Commonly, young students are making mistakes when organizing their studying materials. As a result, it is hard for them to prepare for the exam using those papers. That’s why we have gathered some mistakes which you might have been doing while organizing your materials, so you could avoid them in the future and become a better student. 

Your Study Materials Are Too Complicated

If you keep flipping back and forth as you study, trying to figure out what you might have meant with what you said, your study materials are clearly over-complicated. Your compilation must be simple. The content is complicated as it is, but your task is to write it down as simply as possible so that you can learn it better.

Solution: For every explanation, every sentence, every list, think about whether you couldn’t describe the facts even more simply (of course without omitting important information or becoming imprecise)! Avoid lengthy ramblings and keep your paperwork simple. By the way, this approach is also good for your final essays but just in case you would need some additional help you may reach out to a paper writer of your choice. 

You Don’t Use Colors Or Markers

“It’s best if I write everything in one color, avoid markings, and don’t particularly emphasize important information.” Sentences that are often said before a bad exam result. Visual stimuli such as colors, underlining or symbols in the margin help you to understand your material better and faster. Especially if you have little time or a lot of learning ahead of you, you shouldn’t do without these design options. This will make your learning materials clearer and easier to understand.

Solution: Work with colors! Create a color scheme and underline or write down particularly important content in color. Mark definitions, key questions, or basic examples in the margin so that you can see at a glance what is really important.

You Don’t Make Lists

Again, long, complicated sentences have no place in your study materials. Especially with enumerations or comparisons, you can work great with lists and thus avoid long text passages. Listings are easier on the eye and easier to learn. In addition, you automatically avoid superfluous filler words for cumbersome paraphrases.

Solution: Whenever possible, work with lists and write down individual key points rather than formulate long sentences. Example: The advantages are 1st, 2nd, 3rd, … The essential characteristics are 1st, 2nd, 3rd, …

You Don’t Let Pictures Do The Talking

Besides colors, markers, and lists, images are the graphic element that can push your learning progress the most. Images, diagrams, sketches: When you mix your textual content with visual building blocks, the material sticks in your memory longer and more detail. In addition, graphics are memorized faster and can reflect a much higher information density than comparable text passages.

Solution: Complete your summary with graphics and pictures! Create your own diagrams or draw simple sketches to visually underpin processes, relationships, or other connections.

You Don’t Use Your Own Examples

There is one thing that should not be missing from your learning materials: examples. But they must not be standard examples. Because the standard is boring. And your brain doesn’t like boring. So, think of your own examples and give your documents the finishing touches. Once you have understood a topic and have even thought of your own application examples, you will never forget it again.

Solution: Add your own, slightly modified example to each example from your documents! As soon as you have gained some practical experience, you can come up with your own examples and use them to bring your learning materials to life.

You Don’t Show Your Study Materials To Anyone

Your learning materials are never perfect. And that’s not bad either. But they must not be incorrect or incomplete. The only problem is that if you keep your documents to yourself and don’t share them with anyone, there is a great risk that you will overlook important points and, to a certain extent, become operationally blind. And to prevent exactly that, it makes sense that you coordinate with your fellow students. Isolation is never a good solution – not even when studying.

Solution: Exchange your learning materials with your fellow students and give each other feedback! Discuss your build and talk about different approaches. Advantage: You automatically have a learning effect and develop a deeper understanding of the material.

Conclusion

Your learning materials are the most important basis for your exam preparation. So that you make a few mistakes, I have collected the greatest sources of danger for you and prepared possible solutions.

Always remember Bad learning materials = bad exam preparation = bad exam results. That’s why you do it better from now on. Invest your time and energy in creating your learning materials. Prepare yourself well and write a summary with which you can’t help but scurry through the exam successfully. If you set the course correctly at the beginning, you will reap the laurels in the end.