Do you create an outline of material when you study for a test? This can be a good strategy, if it is done correctly. Many students will cram too much information in the outline, however, until the outline is more like an essay. If you do this, you're really just rewriting your notes, and that's not all that effective as a learning strategy.
A better strategy is to create a series of shrinking outlines. You should use this first, complete outline as a first step. It will be a study guide that you'll use before making a second, more abbreviated outline. You'll print this second outline and then fill in the gaps with pencil.
As the test day approaches, you continue to create more abbreviated versions of your outline and fill in the missing material from your memory. You should end up with an outline that contains only three or four lines--and be able to fill in the lists and examples from memory. This exercise really reinforces the material and makes it stick in your head!
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