Dear Learners,

You may think that you get worst grades than some students in your class because you have a worst memory compared to them. Of course your memory span does make a difference, but it could also do with the methods you use to memorize your concepts and facts for class. With exams coming up soon, many of you may only be relying on your short term memory. But did you know that short term memory is actually limited? Your short term memory can only process seven items of information at a given time. Thus, if you do have many courses, I suggest that you rely on your long term memory which is an unlimited cabinet.

What you should first understand is that when you want to memorize something, you always to some extent unconsciously start encoding. Encoding helps you remember the thing you must memorize visually, acoustically and semantically. Encoding means to mentally organize. I will now use the process of memorizing vocabulary to show examples of the three encoding techniques. To visually encode is to relate the world with a picture. To acoustically encode is to notice the sound of the word and either make connections or look for rhythms in the word. And lastly to semantically encode is to use the meaning of the word and look for relations and connections. Out of the three encoding techniques, studies have shown that semantically encoding is the most effective for long term memory. Thus in many English courses when a teacher gives you vocabulary to remember, you should always use the vocabulary to make sentences. Doing this will help you understand the words meaning as well as remember the context of the word. Semantically encoding makes the fact or thing you must remember more relevant to you.

Sometimes you may find some words or theories easier to remember than others. This is because some words/facts are more concrete. Thus, you can visually encode and tie in a picture as well as link it to the meaning. But for more abstract words, you can only tie it to a meaning when you first see it. So for those more abstract things to remember, it may also help to tie in auditory encoding to help remember the word.

People tend to remember the first and last items on a list they must remember for a test or an exam. Thus, remind yourself to mix the theories, facts or words around so you could change the first and last position.

Another tip to help you study and remember things is to space things out while memorizing and getting to understand the facts. Relearning facts is easier and helps you remember the facts you need to know. When studying, remember to start early so you have enough time to keep going back to it. If there is one week to a test, it would help more to study 15 minutes a day than to study 3 hours the day before the test.

Chucking and putting the facts that need to be remembered in hierarchies is also another way to help you remember things. Memorizing random data is a bad way to memorize things. It is very unorganized and just as hard as finding something in a messy room. When you keep things organized, it gets much easier to remember and find at the back of your head. When you chunk information together, you should put them into similar categories. It would make it seem as though you had less to memorize become some of those facts or data are so similar. By putting the facts into hierarchies, you can divide it into different levels moving from general to specific. Thus, when you understand how everything works and work from the bigger picture, it is easier to see the relations of the facts, and thus making the facts easier to memorize.

And lastly one of the most important study tip is to self test. You can recognize the facts that you learned and repeatedly read, but it does mean you know it without looking at it. Thus, try to say the theories/fact/word meanings out without looking or doing online quizzes that help prepare you for the test.                                                                                                                                                               Good Luck!