Effective Memorization

Many students tend to be able to recognize information, but not recall information. They frequently think that when they cannot recall a correct answer that they have forgotten it, when in reality, they never really knew the information, they could only recognize it. Recognition occurs when you are able to arrive at a correct answer after you have been given a number of answers to choose from, such as in a multiple choice test. Recall involves remembering information without any choices or cues; that is, without the aid of recognition. Essay questions and even short-answer questions put an emphasis on this skill.

Thus, do not study just to recognize information; study to recall information. In addition, you should always ask your instructor what kind of test you will be taking. Is it objective, meaning multiple choice, matching and true/false, or is it subjective, meaning short answer and essay. Knowing what the test will entail will aid you in studying the information correctly.

General Principles:

Intend to remember. Tell yourself you will recall this information because you want to remember it.

Learn from the general to the specific. In essence, build a framework or create context first. Superior, Erie, Michigan, Huron, and Ontario mean nothing if you don’t identify them as the Great Lakes first.

Make the information meaningful by creating associations. Create a concept map of the main points and supporting details of what you have read or are trying to remember. Concept maps show the relationships between ideas and make memorization easier. They also allow you to create a “picture” of what you are learning. Pictures are easier to recall than lists of words or outlines because they allow you to visualize the information. In addition, when you try to remember lists or outlines, you have a tendency to recall the beginnings and the endings and confuse the information in the middle. An example of a concept map is on the next page.

Study actively. Look for answers, recite the material aloud, create flashcards, or write notes, and test yourself.

Recite and repeat, the more often the better. Overlearn the information. This means once you think you know the information, test yourself one more time.

As with increasing your concentration, reduce interference. Find a place to study where you won’t be distracted. Turn off your phone and put it out of sight.

Keep a positive attitude. Find something that connects you to the information or motivates you even if you think the subject is boring. Tell yourself you will learn this information because you need to pass this course in order to fulfill your goal of graduating.

Space your studying. Distribute your learning over hours or days. Studying a little at a time is more effective than cramming.

Use all of your senses. Look at it, say it, listen to it, talk about it, and write it. Use the material in as many different ways as you can. Create flashcards, concept maps, timelines, charts, short lists, summaries, and self-tests.

Group items in groups of seven or less. For instance, your social security number is ten digits, but you tend to recall it in three parts or groups (i.e. 123-45-6789). We tend to remember seven groups of information at a time.

For information that is difficult for you to recall, use a mnemonic device. For instance, make up an acronym, a rhyme or song, or an acrostic. These are described below.

Acronym: The word scuba is an acronym that stands for Self, Contained, Underwater, Breathing, and Apparatus. The word homes stands for the Great Lakes: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior. SQ3R is another acronym: Survey, Question, Read, Recite, and Review. These are popular acronyms, but you can make up your own acronyms by taking the first letter of each of the words you want to recall and making a new word to use as a memory tag. Absurd and silly words are especially easy to remember.

Suppose you needed to remember the six listening faults: daydreaming, closed-mindedness, false attention, intellectual despair, memorizing, and personality listening. You would take the first letter of each meaningful word; in this case, D, C, F, I, M and P and create a new word or phrase, such as PC DIMF or DC PIMF. The word or phrase doesn’t have to make sense, it just has to be memorable. When you have your test in hand, take a moment to write down PC DIMF in the margin. When you come to the question that deals with the six listening faults, you will have a memory tag all ready to aid your thinking. If the list of items to be remembered has to be in order, you will be limited in what you can create, so you might want to create an acrostic instead.

Have you ever noticed that when a song comes on the radio or TV, you can easily recall the words? Create a jingle or a song of concepts to aid your memory. Perhaps you are familiar with the jingle:

Thirty days has September, April, June and November. All the rest have 31 except February, it’s a different one. It has 28 days clear, and 29 each leap year.

An acrostic is another effective memory device. A popular one you may be familiar with is “My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas.” This acrostic, which is a sentence using words with the same first letter as the words you are trying to recall, is a clue to the planets in order from the sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. The six listening faults could also be recalled using an acrostic. For instance, I may call proper friends daily. I for intellectual despair; M for memorizing; C for closedmindedness; P for personality listening; F for false attention; and D for daydreaming.

Keep in mind that mnemonic devices should not be overused. They are intended just for information that is difficult for you to recall. Many times people will recall the mnemonic device they used years after memorizing it, but not be able to recall what it stands for. Roy G. Biv is a popular acronym that many people recall, but don’t remember that it stands for the colors of the rainbow in proper order; Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet. Thus, limit the number of mnemonic devices you use when you are studying.