Midterm Advice: Prepare for Exams by Organizing Notes into 'Chunks'

I frequently tell students, “You are always working toward the exam.”

Without being informed, students don’t think about exams until they have to, but they become believers in an organized system once they understand it leads to less stress and better grades. I compare a good organizational system to brushing teeth every day. It takes a few minutes, but if you don’t do it the consequences can be painful.

Human brains cannot recall a huge amount of information all at once unless it is organized in a way the brain can remember it. High school requires learning and remembering more information than ever before; why not learn to do the job in the way the brain handles it the best? This is where organizing notes and materials in chunks are so important.

Textbooks are divided into smaller headings; so too should notes. We can remember details if they are organized in chunks. Think of your phone number, it is chunked 3-3-4, which is much easier than 10 numbers at once. A page of notes that runs together is not brain-friendly, where notes separated by topic and underlying bullets is much easier. Bullets should also be written in short facts, not long sentences, which are too cumbersome to remember. Importantly, skip a space between the chunks; the brain needs that separation to categorize information. When it is test time, one only needs to remember the chunk or bit of information to put it into sentence form.

A good organization system starts with a plastic file box with a hanging file for each subject. When a student finishes a chapter or chunk of work, clip all the notes, quizzes and tests together and put it in the file for that subject. The only exception might be Spanish or math, where a student might need to refer back frequently to earlier material. When this is the case, a large notebook with pocket folders and dividers is the best setup.

For subjects like history, science and English, once a chapter or book is done, everything goes in the file folder until exams. When a student is studying at home, and needs to refer to old notes, they are right there in the file box. This system avoids carrying around heavy notebooks and losing loose materials such as quizzes and handouts. When it is time to start studying for exams, review each chapter individually—everything is ready and organized into chunks.

If a student takes all of their notes on a laptop, they should print out each chapter of notes and put it in the file folder. This is for two reasons: computers have a way of breaking down at the most inconvenient times; and when studying for exams, it is often helpful to spread notes out on a table, which can’t be done on a computer.

If students are aware that they are working toward the exam every day as they learn and study, their system will be automatic towards that goal. Their notes will be organized so that they may understand and remember information in the most efficient way. They will save themselves a tremendous amount of time and stress because they won’t have to try to find missing information, or go back over their information trying to remember what they meant at that moment in time.