#memorization tips

[cornusbooks]

Memorization tips for students - The Feynman Technique - Mnemonic Devices - Mind Mapping - Chunking

Which one are you trying?

[authorandartist13]

Doctors hate ‘em! Local human memorizing heart structure for 5th day in a row! (help)

YO anyone have any adhd friendly study hacks for memorizing the structure/functions of the heart? Uni brain is in a puddle atm and any little tips and tricks would be ✨greatly✨ appreciated!!

I’m trying some googled memory game thingies but there’s only so many times I can listen to The Cardiac Song on YT without feeling like I’m about to personally meet my sleep paralysis demons lmao. This is def not a massive deal but even sharing the sos is wonderful! Ty all.

[studyingstudent]

Anki is such a useful study tool! It’s perfect for people learning how to study (i.e. new college students) because it is most effective when used on a daily basis and can help form good studying habits. It’s also very popular among med/vet students because it can help you learn a ton of information in an quick, efficient manner. 

I’m by no means an Anki expert - this program is extremely customizable and can be tailored to fit any purpose. I used it consistently this semester, a little bit each day, and found that I barely had to study for my tests the night before! 

This post will outline my personal favorite Anki uses, add-ons and studying techniques. 

What is Anki?

“Anki is a program which makes remembering things easy. Because it's a lot more efficient than traditional study methods, you can either greatly decrease your time spent studying, or greatly increase the amount you learn.”  (from Anki’s website)

Essentially, it’s a flashcard app. Think Quizlet on steroids. 

Installation

Anki is very simple to install - visit their website and follow the directions. The program is free with Windows, Mac and Android! 

Card Types 

I use three different card types: Basic (used rarely), Cloze, and Image Occlusion. 

Cloze Cards 

These are essentially fill in the blank cards. The program will add brackets around around the word or phrase you are trying to omit. 

Shortcut to create brackets (Mac): Command + Shift + C 

For example:

{{c1:: phrase}} 

If you add multiple brackets, they will appear as {{c2:: }}, {{c3::  }} and so on. This means that three cards will be created when you press “Add.” This is useful if you think that you need three or more cards to memorize the concept - but often it’s too repetitive. To put multiple phrases on one card, you can replace the number each number with {{c1:  }}. See below for an add-on that does this automatically. 

The golden rule of Anki: Less is more. It’s very easy to make a ton of cards, but it makes your studying less efficient. 

See the gif below to watch me create and study a Cloze card. 

Image Occlusion

This card type lets you create cards that hide parts of an image. Super useful for memorizing tables or learning anatomy. 

You can save images to your computer and then upload them OR copy them to your clipboard and it will select them automatically. 

Creating an Image Occlusion card: 

There are several options for adding the card(s). At this point, you have made three fields, so clicking any of the add options at the bottom will generate three separate cards. However, If you use the select tool to select all the cards and press the letter “G” it will group the fields so only one card is created. This is what I usually do - but it definitely depends on what the card is. 

In the gif below you’ll see me group the fields and study the Image Occlusion cards.

Add-Ons 

Anki has a ton of user created add-ons that enhance the program and make it more customizable! You can browse them here. 

How to add them: 

These are just the add-ons I use. I’ll list them below with a description from their download page - you can click the link to view pictures. 

Image Occlusion (Described above) 

CODE: 1111933094

Frozen Fields: Frozen Fields allows you to conveniently sticky and unsticky a field right from the note editor. 

CODE: 516643804

Cloze Deletion Single Card: Whenever you add a cloze deletion in a card, you always will get a tag using "c1" instead of c2, 3, 4, etc. 

CODE: 1392166854

PDF Glossary Exporter: Allows you to download a deck in PDF form

CODE: 1334168683

Review Heatmap: Adds a heatmap graph to Anki's main window which visualizes past and future card review activity. 

CODE: 1771074083

Organization

How you set up your decks is completely up to you! 

I have my classes as major decks, and then separate my chapter flashcards by exam. 

I’ve seen people do this with topics or lectures as sub-decks as well. It all depends on your personal preference, but I would definitely recommend making smaller decks to keep you more organized. 

An alternative to this would be using Anki’s tagging feature. I’m not an expert on this, but I’ll link you to a video that explains it pretty well. Here’s another from a med student! 

Studying Methods/Tips

Directly after a lecture, I take my notes and create cards right away. In the ‘extra’ section or on the back of cards, I add supplemental information or diagrams from the internet or book. I make sure that I completely finish the cards that Anki assigns me every single day. I also bought the app on my iPad, which has a scratch pad feature. It helps me learn faster if I write or draw out the answer to a card as I answer them. (Before I had the app I used a whiteboard or scratch paper to do this!) 

