Make your notes answer back.
Turn a page of notes into questions you can actually use to check your understanding.
Start with the learning outcomes
Before writing questions, check your module outline, lecturer’s revision guidance and the topics covered in tutorials. A beautifully organised question bank is only useful if it covers what your course expects you to know. Make a short topic list, then mark which topics you can explain without looking at your notes.
Choose one topic you find difficult. Read a small section of your notes, close it, and explain the main idea in your own words. Reopen the notes to check what you left out. That gap gives you a useful question to practise.
Ask for more than a familiar definition
A definition question can check vocabulary. An application question checks whether you can use the idea. Try both. For a quantitative module, write a small worked problem and include the calculation in the explanation. For an essay-based module, ask for the concept that explains a scenario, then discuss the reasoning with your group.
Study League’s short-answer marking checks the wording you provide, ignoring capitals and extra spaces. Use it for a word, number or short phrase. Add accepted alternatives when two terms mean the same thing. Long essays and proofs need human discussion rather than exact-match scoring.
From notes to a useful question
Instead of “Explain supply and demand”, ask “What happens to equilibrium price when demand increases and supply is unchanged?” Set “increases” as the short answer and explain the assumptions in the feedback. Then discuss a case where supply also changes.
Attempt first, then check
Try to answer before opening the explanation. Getting a question wrong is useful information about what to revisit; changing an answer after seeing the solution is not a useful measure of readiness.
Research by Roediger and Karpicke found that practising retrieval could improve later retention compared with repeated study in their experiments. That is a reason to include recall practice in revision, not a guarantee of a particular exam mark. Combine it with checking worked solutions and the assessment requirements of your own module.
Keep a small list of gaps
After a round, write down the topics behind your missed answers. Review the explanation and return to the original notes if it is unclear. At the next session, ask a new question about the same concept rather than memorising the old option letter.
Revisit difficult topics on another day where your exam schedule allows. Use your own progress to decide what needs another attempt. A score is a starting point for revision, not a substitute for practising the full kinds of answers your exam requires.
Further reading: Roediger & Karpicke: Test-Enhanced Learning (2006)
Test it with your friends.
One question each. A round of revision together.