How can I increase amount of pages studie per hour?

[Ranniks]

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Basically I havn't done any memorization stuff in a while and I've picked it up again this week for my med school test in Europe.

I picked up this medical book. Basically today I studied close to 4 hours and only 15 pages..... I ended up with 20 pages worth of notes. But if I type them out in word I think it would be around 5-10 pages. I'm kind of dissapointed, but I think that if I had to do a test based on those 13 pages, I would do well. Basically I wouldn't have to go over my notes again if there was a test right now in front of me.

Studying 10 pages per hour would help me a lot. Is it just the more you do the better you get at it? Any tips?

People have said that in med school it would be wise just to read the powerpoint slides and notes the teacher gives you, but reading the book gives me confidence.

Btw, the 13 pages I read were about genetics and I found the english difficult even though I am pretty good at english....I even write stories in the english language. When I first went through the book I did not like how the english was written.

Without making notes I think I could get at 7-10 pages an hour with what I read today, but that would not be very activing studying I think.

If you are going to post discouraging posts, I would be very glad if you did not and just hit the return button to find another thread.

 

[Stoptheclot]

Have you ever taken a speed reading course?? I took a little 2-credit class on it and it helped alot - they usually give you different strategies and you pick up and run with the one that helps you the most. Just an idea, good luck!

 

[Five0tomed68]

You could try and reduce the amount of handwritten notes and supplement the content with other resources like on-line modules.

I'd suggest trying a variety of techniques and see what works for you. If it is taking a page of notes per page you read than so be it, but you probably will not get all the material. You're going to have to find the right balance.

 

[Ranniks]

I think it takes long for me to read because I reread the text a bunch of times. Like this doctor with OCD (I have OCD) (he's from the sitcom Scrubs):

I'm also very neurotic in missing information 'oh I've definitely got to write that down, it's definitely going to be on the exam'.

 

[Ranniks]

I did better today. 6 in 60 minutes. I did self-study about blastula to gastrula transformation in human embryology.
I did less noting down and more intent reading. Though I still felt that I should write down more details, ah we'll see.

I hope it does get better. I have Campbell's biology, so I'll do some testing and see if less noting down and more intent reading will do any good (e..g score at least 75% at the online practise chapter tests).

 

[68PGunner]

I average about 20-30 pages of science per hour. I wasn't like this initially. However, it gets easier over the years. I'm also the type that can sit on my chair and literally go through the material for a semester science class in a few days. I attribute this to my college education, and the training that I endured for my first career in finance. Back in those days, I can read through 300-400 pages of mathematical formulas, charts, and theories in less than a week. The assigned reading material for science classes is nothing in comparison.

I used to be like you. Honestly, the best piece of advice that I can give you is to stop taking notes of every useless fact. In a class, I would focus on the professor's lecture notes and ppt slides. If you are reading the text, I would focus on understanding the pics first. Usually, science books take 5-7 pages explaining a concept that's depicted in a diagram.

I honestly think that you need to develop your studying skills for test in general. Therefore, you need to be able to differentiate between testable and non-testable materials. Medical school is all about preparing for multiple tests. You are going to have a hard time if you keep this up in medical school. It's all about efficiency in your study. I can't help you in this regard because it's different for everyone. You need to find out what works and doesn't work for you.

I'm a visual learner so I can cut down on my study time by focusing on the diagrams. It might not be the same for you. Regardless, it will def get easier over the years.

 

[LUCPM]

Read for comprehension (i.e. big picture), not for details. Stop reading when your mind starts drifting off.