Study Discussion (2 Viewers)

[Timothy.Siu]

Re: Typed or Written Study notes?

its up to you, although you may be able to remember more if you write it up, thats if you're paying attention...
but for me, i dont think i'm going to write notes at all

 

[sirfeathers]

Re: Typed or Written Study notes?

although typed notes are quicker, i found my written notes to be of much more benefit to me this year. i did a bit of both, resorting to typed notes in the few weeks before the exam period when i knew i wouldn't have enough time to write up everything.

- the fact that it takes you longer to write notes is actually beneficial, imo, because they stick in your head much better when you've spent more time thinking about them.

- i found that i was "sloppier" in my typed notes because i knew they could be changed easily. eg. when i did handwritten notes i had to think carefully about the layout of the info, the order of the info, the syntax and logical structure of the info etc ... whereas with typed notes i was like "bahh, i'll just type up everything i know quickly, i can edit them later"(and i never did)

- also, your written notes are often more succinct and refined than typed ones simply because you've thought more about what is important information and what is not. when I typed notes, I had a tendency to include much more info than was necessary simply because it required so little exertion to put in the extra information. so you may find that you don't actually save so much time typing notes, because they will be longer.

- because of above point, the info will be harder for you to remember (defeating the whole purpose of notes)

- it is much easier to use pretty colours, create diagrams etc when you are writing them by hand. At the beginning of yr11 i developed a particular "colour code" for particular types of info eg. definitions highlighted in pink, headings in red pen, formulas highlighted in blue etc. and because i stuck with this system through my hsc (and will probably continue to do so), my notes became neater and much more structured as time went on.

- if you need a computer to create your notes you give yourself more excuses for not doing them at all. whenever a family member was using our computer, i was like "ah, damn, can't do my notes tonight then", and then i'd fall way behind in my note-taking.

- i found it much easier to read and absorb a page of handwritten info than a page of typed info (a purely aesthetic purpose). when i read over my handwritten notes, i remembered writing them and all the thoughts running through my head when i was ordering and structuring the information - i found that even reading over them once before exams improved my info recall dramatically. running my eyes over a black and white page of words, by comparison, did me little good.

- in short, written notes require you to use more "higher order thinking skills" and generally think through the info with much more rigour, which will ultimately be of much greater benefit to you come exam time.

 

[mckensara]

Re: Typed or Written Study notes?

Really?!
The subjects i take demand notes, the bastards.

At the moment ive written and then typed my notes for some subjects
it just takes so long.
ill just deal with it :uhhuh:

If you don't write notes what do you do?
Study out of your texts? Practice questions?

 

[mckensara]

Re: Typed or Written Study notes?

- in short, written notes require you to use more "higher order thinking skills" and generally think through the info with much more rigour, which will ultimately be of much greater benefit to you come exam time.

Yeah see i tend to "draft" my notes because i have so much information
and then i re-write the notes into a format and learn them
So, maybe i should give writing it all in one go a shot?

I know i'm quite ineffective with my time at the moment...

You guys are so helpful thanks for that

 

[sirfeathers]

Re: Typed or Written Study notes?

Really?!
The subjects i take demand notes, the bastards.

At the moment ive written and then typed my notes for some subjects
it just takes so long.
ill just deal with it :uhhuh:

If you don't write notes what do you do?
Study out of your texts? Practice questions?

just spend a few days these summer holidays getting up to date. it's hard and boring, but trust me, i was so glad i did it once exams came around.

apart from note-taking, i'd say practice questions are the best way to go - they'll not only make sure you know your stuff, but will also give you a lot of confidence, since you'll know that you can actually do the stuff asked in exams. this is truer for some subjects than others. in maths and science subjects for instance, i found practice qs to be much more useful than my notes.

Yeah see i tend to "draft" my notes because i have so much information
and then i re-write the notes into a format and learn them
So, maybe i should give writing it all in one go a shot?

i kindof did this. my "drafts" were very very quick plans of how i would order my "proper" notes - what info would go where, what heading the info would be ordered under etc. they didn't really have any info in themselves. by quick i mean like max 5 min after reading through the textbook pages

ok i just dug out my old economics notes for an example

this is what my "draft" would've looked like:
___________________________________________

5.2 AUSTRALIA'S FLOATING EXCHANGE RATE SYSTEM

- definition of floating exchange rate
- brief history
- explanation of history

Main heading: "factors affesting supply and demand for $A" (syllabus pt)
- speculators - explain
- investors - explain
- traders - explain
acronym SIT

- how these factors influence the $A + diagram

Main heading: "measurement of exchange rates relative to other currencies" (syllabus pt)
- why are different methods of measurement needed?

types of measurement:
- exchange rates - definition, advantages, disadvantages, example
- trade weighted index - definition, advantages, disadvantages, example

_______________________________________________________

see how my drafts "plan" the information without making me write out everything twice. at least this method worked for me anyway. i found i had clear and concise notes without spending too much time on them

good luck for all your studies this year! if you are committed enough to be thinking about these things in the summer holidays, i guarantee you'll go well!