You can go in and change the amount of cards they assign you if you need a lighter/heavier workload. I recommend setting the New and Review card limits very high - you only have a short amount of time to learn the cards between now and your next test.  Anki’s program is set up for learning over a longer period of time. However - this is up to you! 

Here’s how to change the limit: 

General tips: 

Anki is best used on a daily basis. Study a little bit each day!

Make your cards directly after lecture (or reading a chapter). DO NOT PROCRASTINATE! The earlier you make them, the more effective they will be. 

Add pictures to your cards, and lots of information on the back or in the extra sections. You will want to know why you got a card wrong - this is how you learn!

LESS IS MORE. It’s so easy to make a ton of cards - focus on having a small amount of high yield cards. 

Do your research! The more you learn about Anki, the more effective it will be. 

Use this as a supplement to your other studying methods

More Resources

Below are my favorite Anki tutorials! 

How to Add “Type In The Answer” fields to Cloze cards 

How to Use Anki Effectively 

My Memorization Technique in Med School  

Anki for Med School: Using Cloze Deletion Cards 

Image Occlusion and Cram Studying 

How I make my Study Note cards in Medical School 

I hope this gives everyone a pretty good idea of how to use Anki effectively! Let me know if there are any questions - I can always add to this post. 

[the-desi-desk]

3.14.18- Retaining information:

1) Listen and pay attention in class. Ask questions to clarify anything you don't understand. Make sure you are alert.

2) Follow along in your textbook if you can so that you're able to hear and read the words at the same time. Use as many senses as you can (auditory, visual...)

3) Write down the info. Even if you don't usually read through your notes again, it'll help you memorize information better if you have it written.

4) Read through your notes at least once after the class ends. Try summarizing the lesson in your head, or reteaching yourself a concept. Revisit your notes often and frequently to best retain the info.

[ladyhannahjane]

💖

thanks for the ask :)

Best way to make sure you don’t forget everything you learnt in school?

Always always ALWAYS have a study plan. Even when you’re on summer vacation like I am, print out a one month calendar printable or use the one in your planner to make a rough study plan. 

Also, make sure to review regularly. The curve of forgetting describes the loss of memory over time when you don’t make any effort to retain it. However, it can be overcome by regularly reviewing, and as time goes on, you can review less frequently to remember something. It’s really handy to know for school, when you’re trying to remember what you studied a month ago for the exam tomorrow—I have used this printable in the past to keep track of how often I review: X

Lastly, whether you are currently in school or on break, try to put whatever you are learning into real life application. For example, to this day, whenever someone mentions walking outside barefoot, I always list off all the possible parasites that could enter their feet from that (my boyfriend then goes “Nerrrrddddddd” but I remember what I learned in biology through this friendly warning). Putting as much knowledge as you can into your day-to-day life helps it become personal to you, whether it’s calculating interest using math formulas or evaluating your own personality from psychology theories.

:)

[darkademia]

memorization tricks

*disclaimer: i use these tricks when memorizing scripts in drama, so there’s a possibility they might need to be altered to work in a different subject

1. alphabet!

look at the first letter of every sentence. obviously, they wont be in alphabetical order, so just remember the order of each letter in the script/text.

note: works best with lines that are repetitive and similar but not identical enough to be easily memorized. for example, in a skit for drama, a girl in my class was trying to convince the main character to lift the spell on the chair she was sitting in so she could get up and leave. she had to say a lot of similar sounding lines to “let me out of this chair” etc. and couldnt remember the right order of each line. we came up with the idea that she just remembered the order of the first letters and after a rehearsal or two, it got easier.

2. key word!

pick out a word in each sentence that sticks out. memorize each of those words and then get to know the context of them so not only will you remember the line, you’ll also understand why its being said.

note: works best with monologues/longer lines. in a play my drama class has done, one character is discussing the curse placed on the other character. the lines were long, and my classmate kept forgetting which lines came first in the order. since there were a lot of “big” words, she started to remember which of the words would come first, and then the rest of the lines would come to mind.

3. muscle memory!

exercise while saying the lines, or at least choreograph some movements for key words and tie the words to your movements.

note: works best with lines that have to be said while moving around a lot. for example, in a recent play i did, i was hopping around screaming. in all that chaos, i kept forgetting my lines. to stop that, i’d jog up and down the stairs while saying the lines and eventually they stuck.

4. rhythm!

sort of self-explanatory. set the cadence of the lines to a rhythm and then remember the rhythm.

note: works best with lines that rhyme, believe it or not (slkfjdh). we’ve recently done our children’s theatre unit so we’ve had a lot of rhyming and such.

