How to Make the Most of Your Study Guide
A study guide is usually a book that contains sample essays, quizzes, vignettes, and similar exercises which facilitate the learning process. It is an indispensable aid to any student who is planning to take up a particular subject, even if it is not his or her major. Study guides can either be comprehensive to facilitate learning in many fields, or be purely resources which foster understanding of various subjects, literature, history, etc. There are hundreds of such guides available in the market. But which one will be the best for you? Read on and find out!
Before choosing a study guide, make sure that you buy one from an accredited publisher. Such publishers would have spent time and money to prepare useful samples of their work so that you get the full benefit of their hard work. These guides generally contain a series of short introductory essays that serve as a primer to the rest of the volume. In some cases, these samples are accompanied by sample tests. Examples of such test include math problems, critical reasoning tests, essay writing tests, essay response tests, and so on.
Such study guides also contain chapter-by-chapter summaries of the key ideas and suggestions systematically presented within each chapter. This gives learners a clear idea of the entire concept and idea behind each chapter. However, make sure that the chapters are self-contained and do not have detachable guides that interrupt the flow of your study. Detailed summaries often lead to false conclusions regarding the key issues of each chapter since some topics are too important to spend unnecessary amounts of time on.
A good study guide also contains practice tests. It may be done only once a year or as the need arises, but as soon as you feel the need to take the actual exam, make sure that you have already studied these previous exams well. Remember that exams are based on real life situations, which usually differ from the exams in textbooks and test chambers. As such, it is more fruitful to make use of your prior knowledge when preparing for your exams than to try to cram everything into your memory the minute you set out to take the actual test.
Test guides should contain multiple-choice tests, both written and numerical. The best guides are those that are comprehensive with well-developed concepts. For instance, an effective guide should allow its readers to answer questions based on both correct and incorrect answers. A good guide should also make use of multiple-choice tests to evaluate different concepts in your learning.
Finally, good study guides should contain practice tests to familiarize students with the type of questions they will be answering on the actual day of the exam. Exams are based on real life situations, which means that the same tests will be used for different types of exams. As such, knowing how to answer real-life questions helps you prepare for the real life exam better. With so many students studying for the exams every year, getting a guide that is effective and thorough is essential.