How To Summarize Materials Properly To Become Effective Learning

Cara merangkum materi (Freepik)

YOGYAKARTA - In the learning process, the ability to summarize material is one of the important skills that students should have. The way to summarize the material itself is not only to copy from the teacher's book or record. Summarizing this requires understanding and ability to filter information carefully.

Through summarizing activities, students not only train memory and concentration, but can also understand concepts more deeply and efficiently. A good summary will be very helpful when facing tests or when you want to repeat the lessons that have been learned.

With the summary, students can access the core of the material without having to read the entire book. Therefore, it is important for students to know how to properly summarize the material so that learning activities become more focused and productive.

Here are some methods or tips to summarize material from books or those taught by teachers:

The first step in summarizing is to first understand the material to be summarized. Do not immediately write before understanding the content and structure of the information that exists. Care thoroughly and mark important parts such as definitions, main concepts, supporting data, as well as relevant examples.

Students should read one paragraph or one section first, then try to re-explain with their own sentences. This method will train critical thinking skills and ensure that students really understand the material.

Before starting to summarize, first determine what the purpose of the summary is. Is the summary used for exam preparation, presentation task, or just for personal records? This goal will determine how long details and how long the summary will be made.

For example, if the goal is to prepare for the exam, then focus on summarizing the core points that often come out in questions. If for group discussions, add additional explanations or examples so that other friends can easily understand them.

One of the basic principles in summarizing is to use your own sentence. Avoid copying directly from books or material sources. Rewriting in your own sentence will help the brain work more actively in processing information. It also makes the summary easier to understand when rereaded in the future.

The sentence used does not need length. Short enough, congested, and clear. If there are difficult terms or certain formulas, write them down with a simple explanation so that they can be remembered easily.

If possible, use visualization techniques in summarizing material. Some techniques that can be used include:

Visualization will help the brain more easily considering that information is presented in a structured and visually interesting manner.

When summarized, focus on key words that represent the contents of a paragraph or explanation. These keywords are usually important terms, numbers, or main concepts. Mark or highlight these words, then make a short note or explanation next to them.

Keywords can be a bridge' that connects students to the full explanation they have understood before. In this way, students do not need to record everything in detail.

To make the summary more interesting and easy to understand, use certain colors or symbols. For example:

The use of colors and symbols not only beautifies notes, but also helps the process of storing information in long-term memory.

A good summary is a dynamic summary. This means that the summary can be revised according to the needs or additions of new information. After finishing summarizing, read back to make sure the contents are correct and nothing is missed.

When studying or before the exam, take time to revisit the summary to stay fresh in the memory. If needed, combine the summary from several sources to get a wider and more in-depth perspective.

That's how to summarize material carefully and correctly so that it becomes an effective learning material. By summarizing, students learn to understand, manage, and convey information in a simpler and easier form to understand. Also read various learning methods that must be understood by teachers.

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