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How to acutually study from a textbook?

I can never remember everything that I have read. #College

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Whitney’s Answer

While memory is highly personal and everyone learns differently, I've found that the best way for me to study from textbooks is to take notes on everything that I want to remember. While this takes a little bit longer than simply reading the textbook, the process of reading, comprehending and summarizing the notes helps me to remember the content long after I've read it. This helps me stay focused and attentive. Additionally, writing notes by hand has been proven to help improve retention, which I've found to be true myself!
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Kim’s Answer

Zarielle,


You are not alone!


Some ideas: Do your reading at a time when you are not tired, and your eyes are not fatigued. Have adequate lighting. Do not have distracting noise. If you can study with music in the background, that is ok, otherwise, turn it off. Some people find total silence distracting, some must have it. So I leave this to you! Disengage from electronics - no social media! Munchies and drinks are okay.


Familiarize yourself with the textbook. Look at the general layout, read the introduction. Some authors give hints on how to best use the book. Scan the table of contents. Look for glossary, index, and other resources in the back of the book. Sometimes the US Constitution is in the back of the Govt. textbook, for example. Glance at a chapter. Look for things the author did to help you. Are vocabulary terms in a different color? Are they defined in the margins. Look at headings and sub-headings throughout the chapter. Notice changes in fonts. Look at the end of the chapter. Does it have a review section? Does it have study questions. Okay, now that you have a feel for the book . . .


When you read a chapter, first scan it to get an idea of what it is covering. Read the intro paragraph, headings, subheadings, AND, perhaps most importantly, read the review material at the end of the chapter before you start to read the chapter. It will tell you what it expects you to retain! As you read, highlight and make notes in the margins, as appropriate. If you find yourself disagreeing with the author, make a note of that! Or, if there is something left unanswered, make a note of that! After 20-25 minutes, take a break. When you come back, quickly look over the previous section, and ask yourself a few questions to see if you are understanding what you read. Understanding the concepts will help you to remember!


Some people outline what they read. Some make vocabulary cards on index cards. Some find that discussing with a study partner helps. The challenge is for you to figure out what works best for you. This isn't easy to do, as it may differ from subject to subject! However, I have found that getting to know the book before delving into it is always worth the extra few minutes!


Hope this has helped!


Kim
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