Summarising for revision

Summary sheets

Using summary sheets or cards is an effective revision technique.

Use tabulated summaries to collect information from within or across course books or units – they’re a great way to compare or evaluate competing theories, grammatical rules or examples of themes in different parts of the course. You can use a table like the ones shown below. Change the number of columns or rows for your own work, but keep them fairly simple so you can remember them in the exam.

	Block 1	Block 2
Theme 1
Theme 2

 

	strengths	weaknesses	comments
Theory 1
Theory 2
Theory 3

You can also use a mind map to capture these techniques in an economical way.

To boil the course down in this way, so as to extract its concentrated essences, is extremely valuable because it converts the broad themes and the detailed discussions of the course into a form which is more manageable for the purpose of answering questions in exams. Andrew Northedge, 2005 The Good Study Guide

Do this by following the steps below.

• Summarise your notes on a topic from the various sources you have collected together.
• Draw together the main points from these notes, using headings and key points.
• Try to reduce these notes further to one side of A4 paper, using only the main headings and a few associated key words.

Index cards

Summaries or notes on index cards are particularly handy as you can carry them with you and review them in odd moments or for testing yourself – perhaps on a train or bus, or while waiting in a queue in the supermarket.

Summarise your topic in a few words. Using your own words means you process the information, which improves your understanding and your memory. Keep the notes brief to act as prompts.

Organise your notes in new ways on the cards – perhaps providing an overview of a topic on one, and then notes around sub-topics on others. Try using colour as an aid to memory.

Assignments

Assignments can be a very useful starting point for producing summaries. Look through them as you revise and compare exam and assignment questions on the same topic. How do the questions differ? What would the key differences be between an assignment and exam answer on the same topic? Think how you could use these ideas in an exam answer. Reduce the assignment by making summary sheets or cards for use in your revision.

Audio recordings

Record audio notes of key points, perhaps short quotes or unit summaries that you’ve made notes on, then play them when you have a chance. Some students find course concepts or facts stick in their minds if they hear rather than read them.

Related pages
Notes
Revision planning
Visual techniques for revision