How do you study a lot of material in a short time?
Don't try to learn everything. First work out what's most likely to be tested, your lecturer's hints, past papers, the topics worth the most marks, and start there. Then test yourself out loud or with questions instead of rereading, since that's what actually sticks. Do short focused blocks, check yourself, fix what you got wrong, repeat.
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In more detail
When time is tight, the win is choosing well. Go through past papers and your lecturer's slides and notice what keeps coming up. Those are your priorities. The stuff that's barely mentioned can wait or get skipped. Spending all your time on a topic that's worth two marks is how people run out of time.
Then change how you study. Rereading and highlighting feel productive but they don't move much into your head. Closing the book and trying to recall it, or answering a question, does. It feels harder, and that's the point. The struggle is the learning. So turn your notes into questions and quiz yourself, even if you get loads wrong at first.
Work in short blocks, around 25 to 40 minutes, phone in another room. After each block, check what you missed and go again on just those bits. The goal isn't to cover everything once. It's to keep hitting the things you don't know yet until they stick.
Step by step
- 1
List every topic, then mark the few most likely to be tested using past papers and your lecturer's hints. Start there.
- 2
Turn your notes into questions instead of rereading them.
- 3
Test yourself from memory, out loud or on paper, then check your answers.
- 4
Do past exam questions under a timer, even before you feel ready.
- 5
Work in short focused blocks with your phone out of reach.
- 6
Track what you keep getting wrong and drill only those bits next.
How StudyPDF helps
In StudyPDF you upload your own slides, notes or past papers and it builds a practice exam, quizzes and flashcards straight from them, so you're testing yourself on your actual course. It also keeps track of what you keep getting wrong and drills those ideas, which is exactly what you want when time is short.
See also
More questions
Is it better to cram everything or focus on the likely topics?
Focus on the likely topics. If you have limited time, covering a few high-value areas well beats skimming everything badly. Use past papers and what your lecturer stressed to spot what's likely. You'll walk in able to actually answer the big questions instead of half-knowing all of them.
Why does testing myself beat rereading?
Pulling an answer out of your memory is what builds the memory. Rereading just makes the page feel familiar, which tricks you into thinking you know it. Testing yourself shows you what you don't know yet, so you fix the right things. It feels harder, and that harder feeling is the learning working.
Do it on your own course
Upload your lectures and ask Bo. Cited answers, plus flashcards, exams, and more built from your material.