One of the problems with studying on your own is getting feedback. You can respond to a question but unless you have access to the answers, how do you know if you’re on the right track? This uncertainty can be demotivating and deter you from working.

A way around this is to use your class notes or textbook to create your own questions. A week, a fortnight, a month later, you can write up your answers and check them against your source. If you do this week-by-week while you’re on your course, you have a ready-made set of resources available when the time comes to study for your exam. In addition, compiling the questions is a revision exercise in itself and can help you to identify the topics you have understood and those where you may need to seek further clarification.

Vary the types of questions you set yourself:

• Factual – who, what, where, when?
• Explanation – how, why?
• Draw and label a diagram of …
• Gapfills – type up your notes and delete keywords to fill in (also useful for language learning)
• Write of a list of…

I’m sure you will be able to think of more ways to personalise your questions and make them relevant to your subject.

When you’re devising your questions, you can also compile an answer sheet to use for checking your work when you come to revise.

Happy studying!