Determine your learning style
We are all different, so our exam preparation strategies will be different.
Start from your individual characteristics. If you are an auditory learner, read textbooks and notes out loud, if you are a kinesthetic learner, write cheat sheets based on your notes and make an answer plan. Another effective method is mind mapping. This is a great way to structure information, refresh your knowledge and quickly understand the essence of the subject, even after a long time. We talked in more detail about how to make mental maps and how to work with them here.
What questions should you teach first? If during the semester you have a good understanding of the subject, proceed to questions about which you have at least some idea.
If each new block cannot be understood without the previous one, then there is only one option: learn everything strictly in order.
It also makes sense to start with difficult questions and allocate enough time to study them. It's better to deal with them before you get tired and lose concentration. Leave easy questions for later.
And be consistent. Stick to your chosen strategy, even if you start to panic as the exam approaches.
Methods for quickly memorizing text
The question of how to learn a large text in 5 minutes has worried students and schoolchildren at all times, so many tricks and memorization techniques have accumulated.
When choosing your signature method, be guided by what type of sensory memory is more developed than others: visual or auditory. If it’s difficult to decide, perhaps you are one of those people who absorb information using logic.
If you have a good visual memory:
- read the text, and then take a bright marker and mark all the key words, definitions, conclusions. This is how you structure the material and create reference points for memorization;
- To memorize foreign words and terms, use tablets on which the necessary information will be briefly written down. Hang these signs around your home to read throughout the day.
If you remember information by ear:
If logical thinking predominates in you:
- highlight cause-and-effect relationships in the text, identify all terms and find out their meaning, mentally simplify the material. This method is useful for everyone, because it is difficult to imagine how you can quickly learn something incomprehensible;
- Instead of memorizing the text alone, try explaining or retelling it to another person in your own words.
However, any methods will be poorly effective if you try to memorize everything in one night. Information learned quickly evaporates from memory, and repetition is required for long-term effects.
Not everyone is born with a good memory, but it can be developed and made your main advantage. In the free newsletter from Skysmart “Study without tears,” psychologist Ekaterina Murashova shares life hacks with parents: how to make a child fall in love with studying, control less and not worry so much about him. Join us!
“3–4–5” technique
Image: Giphy
A good method when you need to prepare for an exam in a short period of time. It will only take three days, but there is a lot of work to be done. Every day you need to work through all the material, but at a different level, constantly going deeper.
On the first day, you read your entire notes or study guide to refresh your knowledge of the subject, or, roughly speaking, to get involved. Conventionally, we believe that you can already pass the exam with a C grade.
On the second day, you deal with the same questions, but using the textbook to learn more details and subtleties. If you prepare diligently, you can already count on a four.
On the last day, you perfect your answers: repeat, fill in the blanks, memorize. After the third day, you are ready to pass the exam with flying colors.
How our memory works
Let's start, perhaps, with this question.
The process of memorizing any information goes through three stages.
- The first is short-term memory . Any data stays there for no more than a few minutes.
- The data then moves to the second stage - intermediate memory . Here she can stay for several days or a month.
- The third and final stage is long-term memory . The information is always stored there. Even the things we think we have forgotten.
Therefore, in order to make the most of your memory, you need to take this into account. Try to immediately transfer everything you learn into intermediate memory. And so that the information stays with you as long as possible, revise it from time to time and transfer it to the departments of long-term memory.
Study varies by subject
Not only you, but also the subject you are studying has individual characteristics. For example, exact sciences - mathematics, physics - require practice. For the humanities, it is important to be able to process large amounts of information, remember dates, names, and definitions.
But, I repeat, you need to approach the study of any subject actively: delve into the question and strive for understanding.
The exam format is also important. If you are preparing for an oral exam, speak your future answers out loud. My favorite tactic is to retell the material to someone at home or, when they are not enthusiastic, to myself in front of the mirror. It’s even better if someone not only listens to you, but also asks questions when something is not clear.
If you are preparing for testing, you should take a dozen standard tests, write down your mistakes, repeat problematic topics and solve everything again.
If the exam is written, you need to think about the structure of the answer in advance.
The Mysterious Powers of Memory
Our memory, as mentioned earlier, has unlimited capacity. There are different ways to remember necessary and unnecessary information. By training your memory every day, you can discover a lot of new and unknown things.
One of the most amazing methods of memorization is the phenomenon of eidetic memory. It is a process that allows us to record everything that happens in the environment. Symbols, words, images - all this is etched into memory in a second. The fact is that all information studied in this way is remembered as a code and reproduced at the right moment for a person. Having such abilities, a person can quite easily memorize not only poems, but also large texts.
The main advantage of eidetic memory is that a person who has it will be able to independently control what information he needs and what can be erased, like a computer.
Learning this method of memorizing texts takes a lot of time, but absolutely anyone can learn it, the most important thing is not to give up and believe that everything will work out!
A few more tips for preparing for exams
- Take breaks. This will help you relax and sort out new information.
- Turn off your phone, don't go on social networks, don't get close to the TV. If you can't cope with temptation, read about how to deal with distractions.
- Get enough sleep.
