A Guide to Help You Study Before Your Test
If you’re like many college students, you likely have a need for a quality study guide during the course of each semester. Whether you’re taking an introductory class or you’re taking a more complex course, there will likely come days when you need a quick overview of some topic or a definition of a term you’ve just heard. What better way to help yourself learn than with a well-designed study guide. A study guide can be as wide-ranging or as specific as your needs, but regardless of the format you choose, these helpful aids will increase your knowledge and help you excel at your coursework.
A study guide is basically a collection of essays that are related to a certain topic. They usually come in two forms: outlines and summaries. An outline is just that: a quick overview of the concept being studied, and a summary sheet that highlight the most important aspects of that concept.
Summaries are similar to outlines, in that they offer a quick overview of concepts. However, a summary sheet usually offers multiple perspectives on the same topic, allowing you to choose the one that best fits your own learning style. Furthermore, most study guides include “practice tests” along with their samples. These tests are small sections of the actual paper that asks you to answer a series of questions about the concepts presented in the guide.
Besides offering an overview of concepts, a study guide also offers supporting information. Some examples of supporting information to include text citations, detailed examples (tables, diagrams, photos), appendices, bibliography, and websites that support the information presented within. A variety of formats exist for these types of resources. For example, you might find them offered in digital form (in the form of PDF files for download), printable versions of the guide (as single pages or as a PDF file), and you can even find study guide software that includes both these features.
Finally, you might find that there is a student version of the guide available as well. This kind of student version typically breaks down topics in more detail, and it may also offer different breakdowns of topics for easier review later on. Students should pay careful attention to the format used in student versions. Most of them use a spaced-out layout, with each chapter listed in block order, and the remaining chapters broken down into smaller subtopics. The student version should be used in place of traditional study guides for a few reasons.
A study guide can be an excellent way to learn the material before taking the exam. They can offer quick overviews of the material, allowing you to better understand what you need to know for passing the test. In addition, they offer a convenient way to review material that you may have forgotten throughout the semester.