Study Notes: More or Less? (1 Viewer)

zocdae

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So I was just scrolling through the resources and found that the study notes on here are really condensed and mostly key words so I was worried that I was doing it wrong as I tend to summarise a concept in a paragraph in my own words instead. In business studies for example I wrote:

• The strategic role of operations is concerned with converting materials and labour into goods and services as efficiently as possible to maximize the profit of an organization through effective planning, scheduling and controlling of inputs.

However, on most notes I saw, for the same point, it went something like:

• Strategic role of operations management - improve productivity, efficiency & quality

So which method is better, or does it really just depend on an individual's style of learning?
 

slabfinder

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If you look at your paragraph and the sample paragraph, they essentially have the same information, however the first just expanded into a form to answer a question.
To me, the second one would be more efficient, while the first would be ideal in answering an exam questions. You should definitely aim to have notes as simplified as that.

Essentially, what you want to write for the dot point are trigger words. You already know the information, there's no point completely re-writing it, I just find if you do that it's too much to remember/memorise.
If you have trigger words you can just easily look at it and understand what it's referring to, and when you get into an exam you should be able to remember the trigger words under that dot point and expand on it

In saying this, if you don't know the content very well I would suggest writing it out as you are,
but by the time you get to your trials, as well as H/Y's, they should definitely be as condensed as that.
 

Flop21

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I break up the full paragraph so it's nicer visually, and easier to quickly digest what I see. I usually don't cut out info that's useful.
 

cookie_dough

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I find that writing things in paragraphs are better because information reads like normal sentences and is therefore easier to remember. It would depend though, just as long as being condensed doesn't sacrifice depth its fine
 

zocdae

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If you look at your paragraph and the sample paragraph, they essentially have the same information, however the first just expanded into a form to answer a question.
To me, the second one would be more efficient, while the first would be ideal in answering an exam questions. You should definitely aim to have notes as simplified as that.

Essentially, what you want to write for the dot point are trigger words. You already know the information, there's no point completely re-writing it, I just find if you do that it's too much to remember/memorise.
If you have trigger words you can just easily look at it and understand what it's referring to, and when you get into an exam you should be able to remember the trigger words under that dot point and expand on it

In saying this, if you don't know the content very well I would suggest writing it out as you are,
but by the time you get to your trials, as well as H/Y's, they should definitely be as condensed as that.
Perhaps, I could have 2 versions, the first one with paragraphs, and the second one with key trigger words which I could make at the end of each term, what do you think of that?
 

boredofstudiesuser1

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I think for some essay subjects (like business studies) notes can be varied. If the information seems like something that could be easily implemented into an essay regardless of the question, your notes can read those particular facts or statements like paragraphs as they are fillers you can place in the essay. This probably makes no sense... lol
 

slabfinder

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Perhaps, I could have 2 versions, the first one with paragraphs, and the second one with key trigger words which I could make at the end of each term, what do you think of that?
Yeah that would probably be a good idea. But in the end, it's whatever works for you, so just experiment. Good luck!
 

Kittyrules

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For some subjects what you do with the info is greatly varied, you might need to draw a diagram or to write out a bullet point list or write an answer to a 12 marker e.g IPT. For these subjects and info that would be used in this way it might be helpful and more useful just to know it WELL and short so you can warp it into different sentences

For others, like english, where this information will be used almost the same way each time, or as boredofstudiesuser1 said, as 'filllers you can place in the essay' you can have longer paragraph/sentence notes where you can learn the sentences and use them fully in your answers = less thinking in an exam! E.g analysis of a quote is almost always the same, no matter what the question is. For these notes you can just remember whole sentneces and not have to make them up in an exam

I hope that makes sense!
 

WrittenLoveLetters

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Should always be something you actually don't think "I don't want to read this because its too hard to understand/too condensed/too long"
 

boredofstudiesuser1

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For some subjects what you do with the info is greatly varied, you might need to draw a diagram or to write out a bullet point list or write an answer to a 12 marker e.g IPT. For these subjects and info that would be used in this way it might be helpful and more useful just to know it WELL and short so you can warp it into different sentences

For others, like english, where this information will be used almost the same way each time, or as boredofstudiesuser1 said, as 'filllers you can place in the essay' you can have longer paragraph/sentence notes where you can learn the sentences and use them fully in your answers = less thinking in an exam! E.g analysis of a quote is almost always the same, no matter what the question is. For these notes you can just remember whole sentneces and not have to make them up in an exam

I hope that makes sense!
Thanks for the credit :) haha
 

STUDENT K

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Perhaps, I could have 2 versions, the first one with paragraphs, and the second one with key trigger words which I could make at the end of each term, what do you think of that?
This^^^
I think having both versions is better. Having short and efficient study cards or notes containing trigger words are important to have, but you must also be able to expand upon this and write extended paragraphs in sentence form rather than just dot points. And vice-versa, you should be able to condense all the information given to you and be able to write concisely so that you can quickly and effectively convey your message.
 

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