Making A Study Binder for the RD Exam

There's a lot of material on the RD exam, and it's important to organize your study materials in a way that will be conducive to efficient studying. Ready to dive in? Learn about RD exam study materials and tips, the exam itself, and download free study materials at my RD Exam page.

---

After you've decided your study method for the exam, consider making a study binder to keep it organized. I made two: a main binder (left) and a "to-go" binder (next section).

The main binder is a 3" three-ring binder that contains outlines for the exam, the Jean Inman Review study guide divided into domains, and the CDR practice exam.

Here is a comparison of the old RD exam and the new exam, as of 2012, divided into side-by-side domains.

If you are using a pre-2012 Jean Inman Review, like I did, make sure you reorganize the domains accordingly to make sure you don't miss anything.

Update: Pre-2012 test is organized very differently than 2012 and 2017 exams. Luckily, the 2012 and 2017 exams are pretty similar

I used the updated 2012 RD exam outline from CDR to go through the Jean Inman Review and compare what is the same, what is new, and what is in a new location.

When I am finished taking notes on a particular domain topic I place it in the main binder behind the Jean Inman Review.

---

I used a smaller binder (0.5 inch) to keep the domain/topic materials I was currently working on. It has a spot for what I am working on, a spot for material that is done, the material I will work on next, and blank paper. I used tabbed dividers to split up each section.

Here is a stack of notes I was in the process of working on. They are paper clipped together, and at the top is a note that reminds me which domain is in this "working on" section, and which topics are included. Moving domains in and out of the main binder can be dangerous because you might lose something! Figure out a way to keep track.

Here you can see the Jean Inman Review, with the "contains..." note. You can also see my DIY tabs (arrows) that divide up the domain into sections. Since the Jean Inman Review often has topics start on the same page that another ended, I typically transfer the whole domain into my to-go binder instead of trying to split it up.

I also have a red tab that says "to do", which makes this set of notes my runner-up notes if I happen to finish the other stuff when I'm out and about.

Do you think a study binder is what will work for you? Do you have any questions about how I organized mine? Leave a comment!

-Bailey