Simple ways to review work
Although you could just read through notes again, this is not necessarily the best way to review work (and would soon become a bit boring too). Mix up your review methods using one of the techniques below and you will find it more enjoyable:
Summarise sections of your lecture notes
If you use the Cornell Note Taking method for you lecture notes (see right/below), you can leave the 'summary section' at the bottom of the page to be filled in the day after the lecture. Simply add a sentence or two, or a couple of bullet points which summarising the main points on the page.
Even if you don't use Cornell, you can still use the same principle and write a sentence or two to summarise the main topics of each lecture.
Reading over these summaries is a great way to remindyourself of what was covered previously before you go into the next week's lecture too. That is another way to stop the memories from disappearing because the new material you learn is being incorporated with the older information.
Create a mind-map of your lecture notes
This doesn't have to be a work of art - look for ways of connecting the topics of your lecture notes. Look back over your summaries of previous lectures and see if anything fits in too.
During exams, you will get extra credit, if you can connect relevant information from other topics. Start doing it between lectures and you will already be on to a good thing!
Colour code your notes
Use highlighter pens or coloured pencils to highlight over parts of your notes that fit into certain categories. You can decide on your own categories - it is the act of deciding what belongs in what colour that will help you to remember them.
It will also help you see connections between different parts of the topics which will help you in assignments and exams as mentioned above.
Discuss with friends
Create a small study group with your friends and talk about what you found most interesting or what you found hard to understand - more than one head together can often help. You can even create things together to help you remember - posters, mindmaps etc. If a topic is two-sided, have a mini-debate.
If you are lucky enough to have PASS (Peer Assisted Study Sessions) in your subject area, you have a ready-made group study session where you can engage in activities in the same way.
