You must memorize key concepts to pass an exam or a test. Memorizing for only a single class is usually challenging, and the problem worsens when there are numerous classes. It is important to note that the ability to memorize is not something we are born with but rather one we develop.
You can boost your memorizing skills through various approaches. Here’re some impactful tips to help memorize concepts when studying.
Organize Your Study Area
An organized space will help you focus and keep you from straying into other activities. Psychology studies have highlighted that doing too many tasks during study time affects the ability to remember. When you want to study, you should organize your study space by eradicating any disturbances and ensuring you focus only on the studies.
Using social media while studying can negatively impact your ability to retain information. The same is the case when you want to study when watching a football match or doing something else. So, remove any unwanted gadgets from your study area and make sure the items and materials needed for the studies are within reach.
Try to First Understand the Information
Difficulty in understanding concepts leads to difficulty in memorizing them. The result is difficulty writing assignments, which is one of the reasons a student might hire a writer at an essay writing service. Make sure you understand the information before investing time in memorizing it. Memorizing facts that make sense to you is easier than memorizing facts that don’t.
Link Information
After understanding a concept, try to link it to something that you already know or something you can relate to. It is usually more challenging to recall a concept in isolation than a concept that’s already connected. Linking concepts and relating them to real-life situations allows you to memorize better and know how to apply them.
Note It Down
There is a correlation between learning and retaining info when noting the information down. Consider taking your notes old-fashioned by using a notepad and paper rather than typing on a laptop. Writing notes by hand has several advantages, the primary one being that it reduces the possibility of being distracted.
When you take notes using your laptop, you can get distracted by emails or social media platforms, which can affect information retention. Secondly, when writing notes by hand, you can be innovative in arranging the information, which helps in better information retention.
Highlight Important Points
When you have your personal study materials, highlighting key concepts can significantly boost your ability to remember them. Have a highlighter in hand and highlight any information that you feel is important. When you are revising, your eyes will be instantly attracted to the highlighted bits, and you will be able to recall the concepts faster.
Use Flashcards
Flashcards have become an excellent way for students to remember information because of their ease of use. On the front of a flashcard, write a key term or a question on what you have learned. Continue doing this until the end of your study session.
At the end of the session, define the terms at the back of the flashcards and answer the questions. After answering the questions, compare your responses with the reading materials. Using this method will improve your comprehension and memory of the concept.
Revise the Materials
You should not only read once and feel that you are ready to go. To recall what you’ve studied efficiently, it is integral to review and revise the course material at different intervals. The more you revise a material, the better your understanding of the concepts discussed in it.
Having a deeper knowledge of what you are studying is important to memory retention, and you should make use of your free time to revise the materials.
Teach Others the Concepts
A good strategy to memorize and have a deeper understanding of a concept is teaching it to another person. You can choose anyone to teach the concept to, but teaching your study buddies or classmates would be better.
When teaching someone, you will make a detailed analysis of the concept, and you will be asked different questions in the process. Responding to questions helps you better comprehend the concept, and you might even do more research to respond to the question well.
Take Quizes
Self-assessing yourself is a good strategy to remember the concepts you studied. By quizzing yourself, you get the opportunity to respond to your questions without looking at the course materials and other readings. You can tell whether you understand the concepts well or are having trouble with them by how you answer the questions.
The results from your assessment will provide information on whether you have clearly understood the concept and can recall it or whether you should review the materials once again to have a deeper understanding.
Take Breaks While Studying
Long study sessions without breaks can have an impact on one’s capacity to remember information. When you study for a lengthy period, you can experience information overload, which will leave you with a lot of information to process, making it difficult to remember everything.
Learning in bits is a good strategy to reduce information overload. You can achieve it by taking breaks between studies to walk or do something else. Breaks also help to refresh the brain so it can take in new information efficiently.
Final Act
If you struggle to remember concepts you have learned, there is no need to worry. All you have to do is change your learning strategies. Begin by organizing your study space by ensuring everything you need is within reach and removing distractions. The aim is to create a conducive learning environment.
Take notes when studying, highlight important points, use flash cards, and at the end of the session, take a quiz to see whether you have grasped the concepts. Lastly, don’t study for an extended period; take breaks during the sessions to avoid information overload.
