DIY Study Materials: Creating Effective Notes and Flashcards for Entrance Exams 

Proper focus and wit can make cracking any entrance exam easier. Memorising syllabi, book names, highlighted points, PYQs, and many more can become difficult. In this aspect, creating proper notes and using flashcards effectively play a vital role. 

For a student, note-making improves memory and productivity during exam preparation. According to a survey, about 87% of students found flashcards useful as they are easily accessible and inexpensive. This speaks volumes about the popularity of flashcard techniques among students.

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In this blog, learn how to create flashcards along with bonus flashcard tips for exams. Also, uncover how to make study notes effectively for entrance exams.

What are DIY study materials, and how to create flashcards?

DIY (Do-It-Yourself) study materials are resources made by students to support their own learning. These materials frequently include arranging, compressing, and summarising data from textbooks, lectures, and other sources. They are also tailored to meet the unique learning preferences and styles of each student. 

Flashcards are effective DIY study materials that can contain short but important pieces of information for a quick learning aid. Flashcards promote active learning rather than passive learning. This type of recalling and repetition of information helps in strengthening the neural connections in the brain. So, here are the best ways you can create DIY exam flashcards.

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• Flashcards using pen and paper

This is the old-school way of making flashcards for exams. When you write down the information yourself, whenever you review your flashcard, your memory gets stronger due to the physical work associated with it. Moreover, using physical paper cards makes specific methods of studying easier and more effective.

• Online flashcards

There are many websites and apps that students are actively using to create flashcards. Online flashcards allow space for new helpful features, such as adding audio and video links, which is one of the reasons they are becoming popular among aspirants. Some websites even allow students to check the flashcard sets of other users. This saves time for students and remains effective. 

The colour, shape, and size of online flashcards are easily customisable according to their preferences. Moreover, in many apps, students can also collaborate while creating a flashcard set to facilitate group study.

What is the best flashcard study method?

After you have created your flashcards, it's time to study using those in the most effective way possible. One way of memorising through flashcards is the Waterfall Method. 

This flashcard study method focuses your attention on the cards you fail to answer without shifting your focus to other cards. This helps you utilise time and make full use of your attention.

• The first round starts with dividing your original stack of cards into two sections based on your first answer – Know it and Struggled. 
• In the next round, start with the struggling stack. Eventually, the number of struggling cards will reduce, and the number of know-it piles will increase. 
• Now, you must repeat the whole process in reverse order, i.e., from the lowest pile (struggled) back up to the highest pile (know it). Ultimately, you will have each card's information in your memory. 

This is one of the best flashcard techniques as it involves learning and revising with emphasis on the weak points.

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Importance of Study Notes for Entrance Exams

Well-written study notes have many advantages, including accessibility, convenient revisions, and organised study materials. All of these features collectively increase your productivity. Though handwritten notes are more common among students, making digital notes has also been on the trend recently. 

Here are some ways you can make effective study notes and enhance your preparation for any entrance exams.

• Outlining Method

A simple method that encourages the use of pointers and sub-pointers to highlight in notes. 

• Each topic or chapter contains valuable key points from the exam point of view. Such points can be highlighted as sub-notes using this method. 

• It is best suited for subjects that cover a large syllabus or content.

• However, one of its shortcomings includes focusing on key points more and missing out on concepts. Thus, students must maintain the balance between the two.

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• Cornell Method

This is a more engaging method than the previous one. It requires focus while going through your study materials. In this method, the topic or chapter gets divided into Keywords, Notes, and Summary. 

• Keywords can include important questions, hints to finding answers, MCQs, significant dates, places, equations, values, and more. 
• Notes are proper lines of information written in a convenient and simple way as per the student. 
• The summary in the end sums up all the important points and statements that are the major takeaways from the topic.

These are two ways of making effective study materials that are useful in cracking any entrance exams. 

Conclusion

Flashcards and Note-making serve as vital DIY study materials. Further, the institution or college of a student is also an important factor when it comes to entrance preparation. 

Amity University Online is one such institution known for its top-notch faculty teaching in their specialised fields. Students benefit from overall learning, detailed notes, and concept revision, which help them crack entrance exams.

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