What your summary notes should actually do

If you’re preparing for Queen’s Commerce midterms, creating summary notes can feel like a productive place to start.

You work through the slides, shorten the explanations, add the formulas and organize everything by topic. A few hours later, you have a document that looks much more manageable than the original course material.

But can you use it to solve a question?

That’s the test I want you to apply to your notes. Your summary notes should help you decide what to do when you meet an exam question.

Less is more—keep only the critical information

Copying out slides doesn’t help you learn how to solve questions. You can spend hours rewriting the course and still struggle to know where to start on an exam.

Your summary notes need to capture the critical information: the concept, what causes it, when it applies and how to use it.

Look for root causes. What changed? Why did it change? What happens as a result?

In Economics, that means understanding what causes a curve to shift and why. In Accounting, it means identifying what happened in a transaction before deciding which accounts change. In Calculus, it means understanding the conditions that make a particular method appropriate.

When you understand the reason behind a result, you have less to memorize and a better starting point when the question changes.

For each piece of information, ask: Would this help me explain the concept, choose an approach or check an answer? If it wouldn’t, it probably doesn’t belong in your summary.

Keep your full course material available as a reference. Your summary should be the shorter guide you can actually use.

Start with the questions you need to answer

For each concept, your notes should help you answer:

• What does this concept mean?
• What causes it, and why does it work this way?
• How would I recognize a question that uses it?
• What approach would I take?
• What conditions or details could change that approach?
• How would I check whether my answer makes sense?

A definition or formula may be part of that. But it usually needs a short explanation around it.

For example, a Calculus formula becomes more useful when you include when it applies and what you need to check before using it. An Accounting procedure needs to help you identify which accounts are affected and why. An Economics graph needs to explain what causes a movement along a curve versus a shift of the curve.

Those are the decisions you’ll need to make when the question looks different from the example in your notes.

Write the explanation in your own words

It’s easy to copy an explanation that makes sense while you’re reading it. Explaining it yourself takes more work—and shows you where your understanding is still uncertain.

After reviewing a concept, look away from the slides and try writing a short explanation.

What is happening? Why does the method work? What would you need to notice in a question?

Then check your explanation against the course material. Correct anything you missed, and flag anything you can’t explain yet.

You don’t need polished wording or every detail from the lecture. You need a brief explanation that captures what matters.

Include a small example with a reason for each step

One useful example can do more for your studying than a page of copied solutions.

Choose an exam-style question and record the key steps. Beside each step, explain why you took it.

“Use this formula” is less helpful than “Use this formula because the question gives us these conditions.”

Keep track of the mistakes you make, too—but look for their root cause. Did you miss a sign because you rushed, misunderstand what the question was asking, or choose a method that didn’t apply?

Add a short reminder that addresses the actual problem. Copying another complete solution won’t necessarily fix it.

Your notes should reflect what you need help remembering.

Test your notes before you call them finished

Try a fresh question before looking at the solution.

If you get stuck, use your notes to identify the next step. Notice what happens:

• If you can’t recognize the concept, add a clue about when it applies.
• If you recognize it but can’t start, clarify the approach.
• If you can follow the steps but don’t understand them, revisit the explanation.
• If you can solve the question, try another one with a different setup.

Then attempt a question without your notes. That helps you see what you can do independently and what still needs practice.

Building notes and practising questions should happen together. You don’t have to finish summarizing the entire course before you start using what you’ve written.

Make your next study session specific

Choose one topic. Build a short summary, attempt a question, and revise your notes based on what the attempt tells you.

Sometimes that means adding a missing explanation. Sometimes it means removing information that makes the important points harder to find.

That gives you a clear next step—and a better measure of progress than the number of pages you’ve completed.

This is also how we begin the Midterm Exam Intensives: you create your own summary notes and receive feedback, then use live problem solving, targeted practice and a mock exam to work toward solving questions on your own.

Whether you study independently or with support, ask yourself:

Do these notes help me know what to do next?

— Doulton