How to Make Short Notes You Can Revise the Night Before the Exam

The night before an exam, nobody wants to reread a whole book. Good short notes let you revise a chapter in ten minutes. Here is how to make them.

Make them while you study, not at the last minute

Short notes are easiest to write right after you finish a chapter, when the ideas are fresh. If you leave them until the end of the term, you have to relearn the chapter before you can summarise it.

Use the textbook headings

Write the chapter title, then the main headings in the order of the book. Under each heading, write only the points you would be asked about: definitions, laws, reasons, steps and examples. If a paragraph has one key idea, write that idea in one line.

Keep a list of key terms

For every chapter, list the important terms with a short meaning in your own words. For science subjects, include units and symbols. This list is also a good way to check yourself: cover the meaning and see if you can say it.

Put formulas and reactions in one box

For physics, chemistry and maths, write each formula or equation once, with what the letters mean and the unit. Keep them together in a box or on a separate card. If you can write the whole box from memory, you are in good shape.

Draw, do not only write

For diagrams in biology, physics and geography, draw a simple version and label it. A diagram you can draw from memory is a diagram you understand. Keep your drawings small and clear.

Add one example per idea

A short example helps an idea stick and gives you something to write in a long answer. Choose the example from the textbook, since that is the one your examiner knows.

Use colour and space, but not too much

One colour for headings and one for key terms is enough. Leave white space between sections so the page does not look like a wall of text.

Check the length

A good short note for one chapter fits on one or two pages. If it is longer, you are copying, not summarising. Cut it down until it contains only what you would want to see in the last hour.

How to use your notes

1. Read them once the day after you make them.
2. Read them again a week later.
3. Read them one last time before the exam, with a pencil in hand to mark anything you have forgotten.

Our notes and MCQs are chapter-wise, so they are a good check for your own summaries. If you find a point in the MCQs that is missing from your notes, add it.