“My College Doesn’t Provide Study Notes”. How Do I Study?

There is extra stress when the exam is nearing and you have no study notes to help you score well. Almost every student, especially the one studying at bachelor’s and master’s degree level, faces this issue. Most of the faculty refuses to provide books and study notes stating reasons like it hampers the thinking ability of students and restricts knowledge to only a few specific things. Most colleges today require students to go that extra mile and make study notes for themselves. 

Students, however, due to lack of poor study material, suffer a lot, which then reflects in the results. At such times, only you can help yourself. There are certain habits you can adopt and few ways to avoid the end-moment fuss during the examination. 

Make your own notes:

This is the best way to help yourself. Instead of waiting for the examinations to show up at the door, it’s always best to prepare for them right from the beginning. Always sit with your pen and diary or laptops during the lecture. Note down all the important concepts taught by the faculty, if not detailed notes, so that you are at least aware of what to expect in the question paper. 

Google is always a saviour:

Once you take down notes, searching for a detailed explanation for each topic on Google becomes much easier. There are multiple websites online that provide a detailed explanation of the concepts taught by your faculty in class. Studying from these websites will definitely help you perform well in exams. 

Ask the faculty to hand out a copy of the syllabus:

This is one of the most useful ways to study better. Every course has a well-planned syllabus. Make sure you ask for a copy of it from your faculty. Sometimes, some faculty also omit a few chapters/topics from the syllabus. In such a case, ask your faculty to give you a list of topics/chapters that are important from the examination point of view. You can also ask for a question bank from the faculty that will help you study better and smarter, but keep this only as an ‘end-moment’ way out. 

Get in touch with your seniors:

Remember your seniors too have studied the same subjects and might just have study notes. Request them to share it with you. If they don’t have it, ask them how they studied or if there is anyone else who can provide you with the study notes.  

Do your own research:

Before the beginning of each semester, go through the subjects and try to find books covering the syllabus falling under each subject. It might happen that you won’t find the entire syllabus in one book. Look for some other books covering the remaining topics. 

Building as well as hunting for study notes is a difficult task, especially just a few days before the exams. Collecting study notes way before the exam can reduce all the extra hassle and allow you sufficient time to only focus on preparing for exams.