How to Know What to Study & What Will Be Tested

Over the years and across hundreds of videos and guides, we’ve taught you how to study effectively and efficiently with flashcards, test taking strategies, and memorization techniques that will absolutely improve your grades and school performance.

However, these methods heavily rely on the ability to identify and target which information is important. If you’ve ever wondered how to do that, this guide will give you a step-by-step process to help you identify the most important information in your classes or textbooks and how to best organize and study that information.

1 | Identify Your Goal

The first step is to take a step back, no pun intended, and identify in a broader sense what goal you are trying to achieve. And I don’t mean “getting an A in organic chemistry.” I’m referring to the micro-goals each time you sit down to study or attend lecture.

Allow me to explain. The issue that several students face is that every bit of information seems equally important.

When everything looks important, essentially, nothing is.

It’s like highlighting an entire page of a textbook. You might as well have not highlighted anything at all.

Instead, by identifying the main goals in any single study session, you’ll be able to create a framework of general principles and core concepts in which you can fill in smaller details that are relevant. In doing so, you’ll be able to filter out the less important details, focus on the critical areas that are most likely to show up on your test, and, ultimately, get a better grade.

When identifying your goal before each study session, ask yourself, “What is the topic of this chapter or lecture? What do I need to know in order to understand it?” This practice sets a purpose to each study session or lecture.

When first starting out, begin by skimming or pre-reading the chapter before you dive in or by looking through the lecture slides before you attend lecture. Focus on the headings and subheadings, paying close attention to bolded words or phrases. This exercise primes you to identify which key concepts are most essential.

You want to create a mental scaffolding of sorts with the foundational concepts as the core structure, allowing you to fill in relevant details where appropriate.

As you get better at this, you’ll be able to forgo pre-reading and identify important information on the fly. Until then, however, start with pre-reading. In doing so, you’ll be better equipped to identify your goal and set a purpose to each study session.

2 | Pay Attention to How the Information Is Portrayed

While this one may seem obvious, it’s too frequently overlooked and underutilized by students. In lecture, pay attention to two factors from the professor.

First, how long are they spending on a certain topic or idea? Usually, if a topic or concept has a greater percentage of class time allocated to it, it’s more important.

Second, are they repeating any concepts or ideas? If a professor says something multiple times, that’s a reliable indicator that it is important and you need to know it for test day.

If you’re reading a textbook, the same principles apply. Longer sections diving into a certain topic mean you need to understand that concept. Similarly, if it’s repeated or stated in multiple ways or explained from multiple angles, it’s safe to assume it’s something to prioritize.

There are, of course, exceptions to this rule. Depending on the professor, they may choose to put something highly obscure on the test that didn’t seem important and wasn’t heavily emphasized. Don’t worry too much about this, as it shouldn’t make that big of a difference to you in most cases. Such questions are usually uncommon, and if present, they should not be the difference between an A and a B—more likely a difference between an A and an A+.

If you focus on the core and important principles, you’ll get most of the way there. This is the Pareto Principle applied, also known as the 80/20 rule. Focusing on the core 20% of information will get you 80% of the results you desire.

3 | Organize the Information

This one goes without saying—effective note taking and organization is critical. Organizing the information in a logical manner helps to separate and compartmentalize concepts, which ultimately helps with not only recall but also with identifying what information is most important.

I suggest using a nested outline format, where subconcepts are nested beneath larger concepts. Doing so allows you to easily identify the key concepts and subconcepts in any lecture or chapter.

It’s also important to note that your notes should not be verbatim what the textbook or professor says. Your notes should be more succinct and in your own words.

This is vital not only for effective recall and active learning reasons, but also for aiding you in identifying the key core concepts and most essential information.

4 | Condense the Information

Remember that systems produce results—not our goals, desires, or dreams. Telling yourself that you’ll focus on important information isn’t going to cut it. You need to create a system that facilitates the results you want. People often think of discipline or constraints as highly limiting. But when you use them intelligently and to your advantage, they are paradoxically freeing and much more helpful than you would expect.

So how do we create a system that helps us focus on high-yield information while filtering out the lower-yield details? The answer is condensing the information.

I’m a big fan of condensing information as an effective active learning method. By condensing the information, you’re applying helpful constraints that force you to identify and focus on the key pieces of information.

If you’re doing group study, use the Feynman Technique to teach others in a highly interactive and efficient way. If you’re studying alone, I recommend creating summary sheets, also known as condensed notes, which are covered in the guide: Study Less Study Smart.

5 | Understand Previous Test Patterns

If you’ve had your professor before or taken their other tests, this one should be much easier for you. Each professor has their own teaching and testing style, which should help you identify which pieces of information to focus on.

More often than not, you won’t have previous experience with the professor. In these instances, there are a few ways to get a better idea of their style.

First, speak with other friends or upper-year students who have taken this professor’s courses in the past. Get their opinion on teaching and testing styles.

Second, see if you can get your hands on old copies of their tests. This is not only an excellent way to study for an upcoming test (remember, active learning!) but also one of the best ways to see their testing style in action. Ask friends or check with your school, which may have a bank of old tests.

6 | Use the RIGHT Study Tool

Okay, so now you’ve identified which pieces of information are most important. That’s great, but it doesn’t matter if you’ve identified all the key information if you don’t know how to study it effectively. Not all information is created equal. Not only in relative importance but also in the best way to study that information.

Other guides on our website cover how to use flashcards, how to use memory tricks, and several other study methods. Knowing how to use these techniques is just as critical as knowing when to use them. Here is a simple guideline:

1. Conceptually heavy information → use condensed notes and practice problems
2. Memorization heavy information → use flashcards, mnemonics, or memory palace

This is a very rudimentary guideline, and obviously, there’s much more to it than that, but that’s a topic for another post.

Good luck studying!

For more study tips, check out our guides: The 9 Best Study Strategies Ranked and How to Study Faster in Medical School.