section to find the answer.

Step-by-step

1Before reading, look at each section heading.
2Turn it into a question: Who? What? How? Why? What causes? What are the effects of?
3Read the section with that question in mind.
4Write the answer in your own words after reading.

Try this

Take the next chapter you need to read. Write one question for each heading before you begin reading.

Common mistake

Writing questions that are too vague to guide reading: "What is photosynthesis?" is better than "Tell me about plants."

Easier version

Start with just one question per major heading rather than every sub-heading.

When it works best

Particularly effective for subjects with factual content organized by headings: sciences, history, geography, and social sciences.

Reflection

After reading with a question in mind, could you answer it without looking at the text? What does that tell you about your understanding?

Review Notes Shortly After Class

Notes

Notes taken in class begin to become harder to interpret within hours. A brief review while the class is still recent extends their usefulness significantly.

Why this may help

Memory of context — why a point mattered, what question it answered, how it connected to earlier material — fades quickly. Reviewing notes shortly after class while that context remains allows gaps to be filled and unclear points to be identified.

How to use it

Within a few hours of class, read back through notes. Add anything remembered but not written down. Mark any unclear points for follow-up.

Step-by-step

1Set aside 10 to 15 minutes after class or that evening.
2Read through the notes from beginning to end.
3Add any remembered points that were not captured.
4Highlight or mark any points that need clarification.
5Write one sentence summarising the main idea of the session.

Try this

After your next class, schedule 10 minutes for a note review before the end of that same day.

Common mistake

Not reviewing notes until several days later, when context has faded and gaps are difficult to fill.

Easier version

Even a two-minute scan of key points immediately after class is more valuable than no review.

When it works best

After every class or lecture, and especially after lessons covering new or complex material.

Reflection

When you reviewed notes the same day versus later in the week, how much could you recall about what each point meant?

Keep Notes Readable Rather Than Decorative

Notes

Colour-coded, neatly illustrated notes can be satisfying to create. They are only useful for learning if the content is also clear and accurate.

Why this may help

Time spent making notes visually elaborate is time not spent on understanding or recall. Well-formatted notes are more useful than beautifully decorated ones — but the purpose of notes is revision and recall, not appearance.

How to use it

Apply formatting only where it genuinely helps with clarity: use underlines or capitals for headings, a different colour for definitions, and arrows or symbols for connections. Avoid spending more time on formatting than on content.

Step-by-step

1Establish two or three simple formatting rules before starting.
2Apply them consistently and minimally.
3If it takes more than a moment to format, the time may be better spent on content.
4Test the notes by trying to recall the main ideas without looking.

Try this

Time yourself while making the next set of notes. What proportion of time goes to content versus formatting?

Common mistake

Spending an entire session rewriting notes to make them neater, treating the appearance of notes as equivalent to learning.

Easier version

Use one simple rule: headings in capitals, everything else in normal writing.

When it works best

Worth reflecting on whenever note-making feels like it is taking much longer than the actual content warrants.

Reflection

If you had to revise from last week's notes without adding anything, how useful would they actually be?

Create Short Chapter Summaries

Notes

A half-page summary written from memory after reading a chapter is more valuable than the original chapter for revision purposes.

Why this may help

A summary requires selecting what matters, expressing it clearly, and producing something brief enough to review quickly. This process reinforces understanding and produces a practical revision tool at the same time.

How to use it

After completing a chapter or major section, close all notes and write a summary of no more than ten sentences. Include only what mattered most.

Step-by-step

1Finish reading the chapter or section.
2Close all materials.
3Write a summary from memory in ten sentences or fewer.
4Check it against the original and correct any errors.
5Date and file the summary for revision use.

Try this

After your next reading session, write a chapter summary from memory before reviewing your notes.

Common mistake

Writing the summary while the book is open, which produces a paraphrase rather than a memory test.

Easier version

Reduce to five key points instead of full sentences if ten sentences feels too demanding initially.

When it works best

After completing each chapter or major topic, particularly in humanities, sciences, and social sciences.

Reflection

When you write a summary from memory and then check it, what does the comparison tell you about what you actually understood?

Use Simple Comparison Tables

Notes

When two or more concepts share similar features but differ in important ways, a table often makes those similarities and differences visible more quickly than paragraphs can.

Why this may help

Comparison tables organize related information in a way that makes patterns easier to see and gaps easier to identify. They are particularly effective for revision because they present multiple ideas on a single page.

How to use it

Identify two or more concepts being compared. Choose the features to compare — three to five attributes are usually enough. Create rows and columns.

Step-by-step

1Identify what is being compared.
2Choose three to five comparison criteria.
3Draw the table and fill in one concept at a time.
4Review for any missing cells.
5Use the table during revision to test recall.

Try this

Choose two related concepts from your current subject. Create a three-column comparison table for them.

Common mistake

Creating very large comparison tables that become difficult to review. Five rows and three columns is often more useful than ten rows and six columns.

Easier version

Begin with a two-column table: Concept A and Concept B. Add features as rows.

When it works best

Particularly effective in biology, history, economics, and any subject where comparing similar items is a common exam task.

Reflection

After making a comparison table, which differences between the concepts are now clearer than they were before?