Posted by ANAND P S on April 22, 2013, 2:47 p.m.
Don't just read the material from beginning to end, stopping to memorize each new fact as you come to it. New information is acquired much more easily when you can relate it to material that you already know.
When you are beginning to study a new chapter, it will make the information it contains much more meaningful and easier to learn if you first take a few minutes to read the introduction, the headings, the first sentence of every paragraph, and thechapter summary to get a good idea of what the chapter is about before going on to read the chapter as a whole. (Word for word, these portions also contain more information that is likely to be asked about on a test!)
If you can, use a highlighter, or underline the most important points in the body of the text, so that you can spot them more easily when you review the material. It also helps to make notes in pencil in the margin in your own words to summarize or comment on important points. (These practices may make your textbook worth less when you sell it back to the bookstore, but it may make it worth a great deal more to you at test time!)
If the text book belongs to the school, than you can use those highlighted sticky notes, or a regular sticky note beside the sentence or paragraph.
If the text book belongs to the school, than you can use those highlighted sticky notes, or a regular sticky note beside the sentence or paragraph.
- You can also read just these portions in order to quickly review the material you have learned while it is still fresh in your memory, and help the main points to sink in.
- This is also a great way to review the most important ideas just before a test, when your time is especially limited.
- It's also a good way to periodically review in this manner to keep the main points of what you have already learned fresh in your mind if you need to remember a large amount of material for a longer period -- for a final examination, for a comprehensive exam in your major, for a graduate oral, or for entry into a profession.
- If you have enough privacy, it also helps to recite your summaries aloud in order to involve more senses in the activity of learning, like listening to music over several channels at once. Incorporate your summaries into your notes, if there is a connection.
- If you're having trouble summarizing the material so that it "sticks" in your head, try teaching it to someone else. Pretend you're teaching it to someone who doesn't know anything about the topic, or create a wikiHow page about it! For example, Memorize the Canadian Territories & Provinces was made as a study guide for an 8th grade student.