How to Make a Study Guide

How to make a study guide

1. Make a list of what you need to know a. Skim textbook for headings, bold words b. Read notes c. Brainstorm – list every idea without judgment

2. Organize the list This is the work of studying that you usually ask the teacher to do. It is what actually makes you remember things – it is the strengthening of the brain muscle. Ask yourself: Which facts go together and which ones belong in a separate category? Which are examples of others? Which are facts to memorize, which are explanations to understand?

Re-write the list as an outline, or a concept map, or whatever you like.

3. Add details. This is another brain exercise. a. As you re-write your list, you’ll remember things that go with your facts. Write them in. It’s OK if it gets messy – it’s your list. b. Go back to your notes and look for more details that you forgot. c. You might want to go to Google now if you think of something you want to add but can’t find in your notes. But don’t copy too much from Google – it just becomes extra clutter.

4. Color code the list. You don’t actually have to use color, but that’s the easiest way to do this brain exercise. a. Choose a scheme. For example, you might want to choose colors for i. Stuff I already remember and understand ii. Stuff I understand, but need to memorize iii. Stuff I always get mixed up iv. Stuff I really don’t get – I need to ask for help on this b. Or maybe you want to choose colors for i. Major idea ii. Examples of major idea iii. Explanation of idea iv. Subsets of idea c. It is really up to you how to do this coding step, but playing with the information in some way – reorganizing it, thinking of what each statement is or means - that is the exercise.

5. Minimize it. Now that you’ve worked with the information – you’ve thought about how it fits together, how to organize it, what explains what, etc. – hopefully, much of it is sticking in your mind. So what if you had only a Post-It note to write on? Which statements would help you remember others? What is the bare minimum you’d need to help you during the test? Write those things out on an index card.