Outlining textbooks???

[Darkpk55]

I know in textbooks you have to outline a chapter and the main points are important. When i do this, everything in the chapter is important! I end up having to write everything... I dont know how to outline and its really hard to put something in my own words. Why is everything important

[NICURN2013]

If you're having a hard time outlining, maybe it's not for you. For instance, I find that if I highlight, I basically end up highlighting the entire book. Maybe you could try reading the chapter and only writing down key points and definitions. Try making flashcards with those. And I always answer questions at the end of the chapter. That helps me figure out what I need to go back and review. Also, you could try answer the objectives at the beginning of the chapter.

Hope this helps! :) There's many ways to study. Try different ones out.

[katebean04]

I was the same way for quite a while. Now, I make sure that I read the chapter through one time without taking notes or highlighting. This way I can tell whats important to write down. I used to spend hours taking notes and outlining, and it felt like I would take 20 pages of notes. This is what I do now:

1. Read through the chapter, no note taking/highlighting

2. Outline and highlight

3. Flash cards of the bolded items.

4. Go through and pay attention to any graphs/ tables or side notes in the chapter.

5. I usually like to read through the chapter again right before the test if I have time.

This way I spend about the same time as I did before but I am not highlighting the whole book or rewriting the whole book. Good luck, it is hard to find a way to take notes when you feel like you need to write everything down. It took me a year to figure it out :)