The first time someone hands you a full drawing set, it's overwhelming — hundreds of sheets, dense with symbols and abbreviations. But a set is organized on a logic that never changes, and once you see it, you can find anything.
The disciplines, in order
Sets are grouped by discipline and usually run in the same sequence: General (G), Civil (C), Architectural (A), Structural (S), Mechanical (M), Electrical (E), Plumbing (P), and Fire Protection (FP). Each sheet number tells you the discipline and roughly where you are — A-301 is architectural, and the 300s are typically sections. Learn the prefixes and you stop feeling lost.
Plans, elevations, sections, details
Within a discipline you're looking at the same building four ways: plans (looking down), elevations (looking at a face), sections (a vertical cut), and details (a zoomed-in close-up of one condition). Cross-references stitch them together — a bubble on a plan points you to the section or detail that explains it.
Specs are the other half
Drawings show location and dimension; the specifications — organized by the CSI MasterFormat divisions — tell you the quality: the products, standards, and workmanship required. A drawing says a door goes here; the spec says exactly which door. You need both to understand scope, and mismatches between them are exactly what RFIs exist to resolve.
How to actually learn it
Don't try to memorize a set — use one. Chase a real question through the drawings: where does this beam land, what's the finish in this room, how does this wall meet the slab? Reading a set in service of a decision is how it finally clicks, which is why doing beats studying every time.