Memory Tips

Self-awareness

Use techniques that already work for you.
Think about how much you really need to memorise.

Hour-day-week method

Effective for getting key information into long-term memory: Revise a topic – go over key points quickly again one hour later – again a day later –again a week later. Increasing the time between short sessions helps strengthen memory.

Repetition and over-learning

Go over key points
Reduce them and go over again – repeat until you ‘associate’ them with each-other

Association

Link what you need to know with something you know already Make ‘mini-mindmaps’ of a topic
Use doodles, try thinking in pictures

Mnemonics

This works for some people: Identify key words you want to learn Use the first letter of each key word to make a new word, then string them together in a sentence ...now remember the sentence..

Active listening

Revise with friends
Revise out loud – exaggerate your voice – tape and go over

Writing things down

Make brief notes on notes, use your own words, make briefer notes...reduce to a ‘key card’.

Personalising it

Relate what you learn to yourself (How does it affect you? What does it remind you of? A place? Person?)

Play

Relax with the information
Sing it – picture it – draw it – turn it into an advertising slogan, TV theme...