Imagine this: you’re poised to rise above the crowd, effortlessly excelling in your academics.
But suddenly, things don’t go as planned. That one grade, that one class – knocks you off balance. It’s a frustrating experience, especially if passing exams once felt like second nature.
Or maybe you’re already a strong student, driven to claim the top spot in your class. Perhaps you’ve always struggled and are now ready to break free from that cycle.
No matter where you are in your academic journey, there are powerful, little-known studying techniques that can transform your results and lead you straight to success.
These are the strategies that can unlock your full potential and help you soar beyond expectations.
Ready to discover the secrets that move you from stress to triumph? Dive in and watch your academic world shift before your eyes.
- Spaced repetition. Do you often forget what you learn? The trick is not cramming for ten hours. It’s better to work for less time consistently than it is to study for a long time once.
Spaced repetition involves revisiting the same information at different times until it’s effectively stored in your long-term memory.
- Note how long it takes for you to forget information, then apply spaced repetition. Before you forget, revisit the subject to keep the memory fresh in your mind. The gaps between studying and forgetting will get broader and broader.
- Digesting. It’s easy to read through a concept and get the overall gist. That doesn’t equate to knowing it. Test yourself like this. After studying a piece of information, put it aside for a moment. Now try to recall what you studied, including important details and keywords.
- You may find that you might not remember most of what you just learned. The technique takes time because you need to know what you read before moving on to the next.
The more you force your brain to think deeply about an idea, the more you remember it.
- You will not only have taken in the picture, but you will also have digested it. Without actively recalling information, you won’t know what you don’t know.
- Association. Association is the technique of connecting new information to existing information in your mind. For instance, when you learn someone’s name for the first time, you believe you’ll remember it.
- But afterward, you go about your business and realize that you have completely forgotten it by the end of the day.
To apply the association method, try to link it with someone or something that reminds you of the name as soon as you hear the name.
- It trains your brain to give you a clue to remember it. This example proves that memory requires a foundation.
If you can connect what you learn to previous knowledge, you will create rich retrieval cues to prompt your memory to serve you when you need it.
- Flashcards. Condense your knowledge into brief, short notes. If you have tons of information that you need to memorize, summarize them on little cards in your own words. You can easily carry these cards around and quickly glance through them anytime.
- The beauty of flashcards is that they make revision easy. The downside is the discipline required to make them.
If you develop the habit of making a flashcard for every meaningful topic you cover, you will have enough to help you revise when it’s time for exams.
- Quizzing. Use textbook questions which you can usually find at the end of every topic, and pass paper questions to test your knowledge.
Practice papers also help you answer questions in the specific way that exam boards want. You can ask your teacher for specific advice on answering questions.
- Mark yourself using the answers provided at the back of the textbook and marking schemes.
Revisit these questions regularly to refresh your understanding. You can keep testing yourself with little revision to train your long-term memory.
- Storytelling. Form a story by breaking down lots of information and connecting them to create a logical sequence. Just pretend you are telling or writing a story with a specific scientific process, using keywords to create unique characters.
- This technique is a fun way of studying while also making it easy for you to recall facts and connect the information.
Some may even choose to write songs or rap lyrics with difficult scientific words like parts of the body or elements on the periodic table.
- Blurting. Select a topic or chapter you want to revise. Write questions or bullet points that can guide you to provide needed information on your own.
Then, using the guide, begin writing everything you remember. The technique involves blurting out all your knowledge on paper.
- After writing it all down, compare it with the textbook or notes and note what you got right and what you didn’t—blurting forces you to be honest about the knowledge you have and to know what you need to focus on when you’re studying.
Intelligence alone is not as significant to passing exams as effort. Applying these little-known but effective study techniques will lead to the change you want to see in your exam results. It’s never a good idea to work on things last minute. You end up feeling rushed and stressed and forget chunks of your lessons.
Continue to put in the work, and you’ll soon see a marked difference!
