Outlining is one of the easiest ways to not only remember what you're reading, but also condense what you read into easy to study information. While it has been proven that writing down key information can help you to remember it, it is also commonly accepted that it is much easier to study a list of bulleted facts as opposed to pages of text. While it is understood that writing an outline can help with both your studying and memorization, the problem that most people have is not in writing these outlines; it is in OVER-WRITING them.
Almost anyone can put down facts from a passage with categories and subcategories, however not everyone can do so while only extracting the key information. Many people make the mistake of writing too much and wasting time on things that they do not need to know, along with making the actual studying harder. It is much harder to study a four-page outline that's cluttered with useless facts than it is to study two pages of pure, necessary info.
So, how do you condense this outline? First we have to start out by recognizing what is and is not necessary. Is the test on the signing of the declaration, for example, going to ask what Ben Franklin's sons name was? Probably not. Nor will it ask in what year John Hancock's father died, or other similar information. The key is to pick out only the information that is not only important, but also relevant to what exactly it is that you are studying for or about.
What I have found to be the best way of doing this is to first start by reading through the entire section you plan to outline. This is done so that you can get a general feel for what you are reading and what it's goal or purpose is, and also to help you later with knowing what's important and essential. Once I have finished reading through it once I then go back to the beginning and write out my outline paragraph by paragraph. I read though a paragraph, put down the most important fact or topic in that paragraph, and then write in only the important supporting facts for that topic, if any. This method, as opposed to just writing the outline as you read, allows you to know what is and is not necessary BEFORE writing anything down.
Finally, you will have to make sure that when you do write it down you do so in note-taking format. This can be done by removing unnecessary words or using symbols to shorten and condense the information. It is easier to study and write in bullets with incomplete sentences than with proper grammar and sentence structure.
Example Sentence: "Before the American Revolution, Hancock was one of the wealthiest men in the Thirteen Colonies, having inherited a profitable shipping business from his uncle" (Taken from wikipedia page "John Hancock")
Outlined: Hancock wealthy from shipping before war
This all can be condensed into four easy steps that, if done correctly, will reduce the size of your outline without losing the important information you need to know, allowing you to study better and outline faster.
- Know your topic and what you're studying for. What information is and is not important will greatly depend on what the test or quiz you are learning it for is on. An assessment on, for example, the life and times of Shakespeare, will have different necessary information than one on the plays and writings of Shakespeare.
- Read through the chapter or passage that you want to outline. This will let you get a general feel for the topic and what you do and do not need to know or copy down.
- Read each paragraph and pick out first the main point of that paragraph and then only the important facts that support it.
- Write them in condensed form, taking out unnecessary words and information
Have any other helpful tips for outlining with speed and ease? Feel free to post a comment below!
