Article: The approach that you take will be determined by what your learning goals are. If you would like to just know more about your world or do better at bar trivia questions about geography, the stakes are relatively low. If you are planning to take a multiple-country backpacking trip and will need to know your way around, or if you have slept through an entire geography class and need to prepare before the final exam, the stakes may be higher. Ask yourself what you hope to achieve by learning geography, and let the answer to that question help guide your scope and approach. For example, if you plan to backpack across Europe, you will want to focus on the region through which you are traveling and learn the culture, currency, and perhaps languages of each area. It is impossible for anyone to immediately learn everything about every place in the world. Determining the scope of your learning, whether it is to know a smaller area really well, or a much bigger area more generally, will help you determine an approach. Some possible scopes may be: Learn every road in my town Learn all the major roads in my metropolitan area Learn all of the cities or counties in my state Learn all of the states and their capitals and governors Learn all of the countries in the world Learn all of the continents and oceans and the most populous countries Learn all of the English-speaking countries Learn all of the regions in Europe There are two main approaches to the study of geography: from the inside out or from the broad to the specific. An approach that moves from the inside out would take the area that you live in and slowly extend out until you have a more general knowledge of the world. An approach that moves from broad to specific would start with very general knowledge and move to more and more specific "layers" of knowledge. If you select an "inside out" approach, begin by learning about your city or county. Then learn about the surrounding counties, then the state as a whole. Then learn about the bordering states, then the states that boarder those. Learn about all of the states, then the bordering countries. Keep expanding outward until you have a working knowledge of the geography of the world. If you select a "broad to specific" approach, start by learning the continents and oceans. Then learn the countries. Then learn the capitals of each country. Then learn the major cities or regions in each country. Then learn the leaders of each country. Continue until you have the level of knowledge that you set out to learn. You may want to work on one continent at a time each time you move to a new level of specificity. To learn geography, you need access to maps. Many maps are available online, but you can also use printed maps. Maps contain a wealth of information but come in varying levels of detail; be sure to select a map or maps that provide all of the information that you wish to learn. You may want to find and print copies of blank maps. Copying the names of states, countries, or cities down on a blank map is a good way to learn them, and you can use blank maps to quiz yourself as well. Be sure to cite your maps properly. For example, check out the wikiHow How to Cite Google Maps if you're relying on this source.

What is a summary?
Set your learning goals. Determine a scope. Select an approach. Study maps.