Turn lecture notes into a study guide you can use

Give the guide a clear boundary

Write the course, lecture date, and material covered at the top. Include the relevant learning objectives from your class if you have them. Keep assigned readings separate from optional background so the guide does not blur their importance.

For an exam, compare that scope with the instructor’s review guidance. A missing lecture in your folder should remain a visible gap. Do not silently treat an AI-generated explanation as a substitute for material you never supplied.

Organize ideas around what you must do

Use a simple three-column plan:

Idea from class	Task that checks it	Where to verify
A definition	Explain it without repeating the source sentence	Your checked notes
A relationship	Predict what changes when one condition changes	The original example
A procedure	Complete a new problem and justify the steps	The worked solution
An argument	State the claim, evidence, and strongest limitation	The assigned reading

The guide should help you attempt these tasks before looking at the answers. If the answer is directly beside the prompt, cover it or put the prompts on a separate page.

Add one example and one near miss

For each difficult idea, include an example that fits and a similar example that does not. Write why the distinction matters. This is especially helpful when you can recognize a definition but confuse neighboring concepts.

Use the class source to check that distinction. If you cannot explain why the near miss fails, mark the item for a follow-up question or office hours instead of smoothing it into a confident summary.

Try the course workflow in Dolphin

Start with a course prompt or upload the relevant material. Once the course is ready, inspect what it covers. Work through a lesson and practice, and use Pip when an explanation needs another angle.

You can add later lecture material to the existing course. Keep your original notes available for checking. A course generated from your files still needs to match what your instructor expects you to know.

Finish with a closed-notes check

Pick three prompts from the guide and answer them without looking. Separate the results into “can explain,” “recognize but cannot explain,” and “need to learn.” Use the second and third groups to choose your next study session.

Repeat with a changed example later. You are testing whether you can use the idea, rather than whether you remember the exact wording of the guide.

How long should a study guide be?

Long enough to cover the required ideas and useful examples, short enough that each section has a clear job. More pages do not automatically mean better preparation.

Should I include every slide?

Keep every original slide as a source, but organize the guide around the work you need to perform. Mark supporting detail and unresolved gaps clearly.