How comprehensive should my notes be? (1 Viewer)

[0bs3n3]

So at the moment my class has nearly finished WWI Core Study (currently doing the Armistice; point 4 of the syllabus). So keeping this in mind, my study notes (using the syllabus) is currently 26 pages long. It will only get bigger once we get this last topic down. Is this too big? Will it be detrimental to my study in the long run?


Should I make a really condensed set of notes, and then refer to my big set when I have any problems?

 

[duckcowhybrid]

Modern is basically a LOT of content. You need all of it. Don't condense. If you can't handle the content, don't do Modern.

 

[0bs3n3]

Modern is basically a LOT of content. You need all of it. Don't condense. If you can't handle the content, don't do Modern.

Oh I can. Just wondering if its normal to have this much.

 

[wendybird]

Very normal to have insanely long Modern notes.

My ntl studies notes for Russia was at around 80 pages. WW1 at around 40. Indochina 50ish.

But obviously, you're not going to go around memorising 100 pages of notes. The method I found worked for me was this.

1. Super detailed notes cross referencing a number of sources and textbooks. --> 100 and somethingish pages
2. A much more condensed summary of the notes, perhaps in the form of tables or mindmaps. -->30 pages
3. Essay plans covering every dot point, or every key feature and issue (all of which are from the syllabus). --> 50 pages (but using points that overlap greatly.

In the end, I had ALL the content in my head.

I really do think its a tiered process, its not enough to have notes, its the process of going over them and rationalising your way through them.

 

[mckensara]

1. Super detailed notes cross referencing a number of sources and textbooks. --> 100 and somethingish pages
2. A much more condensed summary of the notes, perhaps in the form of tables or mindmaps. -->30 pages
3. Essay plans covering every dot point, or every key feature and issue (all of which are from the syllabus). --> 50 pages (but using points that overlap greatly.

In the end, I had ALL the content in my head.

I really do think its a tiered process, its not enough to have notes, its the process of going over them and rationalising your way through them.

listen to wendy, this is what i did too

with modern its really easy to get overwhelmed by the content, but there is no need to freak out
yes, there is a lot of content. yes, you will need to learn alot of it.
however if you break it up into small pieces and know your strengths and weaknesses you'll be right!

i spent a great deal of time writing 'thesis' note sets, so what nearly every angle i thought about before i got into that exam.
i had so many sets of notes for different purposes, i had a thesis set, a fact set, an essay set, a set that i just couldnt get into my head, ect ect
so i wouldn't worry about the size and length, just make sure that its an amount that you can manage and learn over time
its important to look through your notes and review them to make sure that by the end of the year, you will still be able to understand what you meant! (alot of people including my self had this problem)

also try to be realistic about how much you will cover in an exam
its all very well to have 100 pages of world war one "facts", but think to yourself
'how much can i realistically pack into a 25 minute response?', 'can i really learn all this?' and try to cut out facts accordingly
i tried to find facts that i could use in a range of questions and only learn them and that worked for me too towards the end
its also been suggested that you only need to learn 5 - 10 actual 'facts' per dot point in world war one, so you could always work from that angle as a rule of thumb.

all the best x

 

[waryap]

listen to wendy, this is what i did too

with modern its really easy to get overwhelmed by the content, but there is no need to freak out
yes, there is a lot of content. yes, you will need to learn alot of it.
however if you break it up into small pieces and know your strengths and weaknesses you'll be right!

i spent a great deal of time writing 'thesis' note sets, so what nearly every angle i thought about before i got into that exam.
i had so many sets of notes for different purposes, i had a thesis set, a fact set, an essay set, a set that i just couldnt get into my head, ect ect
so i wouldn't worry about the size and length, just make sure that its an amount that you can manage and learn over time
its important to look through your notes and review them to make sure that by the end of the year, you will still be able to understand what you meant! (alot of people including my self had this problem)

also try to be realistic about how much you will cover in an exam
its all very well to have 100 pages of world war one "facts", but think to yourself
'how much can i realistically pack into a 25 minute response?', 'can i really learn all this?' and try to cut out facts accordingly
i tried to find facts that i could use in a range of questions and only learn them and that worked for me too towards the end
its also been suggested that you only need to learn 5 - 10 actual 'facts' per dot point in world war one, so you could always work from that angle as a rule of thumb.

all the best x

^ hell yeah, all this!
Plus, who wouldn't listen to first in state? It'd be stupid not to.
But hey, we all study differently, do what you think is most beneficial to yourself.

 

[wendybird]

Everyone has a different way of breaking down the content, but everyone WILL have to break down the content (whichever way they do it). Otherwise it's very easy to get overwhelmed at the sheer amount of stuff there is to know.

I did it with lots of summaries, mind maps and essay plans. Very similar to mckensara's technique of creating a number of theses.

Others may suggest you to create giant posters, or to make lots of flash-cards. Or perhaps you might decide (if you're an aural learner) to record your notes and listen to it as you nod off to sleep.

There are a whole number of ways of approaching it. All are more or less valid.

HOWEVER, my advice in terms of notes is that the best way of preparing is any method that allows you to get your head around the different angles that a key issue may be approached through. (Ie. Theses or essay plans).

Pure memorising of notes is not a particularly efficient way of doing this. (Too exhausting, and too much of a blunt instrument).

 

[whitnall8]

But for the new Great War exam style you don't need to know it in any great detail do you? Because I thought that the longest possible question you could get asked now was half a page (excluding the source analysis last question).