 

[benn07]

Re: Is it really so bad to study from study guides?

i love the study guides for maths - mainly because its better than our standard text books!
Oh and the one for chemistry sucked though... It was way to brief.
I think they're good depending on what subject they're on.

 

[mckensara]

Re: Typed or Written Study notes?

Thanks so much for all your help
so appreciated

yeah i hope to get all my term 4 notes done before school term starts...
that plan thing sounds like it could really work for me so ill give it a go

heres to hoping!

 

[mckensara]

Re: Is it really so bad to study from study guides?

I find them a good aid, and sometimes there are some different stats/examples ect in history and legal...

However, its ALWAYS a better option to write your own notes i find
study guides are usually not enough if you want to ace obviously

 

[morganjane]

Re: Typed or Written Study notes?

You basically just need to decide on your own.
I write notes in school and i type my summaries.
When the trials are coming up i stop typing, because you have to get your writing into gear; so you can become a extended response writing machine!!

Thats all from me.

Blessings
xXx

 

[MrDimple]

would like advice and help

hello BOS people im havign abit of a travel
i do these following subjects

Standard english
general maths
engineering studies
Studies of religion
physics
biology

i would like effective ways on studying, because during the preliminary course i didnt study and all just got lazy and didnt care, now its year 12 and would like some good ways on studying the trouble is, i enjoy most of my subjects like physics, bio and engineering but i suck at them. Assessment task i do so well i get 70%-80% but when it comes to test i just suck and get like 30% and higher =/
any ways to improve my test results and do very well in the HSC year
?
i would like to get a UAI of 80 thats my goal for engineering at UTS

help appreciated

thanks

 

[zzzz12345]

Re: Typed or Written Study notes?

I've always been in favour of typing notes rather than handwriting them for a few very prominent reasons. Firstly I often crush/lose/make mistakes in my notes and having a soft copy always avaliable on my computer allows easy access should anything happen to the notes that I created. Also typed notes allow for simple changes and edits especially if you find out new information which links to previous notes. I also find that typed notes are more accessible especially to other people. I often get e.g. my parents or friends to test me on my notes and considering that my rushed handwriting is unreadable to me at the best of times and writing overtly neatly would take too much time typed notes provide a nice solution to this dilemma.
Probably the main reason I love typed notes is that my notes are insanely long (I'm a block text person when I study) and handwriting them would not only take a ridiculous amount of time but I would probably quit before I finished and would procrastinate much more than with typing. Ease of recovery (and spell check) are the two main advantages of typed notes but it's really a personal preference. Try out both methods these holidays and see which one works best for you.

 

[gibbo153]

Re: Typed or Written Study notes?

"using the search button" is more effective for the ability to "not make threads that have already been made innumerable times"

 

[lyounamu]

Re: Typed or Written Study notes?

I've always been in favour of typing notes rather than handwriting them for a few very prominent reasons. Firstly I often crush/lose/make mistakes in my notes and having a soft copy always avaliable on my computer allows easy access should anything happen to the notes that I created. Also typed notes allow for simple changes and edits especially if you find out new information which links to previous notes. I also find that typed notes are more accessible especially to other people. I often get e.g. my parents or friends to test me on my notes and considering that my rushed handwriting is unreadable to me at the best of times and writing overtly neatly would take too much time typed notes provide a nice solution to this dilemma.
Probably the main reason I love typed notes is that my notes are insanely long (I'm a block text person when I study) and handwriting them would not only take a ridiculous amount of time but I would probably quit before I finished and would procrastinate much more than with typing. Ease of recovery (and spell check) are the two main advantages of typed notes but it's really a personal preference. Try out both methods these holidays and see which one works best for you.

That's fair enough.

 

[pawabola]

Re: Typed or Written Study notes?

Writing notes is probaly more beneficial as you can train your hand to maximise words written per hours. Writing fast is a great skill for the HSC.

 

[annabackwards]

Re: Typed or Written Study notes?

I do both.

For maths it's written because word is just too much of a pain to do equations/diagrams.

For physics I type mine because i actually hand them in so if there's a mistake it's easily fixed. Same for english as i generally change my mind.

Haven't quite done notes for any other subjects as of yet, i guess i should start XD

 

[jet]

Re: Typed or Written Study notes?

I type. Mainly because it allows me to maintain consistency, I can keep a copy everywhere in PDF form - very accessible and easy to create [im on mac], and i can easily edit. Plus i am alot neater when I type, and I can email it to my teachers.

 

[gibbo153]

Re: Typed or Written Study notes?

ever?

get?

de ja vu?

 

[mckensara]

Re: Typed or Written Study notes?

"using the search button" is more effective for the ability to "not make threads that have already been made innumerable times"

im sorry, im a newbie xx

 

[gibbo153]

Re: Typed or Written Study notes?

im sorry, im a newbie xx

haha i was kidding.

welcome =]

what are you aiming for?

 

[mckensara]

Re: Typed or Written Study notes?

you kid, yet have a very good point! haha

well about 95 just to keep my options open for arts
my dream course would be a bach of arts and psychology which is 98.5
so... a little out of my reach i think
i can hope though!

how about you?