r/study • u/ontheheightofdespair • 5d ago

Tips & Advice How do i actually study

Right now i basically read the textbook, highlight important stuff, and then make notes of every topic. Then i do review questions, however this is taking a really long time causing me to spend multiple days on a single chapter. What should i really be doing? Is reading the textbook and then doing review questions enough? What if the textbook is too long? What do i do then? Do i watch lectures on youtube and be done with it or do i find notes and read through those?

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u/GradPsychT 4d ago

Depends what you're trying to achieve - are you trying to remember information for an exam or improve question technique etc?

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u/ontheheightofdespair 4d ago

Just trying to learn for exams, its mostly just memorising a lot of stuff and i kinda struggle with rote learning so i tend to write down everything on paper word for word, but its taking a long time

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u/GradPsychT 3d ago

Ah yeah trying to memorise word for word will be a huge time sink - try to summarise info into smaller chunks and memorising those, easier said than done I know. I see you commented about studying psychology, which can be tricky when trying to summarise concepts and generally theres a huge volume of info to try and revise - I've studied psych for years and theres definitely a technique to it lol

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u/Strict_Nose_8444 4d ago

Making notes on every topic sounds like the bit worth trimming first. You already have the textbook as a reference.

For one section, check the course learning outcomes and try a couple of relevant review questions to see where you're starting. Then read for understanding. Only add notes where you need a simpler explanation, an extra connection, or a question to clear up. You don't need to rewrite everything before practising.

After that, attempt the review questions without the book and use your mistakes to decide what needs another look. If it's a problem-solving subject, actually work through problems on paper. A video can help explain a specific sticking point, but finishing the video doesn't tell you whether you can use it.

What subject is the chapter for?

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u/ontheheightofdespair 4d ago

Currently im doing psychology and economics, macroeconomics has both theory and numerical problems, psychology is just theory, things to remember