Build an open-book exam index around the questions you need your materials to answer. Give each entry a clear topic label, a precise source location and a short reminder of when that material is useful. Then test the index on practice questions under the relevant restrictions. A folder full of documents is not yet an efficient reference system.
This guide is for preparing permitted materials for a UK university assessment. It does not assume that “open book” allows online services, generative AI, shared documents or unrestricted internet access. Check the actual instructions for your module before deciding what the finished index can contain or where it can be stored.
What should you confirm before organising your notes?
Find the current assessment brief and any subsequent official clarification. Record the duration, submission format, allowed resources and expectations for references. If the wording is unclear, ask the module team before building your preparation around an assumption.
Edinburgh's open-book preparation guidance highlights the importance of checking answer expectations, format and technical requirements. An at-home assessment and a timed assessment in an exam room may require very different arrangements. Your university's instructions determine which one you are preparing for.
Separate preparation from use during the assessment. A tool allowed while studying may be prohibited once the assessment starts. For the broader institutional context, see AI rules at UK universities, then return to your own module's current instructions.
Choose the permitted form first
If only printed materials are permitted, build page references and tabs you can use on paper. If local digital files are allowed, check filenames, page numbers and whether links will work in that environment. Do not rely on an online link if access will be unavailable or prohibited.
Avoid making two competing master indexes. You can keep backups, but label the version intended for the assessment clearly. A final update to a source document should trigger a check of the references pointing into it.
How do you design useful index entries?
Start with the questions you asked while revising. “Which assumptions does this model need?” is often a more useful retrieval cue than “Week 7”. You can retain the week as a source location, but make the entry describe what the material helps you do.
Use the following structure as a starting point. The example is a proposed study format, not an official UK assessment template.
| Entry | What to include |
|---|---|
| Topic or question | A phrase you would naturally search for |
| Source location | Filename or title, section and page |
| Use | Definition, worked example, evidence or comparison |
| Boundary | A qualification or warning about when it does not apply |
An entry might read: “Choosing between models A and B; comparison notes, page 4; criteria and one example; check the assumptions before applying either.” That is a pointer to reasoning you have prepared. It is not a prewritten answer to every possible question about the models.
Keep source references unambiguous
Distinguish the page printed in the document from the PDF viewer's page count. If you use both, label them. A reference to “page 12” should not send you several pages away from the passage you need.
Use filenames you can distinguish quickly. “Lecture notes final” and “Lecture notes final new” invite confusion. Include the topic and version date, and make sure the index points to the retained version. Test the actual file or printed page, not a remembered location.
What should stay out of the index?
Do not paste every definition and example into the index itself. That creates a second textbook and makes it harder to see the routes into the original material. Keep only the amount of context needed to choose the right destination.
Remove duplicate entries that differ only in wording, unless both terms are genuinely useful retrieval cues. Where the lecturer uses two terms for the same concept, a brief cross-reference may be enough. Where the terms differ in meaning, preserve the distinction instead of merging them for neatness.
Edinburgh's exam advice describes open-book work as finding and applying relevant information. Your index should support that sequence. It cannot replace understanding the material or deciding whether it answers the actual question.
Include uncertainty before you close the document
During preparation, mark entries that need clarification. Resolve them through the course material or module team before relying on them. Do not convert a provisional interpretation into a confident reference merely to make the index look complete.
If a topic remains unresolved, record exactly what is uncertain in your revision notes. That gives you a focused study task. It is more useful than adding a long general summary that hides the gap.
How do you test the index properly?
Choose a relevant practice question and attempt to use the index to support an answer. Record three things: whether you found the material, whether it was the right material and whether you could apply it. A successful search with an irrelevant result is not a successful test.
Try a second question with different wording. If the index only works when the question repeats your heading, add a better retrieval cue or rethink the grouping. You are testing the navigation and your interpretation of the task at the same time.
Where timing matters, practise within a realistic time allocation drawn from the current exam instructions. Include time to construct and check the answer. Do not spend the whole session perfecting retrieval while never writing a response. The guide to UK university exam preparation provides the wider planning context.
How can Notibo help before the assessment?
Notibo generates notes and flashcards from PDF, PowerPoint and Word files. You can use an authorised course document to produce an initial set of notes, edit them and build your own index around the checked material. Verify every source location yourself; this workflow does not assume automatic page-accurate citation mapping.
Keep the original sources accessible. An AI summary may omit a qualification that matters to the answer. Generated flashcards can support short recall questions during preparation, but cannot currently be edited individually and are not a substitute for testing an extended response.
If you want to try Notibo for students, choose one topic first. Use its output to improve your preparation, then rehearse with only the resources your assessment allows. The completed index should help you locate and use evidence, with its value demonstrated by your practice attempt.