How To Revise: Active Recall

Active recall and self-questioning (Quiz Mode), which trains the brain to fetch information, are the best way to retain the study material and form connections.

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Back to Basics: Perfect Your Note-Taking Techniques

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While we might associate note-taking with school, it's something most of us continue doing for the bulk of our lives. If your techniques are feeling a bit crowded recently, it's time to get back to the basics and reboot your notes. Here are a few of the best practices.

Key Ideas

Purpose of taking notes

Note-taking serves one simple purpose: to help you remember information.

Although we might associate note-taking with school, it's something most of us continue doing for the bul...

Keep your notes simple

Keep them short, but have enough triggers in the keywords to jumpstart your memory when you look at them again:

Stick to keywords and very short sentences.
Write out your notes in your own words.
Find a note-taking style to fit both your needs and the speakers.
Write down what matters.

Outdated techniques

Rereading your notes, highlighting them, underlining them, and even summarizing them - all take a lot of your time.

Better methods include taking breaks and spreading out your studying (known as distributed practice), and taking practice tests (which isn't really applicable outside of school).