How To Take Notes With Memory Method

extramedium

I find myself frantically scribbling everything down like a doctor and never looking back at my notes during the questions. What should I actually take notes on to make this worthwhile? This is just hogging up time for me right now, but I found it to be very useful when doing sections untimed.

BenjaminSF

Hey @"Aaron Frank" !

For me, note taking was an important part of practicing the memory method in the untimed phase of my study.

The goal when timed for me, however, is to have practiced the memory method so much that I can do it without writing down summary notes. I can't speak for others, but I rarely write more than one word as a small reminder when taking a timed section.

Instead, I notate the stimulus with a legend that I adapted from this strategy designed by Nicole Hopkins, who has done a webinar on BR for 7Sage:
In doing so, I am able to mark important concepts and keywords quickly without having to write anything out. This can save huge amounts of time and is worth at least trying, and it acts more as a reference tool than a summary.

In the end, RC strategy is not as cut and dry as LR or LG. Since we are dealing with a much larger amount of information at a time compared to other sections, it is definitely important to find a way to effectively compartmentalize that information. If improving your time is the main goal, and you do not use your notes, I would consider employing a strategy that relies more on mental note-taking or notation.

TheDeterminedC

@BenjaminSF

I am watching this webinar now! Thanks for the share.

extramedium

Thanks @BenjaminSF

You've been very helpful. I appreciate you following up.

BenjaminSF

@"Aaron Frank" No problem! Let me know what you think of notation once you give it a shot!

TexAgAaron

@"Aaron Frank" Yes @BenjaminSF is right. RC is very different than the rest of the LSAT. It is very much, in my opinion at least, dependent on your own memory preferences. Everyone has their own "nitch" that helps them remember things quickly.

For me, the memory method helped but I also needed to underline important sentences and key words to help me not only remember on the fly what I read, but also as a reference. Those plus the one or two word paragraph labels helped me navigate much more efficiently when I needed to refer back to the passage.

Like I said, different strokes for different folks. Whatever helps you understand and remember the passage the best will be your key. Learning from what everyone else is doing is an excellent way to tune your skills to become much more efficient! Hope this helps!

JustDoIt

I agree with @akeegs92 here. You don't necessarily need to notate everything like Nicole does. And you don't need to even take notes of what is being talked about in paragraphs. You just need to have a really high level and general understanding of each paragraph and then weave them together to get the main idea of the passage.

I would strongly advise against taking any notes. I used to do this and would struggle to finish passages in 10 minutes. Instead, I would close my eyes and try to understand weave those key sentences from each paragraph together, while taking note of author's tone. Most of the time, this will allow us to see what the author is really getting at. Really, I would argue that 75% of RC is merely knowing why the author is telling us what they are telling us. The purpose drives the passage, and that is far more important than understanding the minutia.

Have you read the trainer? I can't take credit for all of the ideas I just posted, a lot of it goes to Mike Kim. You can find some sample chapters below, but it's absolutely worth it. I've read it twice. Hope this helps!

http://www.thelsattrainer.com/assets/4-lsat-reading-comp-basics-sample-chapter.pdf

http://www.thelsattrainer.com/assets/37-lsat-reading-comp-review-sample-chapter.pdf

extramedium

Thanks @akeegs92 and @JustDoIt

I have read the Trainer. Going to take another look at it.

Alex

I use the memory method combined with a method called Loci whereby I essentially imagine a movie in my head of the passage that takes place in a familiar place, i.e., my apartment. It also find myself writing less and being able to recall memories of details easier this way. Check it out! I literally swear by it.

extramedium

Thanks @"Alex Divine"

Looking up instructional videos now.

Alex

Yes! This theory shall do you well in all aspects of life. I actually began using it while I was taking harder Bio med classes and it made it so much more doable. PM if you have any questions!

Good luck!