What do u think is the best study method?

[ryley]

I personally have never really written a lot of notes/summaries, but I do read through my friends/VN/teachers notes for bio, chem & physics. I think the best technique I've ever employed was to regularly recap my classes at night to my parents, I seriously think my mum could have sat the bio exam last year and done alright. This forced me to revise what I'd done and it actually helped me understand the subject better as I had to put it into my own words. I also find helping people at school can be useful, for example in methods, most of the work I did in the first semester were the trickier/more involved questions my friends needed help with. The final thing I recommend is instead of doing the exercises from 4 different textbooks, have a look in the individual subject sections on VN, because that is where I find plenty of interesting questions that really test your understanding of a concept.

[Toothpaste]

Something that helps me is getting pre-written notes (be it TSFX or the teacher's ones) and writing my own summaries over that. I've always been pretty shit at organising notes and when I attempt at writing them from scratch, I abandon it after a few days.

It also helps for a habit in uni (I guess), since you'll probably end up writing over your lecture slides and using that as study material anyway.

[Velox]

I do write summaries of my notes, but I find the most effective study method to be mind maps. Clichéd as it sound, they really do help me fully grasp the subject. I feel they help me make connections between concepts/examples/information, which leads to a much fuller understanding of the subject.
Note: your mileage may vary.

[physics]

I also like to put things to hwo they link in a topic...like a brainstorming map and how things are all connected. its all veyr effective

[Eriny]

Writing notes to consolidate what you've learned is good and I would recommend writing your own notes in accordance with the study design, especially early on. It's definitely a good idea to review notes the day after you wrote them too. TFSX is right, however, in saying that the best study is practice exams. Unfortunately, most companies are pretty useless at producing them and there are only a finite number of relevant past VCAA ones that you can do.

[xXNovaxX]

I find notes useful in putting together the many study guides, textbooks, articles, handouts the teacher and i get/give in ONE place. I also always ensure my notes are smaller than the chapter, and that its simplified. I figure, come exam time, i just re-read the notes, and not the textbooks.

This all depends on the subject too, e.g. maths=no notes for me, just excserises and tests, english- reading books, essays etc, i find note writing a great revision tool, because it forces me to read the textbook, and i'm re-writing it on computer, than reading them, so its THREE revision techqniues in one.

I absolutely HATE anything visual which attempts to make me revise/learn. In school we are forced to do mind maps, and diagrams sometimes to define key concept,s or summarise what we learnt. But it's useless for people who are not visual thinkers. As a result, i never end up looking at these plain, simple and messy drawings/diagrams, and therefore it doesn't help. I really do wish i was a visual person, because you are right, every study guide etc recommend mind-maps, but i find it difficult to see how i can put a WHOLE course onto pictures, b/coz then in a few month's you'll be like "what does this picture mean" in other words you cant expand on an idea, without writing it.

[monokekie]

i find spamming trial exams nice, esp chem.
accounting, i think mayb just study hardcore b4 the exam and attend Anthony Simmon's lecture.