Does anyone take notes while studying? that’s wht i do and its the only way i honestly grasp the material from the first read, however its time consuminG!!! I’m not sure whether i shld continue doing so… Anyone uses the same approach?
useless…trust me. Ive wasted a lot of paper.
For L1 I typed up notes for everything. For L2 this time I started doing written notes and have slowly stopped. I never look back at my notes and I hate how much time it takes. Hopefully this will not be my downfall for L2.
I find that hand-writing notes is extremely effective for retaining information. I then use these notes for quick reviews and studying on my commute to work. Unfortunately it is very time-consuming so I don’t do it for everything.
i agree with zombie. i do it for the hard stuff, not for everything. and i pull them out on the subway, or if im waiting for my girlfriend to finish in the shower, etc. 5 mins here and there adds up
What I tend to do is write down anything that I feel is important in the margins i.e. formulas, specific points - not to necessarily come back and re-read - but to help retain the material as I go along. It’s pointless to write everything down on separate paper because as everyone else is saying, it’s simply takes too much time.
I take notes or mark the book . I only mark important things not like people that highlight paragraphs and after you don’t see an unmarked paragraph Strange is I never re-read my notes. but when I take them my mind is not wandering around and it helps me focused. I retain a lot of info like that . since my notes are very concentrated I don’t waste a lot of time if I read on the subway I justmake marks on the book
Usif I am repeating L2 this year. I managed to score top marks in the FSA and Equities sections last year however my overall mark was not enough to pass. My method for study was to read and highlight Schweser, then re-read and make notes on all LOS. This was time consuming however I think it was a very effective way of learning, understanding and retaining the info
I was planning to use iMindMap (the software) for making some notes this time around. I hate mindmaps, but some friends of mine told me it’s a useful tool and proved it also by using it in a couple of projects I had insight into. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33PCtkSlEf4) I also found the Cornell system of note taking interesting to look into (http://coe.jmu.edu/learningtoolbox/cornellnotes.html). Simply rewriting texts from the (already good) notes seems not to be all that productive. Otherwise I will try to write as little as possible; plan to rely on the QBank for wrapping it all up towards the end…
I used notecards. I wound up with well over 200 for LI which I then sorted into 3 packs. About 30 in the high priority pack that I memorized and took with me everywhere. About 50-60 in the fairly important pack, that I reviewed at least once a day the final week, and the rest I reviewed about once a week. I don’t know, I found just having my cards with me to review before the test and during the break very comforting. It’s also nice because it helps you keep your mind on the material when your away from the books but have downtime.
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Similar to Swan…didn’t prep the cards until I got all the way through the curriculum once.
i always take notes i think it helps a lot i write in a ms word document so i can quickly do search to things i wanted it makes reviewing much easier, so it is not a waste of time at all
If I don’t take notes, my mind wanders to other things as I read and I just end up reading and retaining nothing. I wrote up note cards for memorization items like the Code of Ethics and Standards, formulas. For FSA I wrote notes on each LOS, that helped a lot.
well i am doing that too. I don’t simply re-write schweser notes; instead, I read it, then re-write the “Concept” in a way that is easy for me to comprehend. Very useful for accounting.
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I took notes for Level I. They seem helpful for initial retantion but not for review. I’m not taking notes for Level II. I’m going to focus on understanding concepts and then do lots of Q-bank questions.
I like making index cards and they really help me in quick revisions! This time, I’ve started blogging lots of answers too. It’s a little time consuming, but really helps during exam time.
My study patterns always start with meticulous notes, but as the months pass by- I burn out and so does my note taking. And there is always a direct positive correlation between having taken notes and exam performance; this time around I scored 70+ on all the topics I took thorough notes on. This pattern has repeated itself in every academic endeavor I’ve ever taken. I never even look at the notes after I take them, except to flag points I’m unclear about. There is just something about handwriting notes that imbeds the material into my mind, I think its because it forces you to rethink the material and summarize it in your own words. Typing doesn’t work for me personally, even considering it would be easier to use the typed-out notes as a study tool later on. Highlighting is useless to me too; throws off my concentration. Study habits are very personal as everyone has different ways of learning; I think the trick is to find what’s right for you.
I do make notes but only at time of revision. Initially I just go on, at time of revision I try to retain. When I don’t get anything I write it down in my words. If I fail to do any multiple choice question at back, I again make a note of it notes. It worked for me last time. Hope works this time too.
i’ve always taken notes and and very jealous of those who can succeed without doing that. but it works for me so i ain’t gonna question it. in Uni it was the same way. but taking notes also strenghtens your hand/forearm for those long essay questions on the exam 
i don’t know how long the essay questions in L2 are, but it helped in University