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Studying and Memorization Advice

BamboosproutBamboosprout Alum Member
in Off-topic 1694 karma

Reading a bunch of posts recently about law school prep, I realized that I don't really know how to study. This sounds weird for a person trying to get into law school, but it's just my reality. I suspect that the readers on this forum know what they're doing much more than most, and was wondering if you can share some of your insights or hacks on how you memorize and study?

I've check out apps like quizlet and scribd, courses like larrylawlaw and the coursera law introduction, and they seems really helpful.
My current plan is to take notes on paper during class, and then synthesize my notes into an outline on my computer.

What do you guys think of my plan so far?

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Comments

  • PrincessPrincess Alum Member
    821 karma

    Hey! It sounds like good plan. It all depends on what you're comfortable with. I'm wondering if it would be better to actually just use your computer in class for notes. Then, you can go and rewrite notes in a notebook. Then, you could organize the notes in computer if needed.

    I feel like this worked best for me in undergrad because it was easier to type faster and jump around with the ideas. I learn best by writing stuff out, so if I wrote stuff before exams, I was pretty much just memorizing it. Then, I would reorganize or add info to my computer notes, if that was needed. For example, if I found more information from books rather than just lecture, I would add that to it.

    Sometimes, flashcards can be helpful rather than quizlet. Again, I like writing info out and just being able to flip through the cards if needed.

    THIS IS A BIG ONE: I love organizing my notes by color. That can mean using different colored pens or just highlighters on the computer. This helps keep it organized and I know when ideas shift.

  • BamboosproutBamboosprout Alum Member
    edited February 2019 1694 karma

    @Princess said:
    THIS IS A BIG ONE: I love organizing my notes by color. That can mean using different colored pens or just highlighters on the computer. This helps keep it organized and I know when ideas shift.

    Thanks for the feedback! Love the coloured highlighters. What note apps do you use on the computer?

    If I'm understanding you, you're advocating for a triple layered system, computer -> paper -> computer, instead of my original two layered system.

  • 1000001910000019 Alum Member
    3279 karma

    @Bamboosprout said:

    @Princess said:
    THIS IS A BIG ONE: I love organizing my notes by color. That can mean using different colored pens or just highlighters on the computer. This helps keep it organized and I know when ideas shift.

    Thanks for the feedback! Love the coloured highlighters. What note apps do you use on the computer?

    If I'm understanding you, you're advocating for a triple layered system, computer -> paper -> computer, instead of my original two layered system.

    You won't have time to do that. I don't know how to memorize things. It's definitely something I wish I was better at and it would have helped.

    Blind regurgitation is highly rewarded in law school.

  • PrincessPrincess Alum Member
    821 karma

    Ofcourse it’s not necessary to do the three steps in every scenario. I’m not a law student, so I’m not sure how much time we will have. But in undergrad, I did take 30 credits of upper level classes at the same time, and was still able to make the time to take these notes. It’s like you’re studying for the test from the beginning rather than cramming at the end. Sometimes just typing it in your computer, then jotting some notes by writing helped. I learn best by writing and truly memorize the ideas. Sometimes, I needed to add more information from the books and other resources to my computer notes. I’m not sure how exactly helpful it was to just say the following without offering any help for it.

    @10000019 said:
    You won't have time to do that. I don't know how to memorize things. It's definitely something I wish I was better at and it would have helped.

    Also, I’m sure these strategies will need to be adjusted once in law school. I’m pretty confident in them for myself because they worked in the past even when I had a crazy workload, with 30+ credits, internship, research, and volunteering. That’s why I suggested what I said worked best for me.

  • BamboosproutBamboosprout Alum Member
    1694 karma

    @10000019 said:

    @Bamboosprout said:

    @Princess said:
    THIS IS A BIG ONE: I love organizing my notes by color. That can mean using different colored pens or just highlighters on the computer. This helps keep it organized and I know when ideas shift.

    Thanks for the feedback! Love the coloured highlighters. What note apps do you use on the computer?

    If I'm understanding you, you're advocating for a triple layered system, computer -> paper -> computer, instead of my original two layered system.

    You won't have time to do that. I don't know how to memorize things. It's definitely something I wish I was better at and it would have helped.

    Blind regurgitation is highly rewarded in law school.

    Thanks for the feedback! How were you able to blind regurgitate? What method helped you put the material in your brain in the first place? Just rereading/rewriting the notes 100 times?

