The Open Minds programme explores how to study a textbook, with Tony Buzan.

How to study a textbook

Tony has done a lot of thinking about the way people study. Again he maintains that in the main children or students are simply expected to start absorbing facts and information, and expected to read text books without first having been taught the way to go about the task of study itself. As a result they often get frustrated, bored and when it comes to books only get as far as the first few pages before being distracted or even dozing off.

Tony’s better way of doing things starts out from his observations about how our brains actually operate. He identifies a Memory Rhythm which means that we remember things better at the beginning and end of any study session. Thus, if we set out to have shorter study sessions with regular breaks, there are going to be more beginnings and ends and we’ll remember more. The same rhythm also means that if at the commencement of a fresh study session we do a quick reprise of the last thing we were studying, facts and information can be more successfully lodged into memory and ultimately be remembered long term.

When approaching a new textbook for the first time, it is important to first survey the contents, find out what information the book can provide, read any summaries or conclusions and make a plan as to exactly what you expect to get out of it - all this before you start to read. This is much better than simply wading in at page one.

One of Tony’s major innovations is Mind Mapping. This is a pictorial note-taking technique which uses colour and shape to produce a set of radial notes for any given topic of study. Often they can fit on one page and can even represent a whole book. A completed Mind Map note resembles a tree with all its branches or dandelion head with all its seeds. The similarity with structures in nature and the geography of the brain is intentional. As a Mind Map note develops the student adds more details to the various branches, in doing so he or she constantly reviews what has been written before and in so doing can further increase comprehension.

More about Tony

Tony has dedicated his adult life firstly to encouraging all around him to be aware of the latent brainpower that we all possess and secondly to teach a whole range of memory and study techniques that aim to dramatically improve our performance. His book Use your Head has sold more than a million copies. This - and subsequent titles - have been translated and published in many countries around the world.

Tony has been retained as an advisor and gives regular lectures to commercial and educational institutions alike. His radical note-taking method known as Mind-Mapping is designed to mirror the construction of the human brain. He is co-founder of the Mind Sports Olympiad – an annual event where would be champions meet up to do battle over games like chess, backgammon, draughts and scrabble. Tony argues that mind sports should be put on an equal footing with physical sports.

Take it further

Tony has published a large number of books, including Use your Head Use Your Memory, The Speedreading Book, The Mind Map Book and Master Your Memory.

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