Tips for active studying?

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premedgrl1

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Does anyone have any tips for active studying?

One of the reasons I believe I didn't do well on my previous exam was because I was studying passively, and therefore I'm trying to understand exactly how to actively study. I've done my research, but would love to hear any helpful tips from others studying this way.

Thank you.

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Spend all studying time either doing practice problems, exams, or actively writing out notes / things to review. Only a minimal amount of time should be spent glossing over notes or concepts. Also, ask a lot of questions on here if you get stuck :)
 
I'm a big fan of keeping a set of either notes or flashcards that you constantly update (the updating is the important part). So, say you read a chapter on fluids and take notes on what you feel is important. Now, every time you work through practice questions on fluids, return to these notes and add any concepts that you missed the first time. If you get a fluids question wrong on a full-length, go back to the same notes again and clarify whatever caused you to get it incorrect (this can be content that you weren't clear on or strategy, such as any reasons you may have been tempted into a wrong choice).

You'll end up with a set of notes that is actually based on what you've seen tested, rather than information that is just taken from content books. The process of returning to these notes over time will also allow you to review what you've written down in the past without staring passively at it.

Good luck :)
 
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I'm a big fan of keeping a set of either notes or flashcards that you constantly update (the updating is the important part). So, say you read a chapter on fluids and take notes on what you feel is important. Now, every time you work through practice questions on fluids, return to these notes and add any concepts that you missed the first time. If you get a fluids question wrong on a full-length, go back to the same notes again and clarify whatever caused you to get it incorrect (this can be content that you weren't clear on or strategy, such as any reasons you may have been tempted into a wrong choice).

You'll end up with a set of notes that is actually based on what you've seen tested, rather than information that is just taken from content books. The process of returning to these notes over time will also allow you to review what you've written down in the past without staring passively at it.

Good luck :)
This is very helpful. Thank you.
 
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Does anyone have any tips for active studying?

One of the reasons I believe I didn't do well on my previous exam was because I was studying passively, and therefore I'm trying to understand exactly how to actively study. I've done my research, but would love to hear any helpful tips from others studying this way.

Thank you.
What do you mean by active studying? I usually like to read and make notes, and then do some practice problems. Is this "active?"
 
Spend half your time actively writing out notes from lectures/textbooks... and half your time doing practice questions. Personally, if I had a 4 week block, I'd spend the first two weeks reading/writing notes, then the last two weeks doing literally as many practice questions as possible.
 
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