  • BamboosproutBamboosprout Alum Member
    1694 karma

    @Princess said:
    Ofcourse it’s not necessary to do the three steps in every scenario. I’m not a law student, so I’m not sure how much time we will have. But in undergrad, I did take 30 credits of upper level classes at the same time, and was still able to make the time to take these notes. It’s like you’re studying for the test from the beginning rather than cramming at the end. Sometimes just typing it in your computer, then jotting some notes by writing helped. I learn best by writing and truly memorize the ideas. Sometimes, I needed to add more information from the books and other resources to my computer notes. I’m not sure how exactly helpful it was to just say the following without offering any help for it.

    @10000019 said:
    You won't have time to do that. I don't know how to memorize things. It's definitely something I wish I was better at and it would have helped.

    Also, I’m sure these strategies will need to be adjusted once in law school. I’m pretty confident in them for myself because they worked in the past even when I had a crazy workload, with 30+ credits, internship, research, and volunteering. That’s why I suggested what I said worked best for me.

    Thanks. That's very impressive. Can I ask how you decided what material should be transferred over to the next version though, or did you rewrite everything? Did you to talk to the professor/TA/alumni to get an idea of what direction the exams were going?

  • PrincessPrincess Alum Member
    821 karma

    I only rewrote my notes one time or max twice. I tried to read before the class, listen to lectures, ask questions if needed, go to office hours, and just create a study guide for myself with my lecture notes and book notes. To be honest, memorization hasn’t really been a problem for me, so I would only need to do this for some classes. I learn by relating the information to myself, then just reviewing stuff as we go along in the semester. It never felt like I was a cramming at the end then.

    Once I write something down and organize it, it just sticks. If I find that I still haven’t learned the concepts, I would then make flash cards. It all depends on the information, how you learn best, and what tools you use. I know some people take notes on iPads because they can record the lectures at the same time. That may be helpful in law school too.

  • BamboosproutBamboosprout Alum Member
    1694 karma

    @Princess said:
    I only rewrote my notes one time or max twice. I tried to read before the class, listen to lectures, ask questions if needed, go to office hours, and just create a study guide for myself with my lecture notes and book notes. To be honest, memorization hasn’t really been a problem for me, so I would only need to do this for some classes. I learn by relating the information to myself, then just reviewing stuff as we go along in the semester. It never felt like I was a cramming at the end then.

    Once I write something down and organize it, it just sticks. If I find that I still haven’t learned the concepts, I would then make flash cards. It all depends on the information, how you learn best, and what tools you use. I know some people take notes on iPads because they can record the lectures at the same time. That may be helpful in law school too.

    Oh, recording lectures is a great idea! Thanks!

  • 1000001910000019 Alum Member
    3279 karma

    @Bamboosprout said:

    @10000019 said:

    @Bamboosprout said:

    @Princess said:
    THIS IS A BIG ONE: I love organizing my notes by color. That can mean using different colored pens or just highlighters on the computer. This helps keep it organized and I know when ideas shift.

    Thanks for the feedback! Love the coloured highlighters. What note apps do you use on the computer?

    If I'm understanding you, you're advocating for a triple layered system, computer -> paper -> computer, instead of my original two layered system.

    You won't have time to do that. I don't know how to memorize things. It's definitely something I wish I was better at and it would have helped.

    Blind regurgitation is highly rewarded in law school.

    Thanks for the feedback! How were you able to blind regurgitate? What method helped you put the material in your brain in the first place? Just rereading/rewriting the notes 100 times?

    I didn't. Don't be me!

  • BamboosproutBamboosprout Alum Member
    1694 karma

    @10000019 said:

    @Bamboosprout said:

    @10000019 said:

    @Bamboosprout said:

    @Princess said:
    THIS IS A BIG ONE: I love organizing my notes by color. That can mean using different colored pens or just highlighters on the computer. This helps keep it organized and I know when ideas shift.

    Thanks for the feedback! Love the coloured highlighters. What note apps do you use on the computer?

    If I'm understanding you, you're advocating for a triple layered system, computer -> paper -> computer, instead of my original two layered system.

    You won't have time to do that. I don't know how to memorize things. It's definitely something I wish I was better at and it would have helped.

    Blind regurgitation is highly rewarded in law school.

    Thanks for the feedback! How were you able to blind regurgitate? What method helped you put the material in your brain in the first place? Just rereading/rewriting the notes 100 times?

    I didn't. Don't be me!

    lollll... Yeah, I'm trying to reach out to current students and grads to ask for study tips now. hahahaha

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