With the exam season quickly approaching, everyone’s starting to scrable to memorize the material they haven’t bothered working on for weeks. While the best option is to study in advance and really try to understand the material, we all know that this rarely happens. Here are some tips on how to memorize in a short period of time!
Write it Out
I’ve found the best way to make things stick in your head is to write them out by hand. Not only does this force your brain to analyze the information, but it helps you to condense your notes by picking out the most important material. Colour coding also helps with efficient thinking, so try using different coloured pens! If you write out the notes multiple times or read them over each night before going to bed, you will have them down in no time.
Make a Diagram/Brain Map
Putting your thoughts into one schematic diagram can help improve your understanding of how course concepts fit together. This also makes it easy to visualize your notes and can be a helpful study tool. If you cover up certain parts of the map, you can use this to quiz yourself too.
Cue Cards
Combining the first and second tip, this method is cheap and easy to do. Pick up a package of cue cards from Dollarama and fill them out. You can use these to memorize definitions, diagrams, formulas, etc. You can also take cue cards with you and test yourself while you’re on the go or ask your friends to use them to question you.
Record Yourself
If you find yourself struggling during the day to find time to memorize your notes, you can always record yourself reading over them. Play the recording while you sleep, ride the bus, workout at the gym, or review in between classes to burn the info into your head. If you want to go the extra mile, listen to a section of the recording then try to say it aloud back to yourself.
While the above methods are useful for quick memorization, it should be noted that these techniques are best used when preparing weeks before your exam. During exam time, don’t forget to take care of yourself by getting an appropriate amount of sleep, eating a healthy diet, exercising, and taking breaks in between studying!
Best of luck to everyone :P