Note from read “Memorization Strategies”

Fortunately, though, memorizing is not just for an elite group of people born with the right skills—anyone can train and develop their memorizing abilities.

Research shows that students who use memory tricks perform better than those who do not. Memory tricks help you expand your working memory and access long term memory.

Simple memory tips and tricks

Check out this video from the Learning Center for a quick explanation of many of these tips.

• Try to understand the information first.

• Link it. Connect the information you are trying to memorize to something that you already know.

• Sleep on it. Studies show that your brain processes and stores information while you sleep. Try to review information just before you go to sleep—even if it’s only for a few minutes—and see if it helps embed the information in your memory.

• Self-test. Quiz yourself every so often by actively recalling the information you are trying to study.

• Use distributive practice. or a concept to move from your temporary working memory to your long-term memory, Space out your studying and repetition over several days, and start to increase the time in between each study session. Spacing it out and gradually extending the times in between can help us become more certain of mastery and lock the concepts into place.

• Write it out. Writing appears to help us more deeply encode information that we’re trying to learn because there is a direct connection between our hand and our brain. While you are writing out a concept you want to remember, try to say the information out loud and visualize the concept as well.

• Create meaningful groups. A good strategy for memorizing is to create meaningful groups that simplify the material.

• Use mnemonics. Mnemonics are systems and tricks that make information for memorable.

• Talk to yourself. It may seem strange at first, but talking to yourself about the material you are trying to memorize can be an effective memory tool.

• Exercise! Seriously! Studies show that exercise can improve our memory and learning capabilities because it helps create neurons in areas that relate to memory.

• Practice interleaving. Interleaving is the idea of mixing or alternating skills or concepts that you want to memorize. For example, spend some time memorizing vocabulary words for your science class and then immediately switch to studying historical dates and names for your history class.

Visual and spatial techniques

Visual and spatial techniques are memory tricks that involve your five senses. They utilize images, songs, feelings, and our bodies to help information stick.

• Memorable visual images. The next time you have a key item you need to remember, try making a memorable visual image to represent that item. But you don’t just have to use images—the more of the five senses you can use, the easier it will be for you to recall information.

• The memory palace technique. This technique involves visualizing a familiar place—like the layout of your house or dorm room—and using it as a visual space where you can deposit concept-images that you want to remember.

• Songs and jingles. There are already plenty of songs out there for things like the quadratic formula—try Googling what you are trying to remember to see if someone has already created a tune.

• The five senses. Using as many of the five senses as possible when studying helps you use more parts of your brain and retain information better.

• Lively visual metaphors or analogies. This can help you to not only remember but understand concepts, especially in math and science. A metaphor is a way of realizing that one thing is somehow similar to another. For example, think about the country of Syria as shaped like a bowl of cereal and the country Jordan as a Nike Air Jordan sneaker. Metaphors—especially visual ones—can stick with you for years. They help glue ideas in your mind because they make connections to neural structures that are already there.