Note-taking for content-heavy subjects like Biology and Business

Copying notes down word-for-word from a textbook or slide feels productive, but it mostly just re-encodes information you already had — it doesn't test whether you can recall it.

A more useful format is to write notes as questions and short answers, or as a diagram you rebuild from memory, then check against the source afterward.

For content-heavy subjects, it also helps to summarise each topic in a fixed space — one page, one card — which forces you to identify what's actually essential, rather than keeping everything.

Revisit each set of notes a few days after making them, not just once, right before the exam. The gap between exposures is what makes the content stick.