You can also download this page as a PDF.ġ. If possible (depends on committee members), make sure you have your questions far in advance of the exams this will make your reading directed and clearer. Discuss with your committee preparation techniques as well as the best way to prepare for questions. Remember individual faculty members likely have different processes.Ģ. Make sure your notes on articles are as detailed as those you might take for a book. Writing in the margins of an article will not be helpful when it comes time to review.ģ. For books, read the introduction then read a few detailed book reviews, looking for how the author sees his or her book in relation to the historiography, and what questions interest the author and the reviewers. Then turn to the rest of the book (or as much as you realistically have time to read). When looking at reviews, it is especially helpful if you can find reviews by other scholars whose books are on your list this can help you to situate different scholars and start putting them in conversation. If you are writing your own questions, reading reviews can help point you to some of the main questions in the fieldĤ.
Leave a good chunk of time before exams (2 weeks on the short end and maybe 1-2 months if possible) to review all your notes and really begin synthesizing ideas, themes, arguments etc. This is what is usually called for on exam questions and is thus an important skill to develop.ĥ. Review a few good synthetic histories/textbooks for your fields or even encyclopedia entries (ex. for American History see The Readers Companion to American History, ed.
#Growly notes software
Look into software that would help to organize your notes, for example growly notes, a free program available online.įoner and Garraty) to help with contextualizing key terms, idea, events and people.Ħ.
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