Whenever you have a final exam or big test coming up, it’s a good idea to whip up a study guide so you can train your brain to know the key facts it needs for success. That said, there are good study guides and bad study guides – a poor study guide could cause you to waste time and, worse, even cause you to remember the wrong information.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at seven key tips you can use to create the ultimate study guide for any upcoming test.
Organize Your Notes
One of the best early things to do is organize any notes you plan to put in your study guide. If you’ve made any notes from class lectures, reading materials, or other sources, organize them so you can carefully and efficiently export them to your study guide, whatever its size.
For example, if you’re looking to create a CSCS study guide for the Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist exam, you should organize your notes by:
- Organizing different topics into different sections
- Writing your notes with the most pertinent information at the top and more niche information at the bottom
- Keeping the original copies of your notes in organized stacks for later retrieval or review
Bottom line: organization is key to any study guide, and organizing your notes will help you write down key information in your study guide when you need it most.
Pair Questions with Answers/Topics
Next, try to pair the questions you plan to ask in your study guide with the key topics and answers that pertain to them. For the best results, put the questions right next to their key answers or topics on your study guide – that way, you can quickly scan for the question you need to know the answer to and find that answer right next to it.
Furthermore, pairing questions with answers or topics relevant to them helps you learn “flash card style.” In other words, as soon as you see a question you recognize pop up on a test or exam, your brain may immediately provide you with the answer since it memorized that answer right next to the question on your study guide pages!
Include a Vocab Section
Depending on the content of the upcoming exam, it might be wise to include a dedicated vocabulary section. Vocabulary sections are perfect if you need to remember the exact definitions or meanings of specific words or topics for your exam.
Simply place key vocabulary words and their definitions in a row or on a bullet list. That way, you can quickly scan and memorize vocabulary words as needed.
Include Visuals (if Possible)
Similarly, try to include visuals for topics or concepts that are important to you. This isn’t always possible – for instance, if you’re taking a math test, visuals aren’t practical study guide materials – but if it is, you might find that this visual learning helps you memorize important concepts much more easily.
Write Practice Essay Questions & Bullet Answers
Many of the most difficult tests and exams, regardless of industry or focus, have essay questions. Therefore, it’s a good idea to write a few practice essay questions and some sample answers for a new study guide, albeit in bullet point format.
You don’t need to write full-on essay answers, as those would take up far too much space on your study guide page(s). However, if you write the bullet point answers for those essay questions, you may be able to more easily answer similar essay questions on the real test by expanding on those bullet points.
Handwrite Your Guide
One other important tip when writing a study guide is handwriting the information. Instead of typing up your study guide information, write it by hand – your brain will have an easier time memorizing this information.
Why? Simply put, it takes a little more effort and concentration for you to write the information in your study guide. In this way, you give your brain additional opportunities to absorb the crucial information you need to remember. Typing it doesn’t have nearly the same memorization potency.
Keep it Brief
Last but not least, always keep your study guide brief. Ultimate study guides are concise, focused, and easy to use for tests (if you’re allowed to bring study guide materials to your exam, that is).
More importantly, long and exhaustive study guides take up a lot of time when you are taking your final exam. In the worst cases, you can even get lost in your own study guide trying to find a single piece of information.
All in all, these tips will help you make the ultimate study guide for any upcoming examine your future, whether that’s a physical trainer certification test, a college exam, or something else entirely. Good luck!
