I Don't Make Summary Notes. My Study Method for Passing Exams Using Scrap Paper (Administrative Scrivener, Real Estate Notary, FP Level 2, Nissho Bookkeeping Level 2)

When studying for a qualification, many people probably think, "I should make a summary notebook."

I was one of those people at one time, too.
But now, I don't make summary notebooks at all.

Instead, what I do is write everything down on scrap paper over and over.
I've written everything on scrap paper: inheritance diagrams, legal articles, and model answers for written questions.

Real Estate Notary, FP Level 2, Nissho Bookkeeping Level 2, and the Administrative Scrivener exam.
I've passed every one of these exams by writing endlessly on scrap paper.

I consider it a plain and gritty study method.
If you're curious about "Why scrap paper?" or "Isn't a summary notebook better?", please read on.

Why I don't make summary notebooks

The reason I don't make summary notebooks is that I feel it's a waste of time.

If you open the textbook, the necessary information is already neatly summarized.
If there is missing information, I write it in the margins of the textbook.

If I have time to summarize in a separate notebook, I believe it's more effective for retention to spend that time solving problems or writing out the sentences I want to memorize over and over.

I arrived at this way of thinking from an experience I had in junior high school.
Back then, I was diligently making summary notebooks, but one day it suddenly occurred to me.
"Wouldn't it be better to solve even one more problem in this time?"

Of course, there's nothing wrong with summary notebooks.
It's just that, in my case, solving problems and writing out the sentences I want to memorize worked better for me.

That's why I don't make summary notebooks for any of my qualification studies.

The study method of writing endlessly on scrap paper

I grew up in a family with many siblings and have always lived a frugal life.
So, I have a hard time throwing away paper that is still blank on one side.
Before I knew it, I had accumulated this much.

Since I was a student, I've written on scrap paper instead of notebooks when solving problems.
I rarely look back at my own answers once I've written them. After all, I don't write them with the intention of reviewing them.

If I'm not going to look back at them anyway, there's no need to use a wasteful notebook.
Write it, then throw it away. I think this is fine.

For problems I got wrong, I put a checkmark in the problem book.
I also highlight the explanations or write down things I noticed.

The feeling of "I don't want to get this wrong again" is something I leave in the problem book, not in a notebook.

And for things I absolutely want to memorize, such as legal articles, charts, or model answers for written questions, I write them repeatedly on scrap paper.

Write, discard, and write again.
It is this repetition.

What I actually did while studying for the Real Estate Notary, FP, and Bookkeeping exams

When studying for the Real Estate Notary exam, I just wrote the answers to the four-choice questions on scrap paper.
Since there are four choices, the answers were short, and I basically disposed of them right away.

Also, when solving inheritance problems, I often drew diagrams to organize the relationships between the characters.
Drawing diagrams by hand helps clear up my thoughts.
Even during the actual exam, I drew relationship diagrams for the characters in the inheritance problems.

For the FP Level 2 exam, my study method differed slightly between the academic and practical sections.
For the academic section, I used a smartphone app to solve as many problems as possible, and for the practical section, I bought a workbook and wrote the answers to the calculation problems on scrap paper.

For the Nissho Bookkeeping Level 2 exam, the commercial workbook I bought included a printing service for answer sheets for purchasers. I printed those out and used them on scrap paper.
Also, since bookkeeping involves a lot of calculations, scrap paper was very useful as scratch paper.

While the specific methods differ for each qualification, the basic principle of "write and discard" has not changed.

I was able to pass the Administrative Scrivener exam using the same method

For the Administrative Scrivener exam, the tasks were the same.
I wrote all the answers to the workbooks and mock exams on scrap paper.

For the written-answer section, I repeatedly wrote the passages labeled "Written-Answer Preparation" from the textbook onto scrap paper. I still remember the time I spent mindlessly writing while staying in the hospital to care for a family member.

I also memorized the model answers from the written-answer workbook by writing them repeatedly.
I wanted to memorize every single word accurately, but that was quite difficult, so I practiced writing the sentence structure and keywords correctly.

Perhaps it paid off, as a question almost identical to one in the written-answer workbook appeared on the actual exam, and I believe I was able to write an answer close to the model one.

I felt from the bottom of my heart that I was glad I kept writing to make it stick in my memory back then.

Writing is plain, but it never betrays you

The study method I introduced this time is neither a flashy study method nor an efficient technique.
It is just writing on scrap paper and discarding it. It is that repetition.

Looking back, the essence of what I did for the Real Estate Notary, FP Level 2, Nissho Bookkeeping Level 2, and Administrative Scrivener exams was all the same.
It is plain, unglamorous, and there is nothing special about it.

Even so, continuing to write never betrayed me.

Once you find a study method that suits you, all that is left is to just keep doing it.
For me, that was "writing everything on scrap paper."

I am continuing to do the same thing while studying for the Judicial Scrivener exam.

Thank you for reading until the end.

I will continue to update my study experience for the Administrative Scrivener exam in my note magazine "Study Record Until Passing the Administrative Scrivener Exam".

I would be happy if you could like and follow me!