10 Active Reading Strategies __ Study Less Study Smart

Studies have found that reading alone might not be enough for students to truly understand and memorize the material they need to perform well on exams. In fact, you only retain 10% of what you read. But what if I told you that you can significantly reduce your study time, your frustration, and your overall exam preparation, whilst remembering over 75% of what you read? Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, in today's video, I will be sharing with you not one, not two, but 10 active reading strategies that will help you study less, study smart. Number one, read slash summary method. This first strategy is based on a simple principle, organization. The valuable information contained in a textbook is often scattered and separated by filler paragraphs, making it harder to see the big picture. So when you start reading that new chapter, think extraction. When you read, have a notebook next to you in which you can write down in a clear and organized manner the extracted and most important information found in the text. If this sounds like a method you would like to try out, I will leave my step-by-step video on how to take the best textbook notes in the description box down below. Number two, marginal notes. This method can look extremely overwhelming. However, with complex articles like the ones I was faced with in a behavioral neuroscience class, the marginal notes strategy can save your life. For real, though. I went from a C on my first midterm to an A plus on my second by using the margins of my textbook to summarize the takeaway points of each paragraph. So when you're faced with a heavy and difficult text, simply remember R, T, S. Read the paragraph first, think about what the author was trying to communicate in these few sentences, and then summarize the key points in the margin. Number three, think like a teacher method or TLT. The title says it all. This active reading strategy involves you going into the material with one big question in mind. If I were the professor, what would I ask the students on the exam? What this does is it puts your brain in hunting mode, which is quite different from a passive slash boring just reading to read mindset. When you indeed have found your quote-unquote prey, you may use color coding or highlighting to make that important information stand out and easier to remember. Number four, memory boost method. This is by far my favorite of all the active reading strategies, but I always have a hard time explaining it. It is quite strange, but in my experience, works every single time without fail. As you are reading, keep a blank paper or a notebook and a pen next to you. Every time you see a list or an important name, keyword, or date, simply write it down quickly. And yeah, throw aesthetics out the window with this one. This strategy works so well because it involves activating more areas of the brain, and unlike the read slash summary method, forces you to be engaged and revved up throughout the entire reading process. Another difference between the two is that the memory boost method is meant to increase your memorization speed and can involve repetition. For example, I am trying to remember this list. First time, I write it down quickly as I read. The second time, I try writing it down without looking at the textbook. Almost got it right. One last time, and yay, looks like my hand movements have memorized the flow of the text and I can now move on. Number five, mind maps. The brain thinks in organic connections and in color. So why do we always try to force dry, rigid, black and white text into our minds? Mind maps help you see the connections between terms or theories while engaging more senses and skills, such as creativity. If you think the previous strategies to be too time consuming, this method might be the one for you since it requires you to engage the material chapter by chapter instead of, let's say, paragraph by paragraph. And so once you finish the chapter, try to remember, or use the textbook for help, what the main topic was. Then draw branches that are connected to that subject, and then mini branches that connect those to those branches, and so on and so forth. At the end, instead of textbook notes, you will have one mind map per chapter for you to review before your exams. For visual students, this is a game changer. Number six, study guide. Study guides are like cheat sheets or mini review documents you can rely on to answer all questions on an exam. It is a condensed version of all the important information you need to know to do well on your test. For math exams, this can be a one or two page paper with all the formulas you've learned throughout the semester. The key here is to keep it as short and sweet as possible. Please note that I leave a lot of white space on the guide. If you find yourself searching for space to write more and more, this means you have not filtered the material enough, and that your study guide contains too much extra information. I can offer you two tips to help solve this problem. First, only write down theories or concepts that you have trouble remembering. Second, watch out for repetition. A study guide contains the key material found both in your lecture notes and in your textbook, and so pay attention to redundancies. They might end up confusing you. Lastly, if you forget something important or you would like to add examples to better understand the material, use posted notes that give you the freedom to add without having to erase or restart your study guide. Number seven, the Einstein strategy. This active reading strategy works wonders when you are reading with the intent for preparing for an oral presentation. It is based on a famous quote by Albert Einstein which says, if you can't explain it to a six-year-old, you don't understand it yourself. And so, as you read, keep in mind that you will have to explain the material to a six-year-old brother or sister. You may choose to take notes as you read or prepare a powerpoint presentation with the material afterwards to ensure that you are able to organize all the information in a concise and easy to understand manner. Number eight, personal connection. We have a natural tendency to remember things significantly better if they relate to us on a personal level. And so, as you highlight keywords when you are reading a text, stop and try to think of an example including you or your personal experience in the mix. You can even make drawings in the margins or jokingly turn the highlighted text into something funny. This makes the material more relatable, easier to understand, and so, easier to remember. Number nine, posted notes summaries. If you are reading a novel for school, try this method out. With the use of posted notes, you can either go page by page or chapter by chapter and summarize with one or maximum two sticky notes the main events that happened in that section. And so, when you have to prepare for a test, an assignment, or an oral presentation on the novel, instead of going throughout the entire book once again, you need only to review your posted notes. And finally, number 10, practice tests. Practice tests are insanely useful at providing you valuable feedback on your studying progress and at drastically reducing test anxiety. As you read the material, whenever you come across an important theory, keyword, or list, formulate a question you think might be asked on the exam. Little by little, you will have made yourself a legit practice test that you can do either in the middle of your study schedule or two days before your exam to see how much you know and adjust your studying accordingly. I usually make myself two practice tests, one for the middle of my studying and one to do the day before my exam as a form of closure. The second one reassures me that I am ready for my test and that I can go to sleep in peace. With that being said, thank you so much for watching! Please don't forget to give this video a thumbs up if you liked it and subscribe to me if you like what you see, because I post study videos every Thursday. Oh, and one more thing! To thank you all for your continuous support and kindness, I will be doing a, drumroll please, giveaway this week! One lucky subscriber will be getting a gift card to design and have their own personal planner from personalplanner.com. I absolutely love this website and I will never go back to buying pre-made planners ever. All you have to do to be entered in this contest is to follow Personal Planner on Instagram or Facebook. Trust me, their pictures are like inspirational goals. And write in the comment sections of this video what your favorite motivational quote is. The winner will be chosen at random and will be announced on Monday, March 6th. So good luck to you all, love you loads, and thank you so much for watching!