Creating Study Guides

Creating Study Guides

The purpose of study guides is to organize lecture notes and text book material so that you can increase your comprehension and memory of large amounts of information. Preparing study guides that are visual is even more effective, as the visual organization helps you see related concepts and make meaningful connections with the material, thus acquiring the higher levels of learning expected by many of your professors.

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Study Guides and Learning Levels

Preparing for tests often involves more than knowing facts, figures, formulas, and definitions. Many professors expect you to demonstrate critical thinking, which involves more than rote memorization. Therefore, you must organize and process course materials so that you can increase your comprehension and ability to think critically.

Examples of Learning Levels

Review the following examples of test questions from a sociology class. The first question only requires that you recall a definition, which you can do well through rote memorization techniques, such as flash cards. The remaining questions require you to make connections or conclusions that may not have been directly presented by your professor or your text book.

Question 1:

A group of relatives by marriage constitutes

1. a conjugal family
2. an extended family
3. a nuclear family
4. none of the above

Question 2:

Describe the similarities and differences of these societal forms: matriarchal, neolocal, and patriarchal societies...

Question 3:

Illustrate the economic flow and functions of a neolocal society.

To correctly answer test questions like those in the example, you must create study guides that will help you:

• condense course material into smaller amounts of information that are easier to remember.
• Visualize, understand, and demonstrate relationships among concepts and ideas.
• create examples and apply information to "real world" situations.

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Common Types of Study Guides

Within this Idea Sheet are examples of common types of study guides or “visual organizers”. These study guides can be adapted based on your personal learning style and the information you need to organize. Experiment with these, as well as using other study guide formats that you have found to be effective. Remember, the purpose for study guides is to organize information so that you can demonstrate your knowledge at the critical thinking level your professor expects.

1. Concept Map and Branching Diagram

Many students benefit when information is presented visually. Concept maps and branching diagrams allow you to organize information spatially versus in a linear outline format. However, you still organize information from the general to the specific. You can then add details and examples that help you apply the information. Concept maps and branching diagrams are useful for classes in any subject area.

Example: Psychological Approaches

Text version of the Psychological Approaches diagram

• Psychological Approaches
  • Dynamic
    • Psychic apparatus
      • Id: instinctual drives
      • Ego: delayed gratification
      • Super ego: conscience
  • Humanistic
  • Social-Learning

Example: Three Objectives of Effective Financial Planning

Three objectives of effective financial planning

• Becoming financially secure

  Quality of life

  • Debt free
  • Necessities
  • Luxuries
  • Savings
  • Insurance
  • Investments

• Managing money

  Become effective consumer

  • Budget money
  • Use credit wisely
  • Choose good investments

• Planning for the future

  • Save for children's education
  • To live well in retirement
  • To leave estate for heirs

2. Comparison Chart

A comparison chart allows you to organize information visually so that you can see relationships among categories or characteristics. It is a very effective format when you need to be able to understand the differences or similarities among facts, theories, theorists, processes, etc.

How to Create a Comparison Chart

Example (from a Psychology Class)

Example (from a Chemistry Class)

3. Concept Card

Concept cards are “flash cards on steroids”, and you create them using index cards that are 3x5 or larger.

On the front of the card, you write the:

1. key idea or concept you want to learn
2. organizing term or phrase (upper right-hand corner). This is the category or term that allows you to see how your key ideas or concepts are organized.
3. source of the information (textbook page, date of lecture, etc.)

On the back of the card, you write what is most important to know and learn about the concept, in your own words. To ensure you do more than just memorize the information, include examples, summaries, and synthesis of main points as well as definitions. Include diagrams, time lines, or other visuals that will help you understand the information at the level your professor expects.

Example 1: Back of Card

Example 2: Back of Card

Example 3

Front of Card

Back of Card

4. Diagram

Diagrams allow you to visually represent dynamic information such as a process, procedure, stages, and steps. For example, in a geology class, you could create a diagram to describe how rock layers are formed. In a political science class, a diagram can help you understand and learn the process for how a bill is passed into law.

Example 1: Physical Geography Class

Example 2: Note-Taking Cycle

5. Time Line

A time line allows you to organize information chronologically. You are able to review information that must be understood and remembered in sequence. Time lines would be effective for classes in which you are presented:

• historical developments: history, anthropology, political science, music, art
• biological developments: biology, anatomy, physiology
• human or other developments: psychology, biology, natural resources

Example 1: Development of an Embryo

1.  Day 1: Conception; zygote forms; cleavage begins
2.  Day 2
3.  Day 3: Embryo reaches uterus; now called morula
4.  Day 4
5.  Day 5: Morula becomes a blastocyst
6.  Day 6: Embryo implants in uterus; forms trophoblast
7.  Day 7: Embryo size of a period (dot)

Example 2: Major Civil War Battles, 1861–1863

1.  April 1861: Fort Sumter
2.  July 1861: 1st Battle of Bull Run
3.  April 1862: Shiloh
4.  August 1862: 2nd Battle of Bull Run
5.  September 1862: Antietam
6.  December 1862: Fredericksburg
7.  May 1863: Vicksburg (siege)
8.  July 1863: Gettysburg

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Source: Academic Resource Center, Utah State University, TSC 305, (435) 797-1128, www.usu.edu/arc

If you need this document in an alternative format, contact the Disabled Students Programs & Services (DSPS) office.