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How to Remember What You Read for Exams

By Shreya PatroAugust 10, 2022
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Helpful Strategies for Remembering What Your Read for Exams

Have you ever taken an exam and looked at a particular question, realized that no matter how hard you try, you cannot recall the answer to it? If the whole thing seems a little too relatable to you then don’t worry, you are not alone. If you want to learn how to remember what you read for exams, there are some tricks that can help you. Most students who have so much stuff to study struggle with remembering certain things from the chapters. Struggling to remember what you have read is a common problem for most people. However, just memorizing things but reading and rereading them isn’t the only solution here. 


How to Learn and Memorize Anything Quickly


How to Learn and Memorize Anything Quickly


In fact, there are different tactics and methods that you can use to keep important topics and information in your mind for a long time. For example, the Zettelkasten approach to growing as well as managing knowledge seems to be useful. Not to mention that there are a variety of different apps that you can use for remembering things that you read. In this post, we will be talking about some tricks and strategies to ensure that you never forget what you read. Following through with the strategies will make you well-prepared for your upcoming exams.


Understand How Your Memory Works First?

Do you wish to learn how to memorize faster? Well, before delving into that, you need to understand how the actual memory works. There are three important steps to the process of memorizing and these are: Encoding, Storage, and Retrieval. Now memories can be split into two types: Explicit or declarative and implicit or nondeclarative.


Declarative memories tend to be those that are deliberately stored for specific reasons. On the other hand, non-declarative memories are the ones that are subconsciously stored.


Best Way to Study and Memorise: Important Tricks for Your Help 

There is no doubt that students have to learn as well as recall different pieces of information regularly and especially during examination time. However, some students face certain difficulties in recalling the information which in turn can affect their confidence and self-esteem. So, it is important for them to know how to memorize long answers and useful information properly. Well, the good news is that these important tricks can be of help. 

  1. Spaced Repetition 

The technique of spaced repetition has proven to be incredibly useful to build a study mind and help students memorize things faster. Spaced repetition is a process where one has to review a study material again and again over certain increments of time. When you study something and try to recall it immediately, you will be able to properly retain every piece of information. Try that again after an hour and you might forget some bits. But what if you review materials over and over again after certain intervals of time? Well, your brain can be tricked into creating a photographic memory of the text.

  1. Learn in Smaller Chunks 

Now, this is pretty much common sense when we say that dividing long topics into shorter chunks will help you remember things faster. After long segments have been broken into smaller and more understandable parts, you will easily be able to retain information and hence you will be able to learn things quickly. Not to mention that it applies to different kinds of information as well. Whether you have to memorize grammar rules or a simple topic, you can create a sequence in your head and divide the sections to make sure that you are able to learn things efficiently.

  1. Make Notes as You Study 

The ultimate trick to remember everything that you study is to write it down as you study the topic. Yes, you heard it absolutely right. Creating notes when you are studying a chapter will help you understand what you are reading better. With the help of these notes, you will be able to revise the topics easily. Make sure that your notes are precise and concise while consisting of valuable information. Try it out and see the results for yourself.

  1. Building a Memory Palace Can Work 

The idea of creating a mind or a memory palace is something that has been going around for a long time. However, it is now that we have finally begun to understand its importance. The concept is pretty much similar to using any piece of mental imagery to sort through and store different pieces of information. However, this particular process is just a little bit comprehensive and elaborate. Do you notice how ‘memory athletes’ show incredible examples of mental ability? It is through this trick of creating a memory palace. So, there is no doubt that this is one of the best ways to study and memorize something.

  1. Try and Get a Good Night’s Sleep 

It doesn’t really come off as a surprise that having a good night’s sleep can actually do wonders for your memory and help you recall information a bit faster. Contrary to what some people might think, sleeping doesn’t make you forget things. Rather, sleep happens to boost the memory a little bit. Several studies tend to show that people who have had some time to rest and sleep for a while after learning something have been able to recall that information without any difficulty. So, this is one trick that you definitely need to use.

  1. Talking to Yourself Helps 

We understand that this tip might sound a little eccentric but don’t know it until you try it, people. Talking out loud when you are trying to learn something important will help in the encoding process and hence help you recall the information much more easily. When you speak aloud, it can help in boosting cognitive engagement and hence will help you understand and retain information in a much more effective and efficient manner.


Conclusion 

It might take some time and practice to trick your brain into remembering everything that you read. However, with proper practice and patience, you will be able to see some progress for sure. Follow these important tips mentioned above to ensure that you don’t forget things as you read them. These strategies will definitely help you a lot during your exam preparation.