Most students wait until they feel lost before they ask questions. The question formulation technique flips that habit: you create better study questions before you start revising, then use those questions to guide notes, practice, and exam review.
This article is for high school, college, and university students who want a practical way to study actively without turning every session into a giant flashcard deck. You will learn a 20-minute question-building routine, what types of questions work best for exams, and how to use Snitchnotes to turn weak questions into targeted practice.
The question formulation technique is a study method where you write many questions about a topic, improve them, choose the most useful ones, and answer them from memory. It is inspired by classroom question-generation frameworks from the Right Question Institute, which teaches learners to ask as many questions as possible before judging or answering them.
For students, the goal is simple: turn a lecture or chapter into a map of what your brain must be able to do on exam day. Instead of asking “Do I understand this?” you ask, “What could they ask me about this, and can I answer it without looking?”
Good study questions do 3 jobs at once. First, they reveal what you do not understand. Second, they turn notes into practice. Third, they train you to think in the same shapes your exam will use.
Metacognition matters here. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Teaching and Learning Lab describes metacognition as planning, monitoring, and evaluating your learning. Question formulation gives you a concrete way to do all 3: plan what to learn, monitor what you can answer, and evaluate what still needs work.
That is why question-based studying is especially useful when you have dense notes, vague revision goals, or the classic problem of recognizing the answer while reading but freezing on the test. Recognition feels fluent; answering a question from memory proves whether the knowledge is usable.
Use this routine after a lecture, reading, lab, seminar, or problem class. It is short enough to repeat 3 to 5 times per week, but structured enough to expose weak spots before they become exam-day surprises.
Choose a single lecture, 10 to 15 textbook pages, one slide deck, one lab handout, or one topic from your syllabus. The smaller the source, the better your questions will be.
A good target is something you can scan in 3 minutes. If your source is too large, your questions become vague: “How does metabolism work?” is too broad. “How does insulin change glucose uptake after a meal?” is studyable.
Write as many questions as you can without answering them. Do not edit yet. Do not judge whether the question is smart. Quantity comes first because obvious questions often lead to deeper ones.
After 5 minutes, label each question. This turns a messy list into an exam-prep tool.
If all your questions are definition questions, your studying is too shallow. Aim for at least 1 mechanism question and 1 comparison question per topic. In problem-solving courses, add 2 calculation or application questions.
Weak questions are usually too broad, too easy, or too detached from the exam format. Upgrade them by adding a condition, contrast, command word, or example.
Choose the 5 questions most likely to appear on a quiz, exam, essay, lab practical, or oral assessment. Cover your notes and answer each one in 2 to 4 sentences, or solve it on paper if it is numerical.
Then check your answer. Mark each question green, yellow, or red. Green means accurate without notes. Yellow means partly right but missing detail. Red means you could not answer it. Your next study session starts with the reds.
The best study questions match the exam. A multiple-choice test, essay exam, lab practical, and oral exam reward different thinking. Use the list below to build questions that fit your format.
Copy this checklist into your notes before your next lecture review. It works for almost any subject.
Pro tip: If a question feels uncomfortable, keep it. Discomfort often means you found the exact gap rereading was hiding.
Snitchnotes is useful after you have written your first question list because it can help you move from “I sort of get this” to “I can answer this under pressure.”
Use it in 3 passes. First, paste your lecture notes or PDF and ask for the main concepts. Second, add your own questions and ask Snitchnotes to turn them into quiz prompts. Third, answer without looking, then ask for feedback on what is missing or unclear.
This keeps AI in the right role. Do not let it replace the thinking step. Let it challenge your questions, create variations, and expose blind spots after you have tried first.
If you want a broader AI workflow, read Snitchnotes on AI note-taking for students or try turning your class material into targeted practice inside Snitchnotes.
Definitions are useful, but exams usually test relationships, applications, and judgment too. For every definition question, add one question that starts with why, how, compare, predict, evaluate, or explain.
Looking at notes while answering turns retrieval into recognition. Close the notes first. Struggle for 30 to 90 seconds. Then check. That short effort is what makes gaps visible.
Your question bank should shrink as you learn. Delete or archive questions you can answer correctly 2 sessions in a row. Keep the yellow and red ones active.
Exam command words matter. “Describe,” “explain,” “compare,” “calculate,” and “evaluate” ask for different answer shapes. If your teacher or syllabus uses specific command words, copy them into your questions.
For one lecture, make 10 to 15 questions, then choose the best 5 for active recall. If the lecture is dense or exam-heavy, make 20 questions but still prioritize the most important ones first.
Question formulation is not a replacement for flashcards. It helps you decide what deserves a flashcard, what needs a practice problem, and what needs a deeper explanation. Use flashcards for facts; use question formulation for understanding and exam thinking.
Yes, but keep it tight. Pick 3 high-value topics, write 5 questions for each, and answer only the questions most likely to appear. Do not build a huge system the night before; use the method to find gaps fast.
Start with command words. Ask: define what, explain why, compare with, predict what happens if, and give an example of. If you still feel stuck, paste the topic into Snitchnotes and ask for 10 question starters, then rewrite them in your own words.
The question formulation technique for exam prep works because it makes studying specific. Instead of rereading notes and hoping they stick, you build questions that reveal what you know, what you do not know, and what your exam may actually demand.
Start small today: choose one lecture, write 10 questions in 5 minutes, upgrade 3 of them, and answer the top 5 from memory. Then use Snitchnotes to turn your weakest answers into better practice before the exam pressure hits.
Sources and further reading: Right Question Institute on QFT; Washington University in St. Louis on retrieval practice; MIT Teaching and Learning Lab on metacognition; UNC Learning Center on metacognitive study strategies
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