[etudaire]

How can I study without sacrifice and blood?

Yes, we’ve all been there, where we thought maybe sacrificing some blood to the deities will help me pass this grade?. Fear not, for there is a cure for your problem!

1) When you’re lucky and you got time

Lets say, you have three months to prepare yourself to face the wrath of finals, here’s what you should do:

Month One : Make notes

Scan the textbooks for any potential information which you think is important, take help from teachers or friends if you need to. 

They do help. you can utilize multiple resources for ready made notes as well. 

For the whole month, make as many notes as you can - ensuring that you have covered every tiny spec of information in. 

Organize all papers and notes (including digital ones - also include ones you took in class even though they’re mere scribbles) neatly as you approach month two.

Month Two : Learning

Now this is the most difficult part - actual studying.

Refer to your notes thousands of times, rewrite them and revise them however you want to.

This is also the time when you use those highlighters you brought on impulse, just know how to do it correctly.

Read your textbooks thoroughly, chapter by chapter - better yet paragraphs by paragraphs.

Write down keywords on flashcards (i recommend Quizlet) even though hey are not vocabulary related, just don’t forget these terms!

Make cheat sheets as if you will be using them for finals, cram in as much information as you can.

Revise notes, memorize those sentences which are italicized or highlighted in bold in your textbook by heart.

Rote learning isn’t the best option, but when you’re desperate you gotta rely on that.

Take this time to solve all doubts either with teachers or by using he internet - like, have you used khan academy?

By the end of this month you must have thorough knowledge about your syllabus in detail.

Month Three : Practice

Now that you are ready with the basic idea of what your textbook is all about, it’s time to put that knowledge into use.

Start solving practice papers, worksheets or any other test material you can grab onto. 

There are certain books specially printed for providing potential question papers for an exam, invest in them you won’t regret it.

You can ask your teacher for some important questions, and if you have been a good student so far she’ll gladly help.

Once you know you have solved about millions of papers, make your own question papers.

Try to figure out what is important from a teacher’s point of view, and learn accordingly.

Voila - now you are 100% prepared for finals, walk into the exam hall like a boss and  leave like a boss!

2) When you fall short on time and finals are freaking close!

Okay, so you didn’t utilize those three months efficiently and now you are in deep shit, do not panic because you still can manage to do it.

Make a study schedule - a realistic one which you are pretty sure you will follow.

Go to your phone - settings - turn off notifications, trust me you will love me for suggesting that later.

Be prepared for all-nighters, gather snacks ( I don’t care if they are healthy or not - you can’t be perfect all the time), all study material and all resources.

Make the library your home for the time being.

You’re lucky if you got social skills, take help from that smart friend you managed to make six months ago.

If you are a bit shy (like yours truly), remember - teachers are your best friends!

Now you don’t have time to make notes, so use whatever you have at hand.

Start solving papers and as you go with the test clear your doubts simultaneously.

It helps to have a guide around when you re solving papers, they will help you out instantly.

Classify your textbook into two sections : damn important and semi important, go through that damn important parts first and when you are confident you can handle them move onto the semi important portion.

Make the most of each day, which means bidding farewell to Netflix and comfortable blankets and the sweet, sweet sleep, but make sure you make up for all the sleep in the form of short naps.

Even then if you can’t, skip some parts - what you can certainly not understand despite efforts, let it go.

Now you are prepared for finals, hopefully without tears and blood.

3) Some more advice.

Because it helped me.

If you have a bullet journal, try to maintain a study journal - note the amount of hours you study per session, the subject and topic you covered and whether you completely understood it or not.

If you cannot maintain the aesthetics, don’t - just write what you understand.

Teaching the material to your pet or a doll or a teddy bear helps a lot.

Speaking out loud when studying will help better memorization.

Take help from your mom (or anybody who stays with you 24 x 7 at home) when making your study schedule - she will point out the times which you can use productively better than you.

Stop looking for ‘How to study efficiently’ guides on the internet, because you won’t realize when you wasted three hours trying to learn the basics of studying.

For motivation, come straight to Tumblr because this site is a storehouse of studyinspo, follow (I’m sure you already do) some cool studyblrs like @studyign  

   @grangergrades

@tbhstudying

@studyquill

@emmastudies

@elkstudies

And so many more which I can’t think of at the moment, they are all very sweet and will help if you reach out.

 I hope this guide helped, please reblog to save a student and feel free to ask me for more tips!

[sincerely-gisselle]

How to memorize information faster and effectively. 

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