Short answer: Turn your slides into questions: get the big picture from the slide titles, write each section's key idea in plain words, then test yourself on it and check every answer against the slide it came from.
Why slides are hard to study from
Slides are built to back up someone talking. The explanation lived in the lecture; the slide has the fragments. That's why an 80-slide PDF can feel impossible: half of it is title pages, agendas and half-sentences that only made sense in the room.
Step by step
- Build the map. Read only the slide titles and section headers for the whole lecture. Write the 4 to 8 topics it covers.
- Skip the filler. Title slides, agendas, "any questions?" and repeated recap slides don't need studying.
- Find each topic's key idea. For every topic, write one or two sentences in your own words: what is it, and why does it matter? If you can't, that's where to read closely.
- Turn it into questions. Write 3 to 5 questions per topic, the kind your exam would ask. Definitions, examples, "what happens if", comparisons.
- Test yourself with the slides closed, then check each answer against the exact slide. Mark the misses.
- Come back to the misses the next day and a few days later.
Steps 5 and 6 are where the learning happens: practice testing and spacing are the two techniques rated most useful in a major review of study methods (Dunlosky et al., 2013).
If you skipped the lecture
You need to learn the material before you can test it. Go topic by topic: key idea first, then the details, then a quick check question before moving on. A structured tutor that works this way can teach well: in a Harvard physics trial, students using one learned more than students in an active-learning class, in less time (Kestin et al., 2025).
Using AI on your slides
AI can turn slides into notes and questions quickly, but check two things. First, does every answer point back to a specific slide, so you can verify it? Second, does it stick to what your professor covered, or add things that won't be on your exam?
Questions, answered.
Is studying from the slides alone enough?
Often it covers most of the exam, because professors tend to test what they lectured on. Check the syllabus or ask whether readings are examined too.
Should I rewrite the slides into notes?
Only the key idea per topic, in your own words. Copying slides out in full takes time without making you recall anything.
Can AI make study notes from my lecture slides?
Yes. The best tools keep the notes tied to the original slides so you can check anything, and turn the notes into practice questions so you're not just rereading AI summaries.