Memorization Strategies to Study Fast and Remember Everything

Many students strive to do their best and study hard while in school, college, or university. However, it is quite a task if you keep forgetting everything half an hour after reading the course material. This way, all the long hours dedicated to your classes and study sessions are wasted. Don’t worry; there is nothing wrong with your brain and memory; this situation is common.

But knowing that your peers also need help with their academic success is hardly comforting, right? That’s why we collected fast tips about memorization and structured them in an easy-to-do plan. Don’t forget to check other hand-picked blog materials from FastEssay writing services for useful studying materials! Now, today is the day you learn about quick tips from the best writers and learners to memorize fast and efficiently, so let’s dive in!

The basics of studying: 3 memorization rules you need to know

The basic rules of memorization are easy to think about. There are probably little facts you haven’t heard, but the issue is not knowing but implementing them. So, here are the five most essential points to start with:

Make your studying process active.

The first requirement to retain the information is to learn it properly. You will not remember even the chapter titles of your coursebook if you read it a few times. To “upload” the information to your brain’s hard drive, you must actively recall what you have just read.

Spaced repetitions

The first thing learners should check about memorization is the forgetting curve. German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus developed this concept, creating a visual representation of how you forget material over time. The theory holds that you will forget up to 90% of the information within the first month after meticulously learning the concept.

Memory retention will decrease gradually and exponentially, which means you forget up to 50% of data in the first two days. The best way to combat the forgetting curve is to repeat the material over time intervals. Yes, it is important not to study for eight hours straight! Instead, make short but active study sessions.

Emotional or survival importance

It makes sense that your brain wants to avoid remembering the number of chromosomes in the human body or some bridge-building concepts from the civil engineering course. The human brain developed for millions of years through running from predators and hunting for food.

Hence, if your textbook does not entertain you or directly relate to your current survival, our deep “animal brain” sees no benefit in storing the information. Hence, to learn anything, you must make it entertaining or essential for survival.

How to remember what you read: A guide

The good news is that the three basic rules are easily convertible into practical actions to do while studying. Let’s discuss them individually and figure out how to implement them into your studying routine. If the phrase “make your memorization active” does not speak to you, here is how you do that:

Step 1. Scan the chapter before reading it.

Do not go straight into reading the whole chapter from the start to the very end. Instead, scan the content of your reading and note its structure. Here are some useful questions to make your studying more effective:

• How many subheadings are there?
• What is the main topic of the reading?
• What does it promise to teach you? Do you have any prior knowledge about it?
• What questions do you have about the topic? What seems complicated and unclear to you? Knowing the answers to these questions will make your memorization process more meaningful and focused.

Step 2. Do not just read. Question yourself.

After reading a paragraph, take a moment to be present and consciously reflect on what you have just read. Repeat it in your head or out loud. Proceed with the after-reading questions to make sense of the material:

• Did the reading answer the questions you had?
• What is one most important idea you have to highlight and remember?
• What are the causal relations between the authors’ points?

Step 3. Take notes, and make them customized. 

Effective memorization has nothing in common with writing down the information from the book word-by-word. It is called copying, not studying. Customize the notes regarding your interest in the material to remember the information. Here are some questions to help you:

• How can I use this information in my practice?
• What cases may happen in the future where I will need this data?
• What sparks my interest in the reading?

Step 4. Make the information relevant.

Earlier, we talked about how the importance of information and emotional triggers affect your forgetting curve. Here are some practical ways to trick your brain and make even dull information more useful:

• If the information is not important except for testing, use gamification. Turn to learn the chapter into the game and reward yourself for completing the task.
• Use visualization to track your progress. You are more likely to complete the task if your brain gets enjoyment from checking out the “done” boxes.
• Create a pleasant environment and concentrate on the vibe of studying instead of the result. It will help you memorize the material even if it is irrelevant to your interests.

Step 5. Plan your recalling sessions.

Finally, there is only one step left to beat the forgetting curve. You need to plan your spaced repetitions of the material. Here is an approximate schedule for the best recalling rate:

• Repeat the material in two to three hours after learning it.
• Repeat it in about 12 hours after the first repetition.
• Repeat it 24 hours later.
• Make the final review session two days after learning the material. After that, use some practical testing about a week after learning the material.

Speeding the process: How to make two previous steps work quicker

The points above are pretty much everything you need to know to develop a healthy memorization technique. Of course, you can find hundreds of extensive articles and video lectures about memorization. However, the deal is that you don’t need to know much about memory; you must practice it a lot.

Hence, the only helpful advice we can give you about making all these processes faster is practicing them. Here is how you can think about it: you already have some memorization routines. However, they could be more effective. In this case, reading about more effective techniques will make you no good. What you need is to build a new habit around memorization. As soon as you start working on your memory as a habit and skill, the simple tips from this article will be enough to build the basis for your successful studying.

To ensure you do something about your memory, try one practice from the article today and return tomorrow to share your results. So, good luck with your studies and routines!