🃏 Use Flashcards
Make cards that have the questions on one side and the answers on the other side. Regularly test yourself by trying to recall the answers from memory without peeking first.
📝 Practice Testing
Work on past exams, problem sets or come up with your own questions. Answer without using any notes to recreate real exam conditions and find out where your knowledge is still lacking.
👨🏫 Teach Others (Feynman Technique)
Describe concepts to a group of friends or family in a way that is easy to understand. Teaching compels you to draw from memory and to recognize where your understanding is not complete.
✍️ Blurting Method
Shut your notes and quickly write down everything you remember about the topic. This messy but effective technique discloses what you have actually kept in your mind.
📋 Summarize in Own Words
Stop studying for a moment and summarize the key points without consulting the materials. Producing ideas in your own words strengthens memory better than simply reproducing them.
❓ Cornell Note Method
Formulate questions in the left column derived from your notes, then cover the answers and test yourself. This system organizes the information in a way that makes it easy to retrieve in an effective manner.
🎨 Create Visual Diagrams
From memory, draw concept maps, charts, or labeled diagrams. Visual recall takes advantage of the brain's pictorial superiority effect making it easier to retain information.
🔄 Combine with Spaced Repetition
Review the material at larger gaps of time: next day, three days later, one week later. Spacing out the reviews not only increases the memory retention process of long-term memory but also helps in avoiding forgetting.