Review Your Notes

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Most forgetting takes place within the first 24 hours of encountering the information, a phenomenon known as the “forgetting curve.” So, if you do not review your notes almost immediately after class, it can be difficult to retrieve the material later. In two weeks you will have forgotten up to 70 percent of it! Forgetting can be a serious problem when you are expected to learn and remember many different facts, figures, concepts, and relationships for a number of classes. Once you understand how to improve your ability to remember, you will retain information more easily and completely. Retaining information will help your overall understanding as well as your ability to recall important details during exams. The next chapter is devoted to the topic of memory. For now, use these three strategies to work with the material immediately after class in order to remember key points from the lecture. They will pay off later, when you begin to study for your exams:

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  1. Write down the main ideas. For 5 or 10 minutes, quickly review your notes and select key words or phrases that will act as labels or tags for main ideas and key information in your notes. Fill in the details you still remember but missed writing down. You might also want to ask your instructor to glance at your notes to determine whether you have identified the major ideas.
  2. Recite your ideas out loud. Recite a brief version of what you understand from class. If you don’t have a few minutes after class when you can concentrate on reviewing your notes, find some other time during that same day to review what you have written and tell someone else what you learned in class that day. For many, the best way to learn something is to teach it to someone else. You will understand something better and remember it longer if you try to explain it. This process helps you discover your own reactions and uncover gaps in your comprehension of the material. (Asking and answering questions in class can also provide you with the feedback you need to make certain that your understanding is accurate.) Now you’re ready to embed the major points from your notes in your memory.
  3. Review your notes from the previous class just before the next class session. As you sit in class the next time it meets, waiting for the lecture to begin, use the time to quickly review your notes from the previous class session. This will put you in tune with the lecture that is about to begin and prompt you to ask questions about material from the previous lecture that might not have been clear to you.

What if you have three classes in a row and no time for studying between them? In that case, recall and recite as soon after class as possible. Review the most recent class first. Never delay recall and recitation longer than one day; if you do, it will take you longer to review, select main ideas, and recite. With practice, you can complete the review of your main ideas from your notes quickly, perhaps between classes, during lunch, or while riding the bus.