Why A Review Log is Vital to Your GRE Prep
Like many folks these days, I’m catching up on some TV shows, but I’m still teaching too. For anyone out there studying for the GMAT, LSAT, or GRE, there’s a valuable lesson that I want to share with you that I learned recently from, of all places, a TV show. It’s about the danger of failing to review your work, and the associated importance of keeping a detailed review log. That show is called “Masterchef,” hosted by celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay.
Masterchef is a decent show all-around, but there’s one segment that I always love to watch: the one where Ramsay demonstrates how to make a particular dish featured in that particular episode, and the contestants recreate the dish. The instructions always go something like this: “Right? OK. Pan nice and hot. Clams go in. Sweat them off. Put the lid on. Do NOT season. Lid- stand back. Be careful. Flambe. Once your clams start to open, lid off, and you drain. OK? Now we’re going to puree the beans. In we go. Lid back on!” And so on for about 2 more minutes.
Then, having heard the instructions for the dish only this one time rattled off at lightning speed, the contestants haplessly try to recreate Ramsay’s masterpiece. Hilarity ensues. There are two things that I love about this segment. One, that the contestants’ failure is so inevitable. Two, that it is a perfect metaphor for how many people attempt, with predictably bad outcomes, to study for tests like the GMAT and the GRE. Think about it; if your study routine consists of reading a chapter in your GMAT textbook, trying a problem from the Official Guide to the GMAT and getting it wrong, reading the book’s explanation of that problem for about a minute, and then moving on to the next task, your odds of success are about as good as the first guy kicked off Masterchef. Worse, actually, because at least that guy got to try cooking the dish right after he heard the instructions. You, on the other hand, are going to have to take the skills you’re currently learning and perform them again, in a different context, weeks from now. It’s as if Gordon Ramsay gave his usual instructions, but then asked the chefs to come back a month later and cook the dish from memory in a kitchen that only has cast-iron pans. I think you’ll agree, that’s a…wait for it…recipe for disaster.
Here’s an interesting question, though: If Ramsay’s method of teaching is so unhelpful, why does he continue to do it? Entertainment value, perhaps, but I actually think it’s the same reason many test prep students keep studying in a similar way: it gives the illusion of competence (that’s not my phrase, by the way, it’s a term borrowed from learning science). The idea, quite simply, is that reading instructions in a book for how to something that you haven’t done correctly in the past makes you believe that you will now be able to do it correctly in the future. In this way, bad studying might be worse than not studying at all; if we don’t study, then at least we know our limitations, and can try our best to work around them.
How To Use A Review Log
So how do we fight this illusion? With one simple tool: a review log. A review log is a place where, after each problem or problem set we do, we write notes on how we performed, both positive and negative. Extending the Masterchef analogy, imagine that the contestants could review the tape of themselves cooking, and get a transcript of chef Ramsay’s instructions.
Imagine they could write notes like, “The clams came out perfect; normally, I would have seasoned them, but Ramsay cautioned us not to and that was the right advice. However, I overcooked the beans. Either Ramsay’s timing was off or my heat control was off – I should taste the beans toward the end next time.” Then they got to try cooking the dish a second time for the panel of judges. Wouldn’t that be so much more effective? Wouldn’t they perform so much better? Then why aren’t we all doing this when we study for tests?
Using Review Logs the Week Before the GRE
One final tip: review logs are great for “cramming” for the real test. A week or two before your test date, go through as much of your review log as you can, revisiting problems that gave you trouble the first time around. Make sure you can do them now without referencing your notes at all, then review your notes and make sure you remembered the key points. Because you’ll be seeing everything for the second time, you’re much likely to retain the most important lessons by the time you get to the real test center. So don’t be a hapless Masterchef contestant with an illusion of competence: get started on your review log right now. Manhattan Prep instructor Elaine Loh has some great tips on how to make one, or sign up for a Manhattan Prep class and access one of our templates via your student portal!
RELATED: How to Review GMAT Practice Questions
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Ryan Jacobs is a Manhattan Prep instructor based in San Francisco, California. He has an MBA from UC San Diego, a 780 on the GMAT, and years of GMAT teaching experience. His other interests include music, photography, and hockey. Check out Ryan’s upcoming GMAT prep offerings here.