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Acing Exams: 8 Study techniques used by toppers

Written By

Aditya Shukla

1

CHUNKING

Group many individual facts together meaningfully in a few "chunks". Our Brain likes groups, not random bits.

2

Spaced Repetition

Repeat facts in your head and out loud with increasing intervals: 5 min, 20 min, 1 hour, 8 hours, 2 days.

3

Testing Effect

Facts you are tested on are remembered better than untested facts. Do mock tests and quizzes to verify your knowledge.

4

Production Effect

Facts you write down and say out loud  have higher recall. Tell others what you learn so your body "produces" the facts.

5

Associations

Associate your new knowledge to existing knowledge. Compare and contrast if necessary. This strengthens memory.

6

Solution Reveals

When you are stuck, read the solution and then try to reproduce it instead of discovering how to do it on your own for hours.

7

Taking breaks

Learning needs time to consolidate. Taking breaks is the best way to let that consolidation happen (apart from sleep).

8

Learning by Note-taking

Take notes as proof of learning while studying by mentally revising what you learned. Immediately correct errors in your notes.