Someone about to start studying for their first FSA exam recently asked me:
Would you recommend taking notes on the study guide and the videos?
Yes, yes, and yes! Note-taking helps you in 3 key ways:
- Helps you stay engaged. If you take notes, it’s much more likely that you’ll pay attention than if you just passively watch the videos or just look at words on a page.
- Helps you remember things. At least one study has shown that people are more likely to remember things when they write them down by hand. One of my favorite quotes is the Field Notes tagline “I’m not writing it down to remember it later, I’m writing it down to remember it now.”
- Gives your hand exercise. Five-hour written exams are quite demanding physically — especially in a time when most of us use keyboards and touch screens all day. The more you can practice handwriting between now and the exam, the more “in shape” your hand will be on exam day. Trust me — if you are not ready to write for 5 hours, your hand will literally slow down and even cramp up in the afternoon. But if you practice handwriting, it won’t be an issue.