Over the years and across dozens of videos, I’ve taught you how to study effectively
and efficiently.
From flashcards to test taking strategies to memorization techniques, they will absolutely
improve your grades and school performance.
However, these methods heavily rely on the ability to identify and target which information
is important.
If you’ve ever wondered how to do that, today is your lucky day.
What’s going on guys, Dr. Jubbal, MedSchoolInsiders.com.
In this video, we’ll go over a step-by-step process to help you identify the most important
information in your classes or textbooks, and how to best organize and study that information.
The first step is to take a step back, no
pun intended, and identify in a broader sense what goal you are trying to achieve.
And I don’t mean “getting an A in organic chemistry.”
I’m referring to the micro-goals each time you sit down to study or attend lecture.
Allow me to explain.
The issue that many students face is that every bit of information seems equally important.
And when everything looks important, essentially nothing is.
It’s like highlighting an entire page of a textbook.
You might as well have not highlighted anything at all.
By instead identifying the main goals in any single study session, you’ll be able to
create a framework of general principles and core concepts in which you can fill in smaller
details that are relevant.
In doing so, you’ll be able to filter out the less important details and focus on the
critical areas that are most likely to show up on your test, and ultimately get a better
grade.
When identifying your goal at each study session, ask yourself, “What is the topic of this
chapter or lecture?
What do I need to know in order to understand it?”
This practice sets a purpose to each study session or lecture.
When you are first starting out, begin by skimming or pre-reading the chapter before you dive
in, or by looking through the lecture slides before you attend lecture.
Focus on the headings and subheadings, paying close attention to bolded words or phrases.
This exercise primes you to identify which key concepts are most important.
You want to create a mental scaffolding of sorts, where you have the foundational concepts
as the core structure, and you can fill in relevant details where appropriate.
As you get better at this, you’ll be able to forgo pre-reading and be able to better
identify important information on the fly.
But until then, start with pre-reading.
In doing so, you’ll be better equipped to identify your goal and set a purpose to each
study session.
Next, Pay Attention to How the Information is Portrayed
This one may seem obvious, but is too frequently overlooked and underutilized by students.
In lecture, pay attention to two factors from the professor.
First, how long are they spending on a certain topic or idea?
Usually, if a topic or concept has a greater percentage of class time allocated to it,
it’s more important.
Second, are they repeating any concepts or ideas?
If a professor says something multiple times, that’s a reliable indicator that it is important
and you need to know it for test day.
If you’re reading a textbook, the same principles apply.
Longer sections diving into a certain topic mean that you need to understand that concept.
Similarly, if it’s repeated or stated in multiple ways or explained from multiple angles,
it’s safe to assume it’s something to prioritize.
There are, of course, exceptions to this rule.
Depending on the professor, they may choose to put something highly obscure on the test
that didn’t seem important and wasn’t heavily emphasized.
Don’t worry too much about that, as it shouldn’t make that big of a difference to you in most
cases.
Such questions are usually uncommon, and if present, they are not going to be the difference
between an A and a B – more likely a difference between an A and an A+.
If you focus on the core and important principles, you’ll get most of the way there.
This is the Pareto Principle applied, also known as the 80/20 rule.
Focusing on the core 20% of information will get you 80% of the results you desire.
Number three, Organize the Information This one goes without saying – effective
note taking and organization is critical.
Organizing the information in a logical manner helps to separate and compartmentalize concepts,
which ultimately helps with not only recall but also with identifying what information
is most important.
I suggest using a nested outline format, where subconcepts are nested beneath larger concepts.
Doing so allows you to easily identify the key concepts and subconcepts in any lecture
or chapter.
It’s also important to note that your notes should not be verbatim what the textbook or
professors says.
Rather, your notes should be shorter and in your own words.
This is important not only for effective recall and active learning reasons, but also for
aiding you in identifying the key core concepts and most important information.
There’s a lot more to note taking, and I’m considering doing an entire video on how to
take notes most effectively.
If you’d like to see that video, leave a comment down below so I can gauge interest.
Number four, Condense the Information Remember that systems produce results - not
our goals, not our desires, and not our dreams.
Telling yourself that you’ll focus on important information isn’t going to cut it.
You need to create the system that facilitates the results you want.
People often think of discipline or constraints as highly limiting.
But when you use them intelligently and to your advantage, they are paradoxically freeing,
and help you much more than you would expect.
So how do we create a system that helps us focus on the important high yield information
and filter out the lower yield details?
Condensing the information.
I’m a big fan of condensed notes as an effective active learning method.
By condensing the information, you’re applying helpful constraints that force you to identify
and focus on the key pieces.
If you’re doing group study, use the Feynman Technique to teach others in a highly interactive
and efficient way.
I’ve gone over exactly how to best practice this in my Feynman Technique video.
If you’re studying alone, I recommend creating summary sheets, also known as condensed notes,
which I’ve covered in my Study Less Study Smart video.
Number five, Understand Previous Test Patterns If you’ve had this professor before or taken
his or her other tests, this one should be much easier for you.
Each professor has their own teaching and testing style, which should help you identify
which pieces of information to focus on.
More often than not, you won’t have previous experience with the professor.
In these instances, there are a few ways to get a better idea of their style.
First, speak with other friends or upper class men who have taken this professor’s courses
in the past.
Get their opinion on teaching and testing styles.
Secondly, see if you can get your hand on old copies of their exams.
This not only is an excellent way to study for an upcoming test (remember, active learning with practice problems!),
but it's also one of the best ways to see their testing style in action.
Ask friends or check with your school, which may contain a bank of old tests.
And number six, Use the RIGHT Study Tool Ok, so now you’ve identified which pieces
of information are most important.
That’s great, but it doesn’t matter if you’ve identified all the important information
if you don’t know how to study it effectively.
Not all information is created equal.
Not only in relative importance, but also in the best way to study that information.
I’ve gone over how to use flashcards, how to use memory tricks, and several other study
methods.
Knowing how to use these techniques is just as important as knowing when to use these
techniques.
Here is a simple guideline:
For conceptually heavy information, use condensed notes and practice problems
And for memorization heavy information, use flashcards, mnemonics, or the memory palace
This is a very rudimentary guideline, and obviously there’s much more to it than that,
but that’s a topic for another video.
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