How to Memorize More
Memorizing important information for the big test is no laughing matter. Your memorization skills may mean the difference between passing and failing. These tips and tricks can help you a lot, but remember, it will not substitute for all the studying that you should’ve been doing for the past weeks! Here are some ways that you can retain information more effectively and memorize more.
Set the Stage
When studying or memorizing information, you should create an environment that is conducive for just that. Stay in a quiet, well-lit room. If you need music to be playing in the background, make sure that you play songs that don’t have lyrics, and play the songs softly.
Make yourself comfortable, but not too comfortable that you might end up sleeping. Study upright in a desk, because this is the position you will be in when you are answering an exam. Assuming the same position will trigger your memorization activity more effectively.
Finally, psyche yourself. Don’t get stressed.
Association
To use association in memorization, you must link the information that you need to memorize to information that you are not likely to forget. For example, you need to memorize that the first recorded Thanksgiving was held in Saint Augustine, Florida. You can associate this with the month of August (Augustine), it’s summer season in August, a season of sun, and in connection to this, Florida is called The Sunshine State. These simple information can help you remember the information that you need to memorize.
Break Down the Information
Remember the saying on how you should eat an elephant? When dealing with large chunks of information, break the information down into smaller and more manageable bite-size pieces. Here are some ways how:
Narrative. Make your information into a story, getting rid of the non-essentials and getting into the meat of the information. It’s easier to remember a narrative of your own construct than memorizing text verbatim.
Color Coding. Color coding different information like names, dates, events can help isolate the details from the rest of the text and make them easier to memorize. When reading a text, you can also color-code passages to make reviewing easier later on.
Note Cards. Note cards can be pretty tedious to make, so don’t make them on the eve of your exam. To memorize note cards, write the information you need on one side of the card. Write an important word from the information on the other side. The word on one side of the card should be a trigger to the information on the other side of the card, so study both sides well.
Mnemonics
Mnemonics are another form of association. By connecting the information that you need with the simple things you already know, you make recall easier. The simpler information can be children’s rhymes, alliteration, acronyms, pictures and jingles. You can simplify a property dispute case you have to memorize into the rhyme of the Ten Little Piggies or a history lesson into the tune of Diddle Diddle. Be creative, but you shouldn’t take too long in creating mnemonics–they should come to you in the quickest way possible.
Line by Line
If you need to memorize something verbatim, memorize the text one line at a time. Take a blank sheet of paper and cover the rest of the text until you can only see one line. Read the line around two or three times. Cover the line using the paper and recite it again. If you have not repeated it correctly, read it aloud one more time. Once you’ve memorized the line, move on to the next line. Once you’ve read the second rhyme aloud twice, repeat the first line again followed by the second line without looking at the text. Do this until you’ve memorized everything. Use actions and voices to animate your memorization.
Take a Nap
Napping must be the farthest thing from your mind when studying, but it actually helps your brain retain memories. Taking a nap will give your brain an opportunity to organize the information its received and store it into your long-term memory, which you will then access when you need it. Of course, paying attention in class will ensure you more long-term memory storage than cramming.