Do you take notes while reading Exam Krackers?

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eagerinsight

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I'm reading all of the Exam Krackers books and find my self taking notes. I told a fellow pre-med and he said I was wasting time, he said I should be just reading and re-familiarizing myself with the material. Am I wasting time?
 
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It depends on how you learn. Personally, I learn very very very poorly by simply reading the material. I mean, I guess if you're gifted with that ability of retaining info you read like that, great. But I totally zone out if I try to do that. I always (almost always) need to rephrase what I read in my own words (i.e. note-taking) before I'm able to learn something.

So yeah. What I end up doing is typing up something for each chapter of EK. Well, that's not totally true. I don't do this for physics or o-chem, because with those subjects, there really isn't a lot to *memorize*.. it's more, problem-solving based on a few principles. So with those, I don't do it. But for bio & chemistry (esp bio), I really find myself needing to take notes... otherwise, I could read a chapter like 3 times and not recall anything 😛... either that, or I'll remember the material for like a day, and by next wk, I won't remember a thing. I really need to make my own notes in order to grasp the concepts for those subjects (and *remember* them!). I'm not sure why that is, but that's just the way it is.


As with all things... YMMV.
 
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unsung said:
It depends on how you learn. Personally, I learn very very very poorly by simply reading the material. I mean, I guess if you're gifted with that ability of retaining info you read like that, great. But I totally zone out if I try to do that. I always (almost always) need to rephrase what I read in my own words (i.e. note-taking) before I'm able to learn something.

So yeah. What I end up doing is typing up something for each chapter of EK. Well, that's not totally true. I don't do this for physics or o-chem, because with those subjects, there really isn't a lot to *memorize*.. it's more, problem-solving based on a few principles. So with those, I don't do it. But for bio & chemistry (esp bio), I really find myself needing to take notes... otherwise, I could read a chapter like 3 times and not recall anything 😛... either that, or I'll remember the material for like a day, and by next wk, I won't remember a thing. I really need to make my own notes in order to grasp the concepts for those subjects (and *remember* them!). I'm not sure why that is, but that's just the way it is.


As with all things... YMMV.
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Agreed. Do what works best for you. I learn best by outlining material and then doing a lot of practice. I get bored reading anything longer than a page and then start to fall asleep or start thinking about other stuff.
 
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I agree, do what works best for you. Everyone learns differently. I took notes on the EK materials too. It was easier for me to go back and review my notes rather than skimming through the entire book. Plus, when it came MCAT time, I read the passage and took notes on the passage. It was almost like taking notes on the EK materials, so it seemed to be easier for me. I know I showed improvement on this with practice tests, but have yet to see the outcome on the real deal, as scores have not been released yet.
 
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Thanks guys now I feel better. I have always had success in school re-writing my notes, so I guess thats why I unintentionally started taking notes. My EK notes are not verbatim, they are more like paraphrased topics that I don't feel confident with. So I don't think I'm wasting time. My physics (current topic) and gen chem EK notebooks are thick but my biology and organic notebooks are less than ten pages. I guess my friend and I will find out who's personal study habits work best in May!
 
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I took 45 pages of notes on biology and 25 pages on general chemistry. I've never taken notes to learn for a class and usually just study off of another person's notes. If you want I can send you my EK notes(I typed them up and I was anal about formatting). I thought the notes helped a lot. I don't know how you can review the material when it sits in 400 pages of books...I just learn better off of note sets. I can't read the EK bio book in an hour but that's how long it took me to read my notes 😀. After reading the EK books and taking exhaustive notes for about 8 days straight I started with AAMC tests and was scoring 33-36 for 7 of them. Not the highest scores but the strategy worked well enough for me.
 
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hey physics junkie..do you think you could send me the notes? it would be awesome if you could... i'm finding it impossible to pick out the stuff i need to memorize out of the books. i need something more concise and to the point 😛 thanks!

my email is [email protected]
 
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Haha. Physicsjunkie might have bit off more than he could chew. 🙂
 
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physics junkie said:
I took 45 pages of notes on biology and 25 pages on general chemistry. I've never taken notes to learn for a class and usually just study off of another person's notes. If you want I can send you my EK notes(I typed them up and I was anal about formatting). I thought the notes helped a lot. I don't know how you can review the material when it sits in 400 pages of books...I just learn better off of note sets. I can't read the EK bio book in an hour but that's how long it took me to read my notes 😀. After reading the EK books and taking exhaustive notes for about 8 days straight I started with AAMC tests and was scoring 33-36 for 7 of them. Not the highest scores but the strategy worked well enough for me.
Click to expand...

I'd like a copy if you are still offering.... [email protected]

Thanks for your support! 🙂🙂🙂
 
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Hey sorry about this but if you could send them too me also I would really appreciate it. I'm having a tough time brushing up on the physics in this book. [email protected]
 
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I'd appreciate a copy, too, if possible. [email protected]

I've been taking notes, too, but it seems to take soooo long, that I don't know how practical it will be to continue. After I read and take notes on the chapter, I've been listening to Audio Osmosis and then taking notes from that. After reviewing all that, I do the associated questions from 1001 Book. While this is all helpful, I think I'm going to limit it to the topics I really need to review. There is an overwhelming amount of material that one could theoretically spend years studying.
 
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SomaCNS said:
I'd appreciate a copy, too, if possible. [email protected]

I've been taking notes, too, but it seems to take soooo long, that I don't know how practical it will be to continue. After I read and take notes on the chapter, I've been listening to Audio Osmosis and then taking notes from that. After reviewing all that, I do the associated questions from 1001 Book. While this is all helpful, I think I'm going to limit it to the topics I really need to review. There is an overwhelming amount of material that one could theoretically spend years studying.
Click to expand...

I would suggest you continue taking your own notes in addition. It should help you learn it all better as well as let you pick out/reinforce things that YOU don't know.
 
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ooh.. can I also get a copy of these?? I have been taking notes, particularly for bio. Im only at lecture 3 and I havent typed them. If you decide its ok to send them my email is [email protected] thank you very very much
 
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west nile said:
this thread is hella funny
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I know dude. Although I've personally benefitted from physicsjunkie's altruism, I'll make it a point to avoid making such offers in the future.
 
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sorry the c key on my computer at home is dying. my corrected email is [email protected]. And now.. back to lecture 3 of bio
 
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hey I don't know what you guys are talking about, but can I have some of it too? it must be good if everyone wants it.

[email protected]
 
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Could I get a copy of those notes, please?

If you'd like, I am a graphic designer and would be happy to design something for you (for instance a flyer, namecards/bookplates, avatar, etc. Just ask and I'll tell you if I can make it.) I wouldn't like to just ask for your notes and not give you anything in return.

 
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Hey physics junkie isn't there a way you can just post it here in the thread so that anyone that wants it can access it? Just a thought instead of emailing it to everyone.

But if email is the only way, do you mind sending it my way as well. Thanks a lot.

[email protected]
 
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I would love a copy too! Maybe you should post them up so everyone could copy and paste them.
 
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