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This is what I do to study for tests (particularly for my qualifying exam which is coming up in two days):
1. Close book.
2. Attempt to derive result from first principles.
3. If you get completely stuck, look at book for hints, but don't read too much.
4. When you finally arrive at result, go back and re-read section to see if you are correct, and if you could have derived it more efficiently.
5. Pick a problem or two from the book to do to make sure you know how to apply the result.
If I were to just open a book and read all the formulas, I would never have any hope of remembering them. But trying to derive the results gets them stuck in my head, and if I happen to forget anything, I already have practice deriving them and can do it quickly on the test. (Of course, for this test, there is no formula sheet allowed.)
1. Close book.
2. Attempt to derive result from first principles.
3. If you get completely stuck, look at book for hints, but don't read too much.
4. When you finally arrive at result, go back and re-read section to see if you are correct, and if you could have derived it more efficiently.
5. Pick a problem or two from the book to do to make sure you know how to apply the result.
If I were to just open a book and read all the formulas, I would never have any hope of remembering them. But trying to derive the results gets them stuck in my head, and if I happen to forget anything, I already have practice deriving them and can do it quickly on the test. (Of course, for this test, there is no formula sheet allowed.)