- Don't forget about food: it will give your body additional strength. However, you shouldn't overeat. Usually, after an overly heavy lunch, you start to feel sleepy, and you don’t feel like studying at all.
- Avoid stressful situations and negativity from other people. The atmosphere during classes should be as favorable as possible.
- Don't rely too much on cheat sheets and the ability to cheat. And if you don’t know how to copy well (you must agree, you need to be able to do this too), you shouldn’t even start.
- Set up a place for studying: bright, comfortable, with all the necessary materials at hand. The bed is not the most suitable option: there is a high probability of falling asleep on a boring topic.
- Make bulleted lists: they are easier to remember.
- Playing sports will help you distract yourself and stretch the muscles that have become stiff during prolonged sitting. You can also take your time and think about difficult questions while running, biking, or similar physical activity.
- If you feel that you are not in the mood to study, start with the topic that seems most interesting to you. This will help you get into the groove.
- Go for walks in the evening. During preparation, nerves are usually on edge, so you need to relax a little.
- Make a clear preparation plan.
What you need to know about the memory device
Memory is a complex mental function with the help of which we acquire new knowledge and gain practical experience. Our world would never have become the way we see it without the incredible capabilities of our memory.
Scientists have calculated that the volume of human memory is about a thousand terabytes. At the same time, the brain requires only 20 watts of energy to process all information. This makes it the most energy efficient place to store information.
Memory includes several interrelated processes in which different areas of the brain are involved:
- Memorizing new information and integrating it into the general system of associative connections.
- Storage in long-term memory.
- Reproduction of material in unchanged form as needed.
- Forgetting information that is unnecessary and irrelevant, according to the brain.
We will consider all these processes in detail in the article “How to develop memory,” but now we will focus on memorization.
Memorization is the first link in this long chain. Any errors and interference at this stage nullify all subsequent brain work. What does this process look like from the inside?
Any information perceived by the brain causes a response in the nervous system. Neurons (specific brain cells) become excited and begin to exchange electronic impulses. Passing along nerve fibers, these impulses leave traces and form neural pathways. Most of them are subsequently destroyed, leaving only those that managed to gain a foothold.
More than 100 cool lessons, tests and exercises for brain development
Start developing
Consolidation occurs in two cases: if the stimulus was very strong and if the signals passed along this path many times in a row. In the first case, so-called stress memorization is activated, and in the second, memorization through repeated repetitions.
Our task is to ensure that neural pathways are strengthened as quickly as possible and with the least energy consumption. To do this, you need to know some of the features of memory and use them to your advantage.
The benefits and harms of cheat sheets
Sometimes students show miracles of ingenuity
Crib sheets come in many different varieties, and students get quite creative in creating new “models” and figuring out where to hide them. Of course, you shouldn’t rely only on cheat sheets, but they can be of considerable benefit.
The real benefit of cheat sheets will be seen if you write them yourself. The desire to include more information, illegible handwriting and simply laziness often prompt you to simply print out ready-made answers.
But this should only be done if there is absolutely no time or you are confident in the possibility of cheating. In another case, betting on Spurs could be a direct path to a mulligan.
A correctly written cheat sheet should provide a brief outline of the answer, adding key dates, facts or formulas. To write it, you need to re-read the material at least twice, preferably from different sources, and analyze it.
In addition, handwriting activates kinesthetic memory. And this will record the material not only on paper, but also in memory.
Thus, a correctly compiled cheat sheet may turn out to be unnecessary during the exam itself. Only if there are a lot of tickets, it can help refresh your memory with a quick glance.
Learn lectures!
One of the main forms of the educational process in colleges and higher educational institutions is lectures; these are the most convenient and accessible ways of teaching. In all universities in the country, half of all teaching time is devoted to lectures. The task of any teacher is to convey information on his subject to the student in an accessible, quick and systematic way, in the right sequence, while at the same time the main task of the student is to remember and assimilate the material. Well-designed lectures help both teach and quickly and systematically absorb new knowledge.
When does the brain remember information best?
The human brain is not capable of absorbing absolutely all the material it reads or remembering every detail it sees. It works “selectively”, but you can learn to create conditions that allow you to concentrate its resources in the right direction:
- Visual function is critical. During the reading process, the brain does not “add” letters, but sees the text as a picture. A person should quickly skim the pages with his eyes, and not read every word. We remember better when we see, which is why many modern educational programs use charts, graphs, and pictures.
- A small knowledge “hidden” in a big one will never be forgotten. You always need to make diagrams or lists, and then fit individual fragments into the overall picture. Such notes should be kept in a visible place and without realizing it, you will find that you remember everything.
- A rested brain remembers information correctly. An experiment was conducted. One group of participants was tested after 4 hours of sleep, and the other after 12. The latter showed much better knowledge than the first. Another study clearly demonstrated that restricting sleep for the next 30 hours after learning new material nullifies all efforts.
- Alternation helps you remember data better and for a long time. During the experiment, it was found that pictures in different styles were remembered better than in one.
To summarize, our brain works correctly for memorization when a person gets enough sleep, alternates audio, text, visual information, and sees visually studied material.
Ways to remember information better
