Cuesta College's
Study Skills
Memory Tips and Test
Taking Strategies
Knowing More &
Remembering it Longer
Remembering Strategies
- Select
- Select what you want to remember.
- Ask the teacher
- Examine your class notes
- Read the text assignments
- Study the handouts
- Remember
- Choose your techniques that will help you remember.
- Visualize
- Associate
- Apply
- Repeat
- Use mnemonic devices
- Review, Read, Recite, Rewrite
- Use these techniques to keep what
you want to remember in your memory.
Using Mnemonic Devices to Remember Information
- Rhyme. A rhyme is a poem or verse that
uses words that end with the same sound. Example: Thirty days has
September, April, June, and November. All the rest have thirty-one
except February which has twenty-eight.
- Acronym. An acronym is a word that can
be pronounced that is made by using the first letter of other words.
Example: The names of the five Great Lakes in the U.S. form the acronym
HOMES (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior).
- Abbreviation. An abbreviation is a group
of letters made from the first letter of each word to be remembered.
Example: FBI is an abbreviation for the Federal Bureau of
Investigation.
- Acrostic. An acrostic sentence or phrase
is formed by words beginning with the first letter of each word to be
remembered. Example: The phrase very active cat might be used to recall
the three typed of blood vessels in the human body: veins, arteries,
capillaries.
- Pegwords. A pegword is a word that helps
you remember something by forming a picture in your mind. Pegwords are
used to remember lists of things. Each pegword helps you remember one
thing. If you memorize 10 pegwords, then you can use them to remember
10 things. If you memorize 20 pegwords, you can remember 20 things.
Using Repetition to Remember Information
- You have probably used repetition many times without
realizing it. Anytime you have read, said, or written something a
number of times to remember it, you have used repetition. A good way to
remember information when using repetition is to read, say, and write
what you want to remember. For example, if you need to remember a list
of words and their definitions, here is how to use repetition to do
this:
- Read aloud the word and its definition. If you need to,
use a dictionary to help you pronounce a word.
- With your eyes closed, say the word and its definition.
- Without looking at the word, write the word and its
definition.
- Repeat the steps until you can write the word and its
definition from memory three times without an error.
- Do this for each word on the list.
Four Ways to Forget
- Disuse. Information not periodically used withers and
disappears. Do you remember all of your previous telephone numbers?
- Interference. It is easy to confuse materials that are
similar and related. When confused, we are more likely to forget which
is which. Learning two similar foreign languages at the same time may
present some problems.
- Repression. We have very strong systems of belief.
Sometimes what we learn doesn't fit with what we believe. When in
conflict, odds are our beliefs will win. Believing that we are no good
at remembering names will make it all that much more difficult to learn
new names.
- Not learning it in the first place. This is probably the
number one culprit in forgetting. Even if we've been exposed to
something, unless we solidify the learning we are not likely to
remember it.
TEST TAKING STRATEGIES
Taking Objective Tests
If you are taking an objective test (multiple-choice,
true/false, or comparable type), you will probably achieve your best
results by following this procedure:
- Read an item through quickly, with high concentration, and
answer on the basis of your first impression.
- Then re-read the item, asking yourself what it really means
and expressing its thought in your own words.
- Ask yourself if your original answer still appears correct
in light of your close analysis of the item, but do not change your
answer because of a mere doubt.
- Always keep in mind that your instructor is not attempting
to trick you in the questions. They are designed to measure your
knowledge of a subject, not your ingenuity in solving verbal puzzles.
So don't out-smart yourself looking for devious, tricky interpretations
and ignoring the obvious, straightforward meaning.
Essay Tests
In taking a test where you are to write answers in your own
words, observe these guidelines:
- Read the question carefully. Then re-read it and express
its meaning in your own words. Check each word in the question to be
sure that your interpretation omitted nothing important. To give a
satisfactory answer to a question, you have to correctly understand
what the question is asking.
- Answer the questions you know first. This way you will be
sure not to use all your time puzzling over questions you do not know
the answers to, and then run short of time for writing answers you know
well.
- Outline your answer on a piece of scratch paper before
starting to write it in full. In this way you can organize your
thoughts and check your answer against the question for possible
omissions. Writing from your outline, you can present what you know
more clearly and completely than you could if you just started writing
down your thoughts as they came to you.
- Write with a good pen, or a well-sharpened No. 2 pencil, so
that your writing can be easily read. Also, watch your penmanship,
spelling, and punctuation.
- Read over your answers after you have finished your paper,
checking for thought and completeness, as well as for spelling,
punctuation, and sentence structure. All these factors are related to
your mastery of course material. What is involved in answering a
question "completely" is determined by the question's wording and the
preferences of individual professors. From the number of questions on
the test and the amount of time you are allotted, you can form a rough
approximation of how fully you should answer the questions.
- Count your questions and answers before you hand your paper
in to be sure you did not overlook anything. Be sure your pages are in
correct order so the instructor will not have to shuffle through them
trying to sort them out.
Preparing for Finals
- At least a week before exams, shift into overdrive by
beginning an extensive review. Set up a detailed time schedule for the
remainder of the semester.
- Attend all classes as instructors often use the last few
classes prior to an exam to summarize, review, and clarify.
- Prepare summary sheets, one set for text and one for
lecture.
- Pick out the most important facts.
- Organize information into categories in a manner different
from the way you first leaned it. For example, History is
chronological, so try organizing your notes under headings that
emphasize time instead of themes.
Review
summary sheets and include key words for important facts.
Recite information orally - ACTIVE learning is
essential! How you store information determines how well you retrieve
it, so use all your senses when reviewing.
If you must cram, resist trying to memorize too much
material. Select only a handful of facts even at the risk of leaving
out something important.
During Exams
- Arrive early and remember to BREATHE!
- Read and listen to directions.
- Skim the exam and plan your time.
- Answer the easy questions first to build confidence
and create momentum. You may work the test from back to front,
answering the last question first.
- A question you can't answer can be skipped, often
another question will trigger your memory or provide that elusive
answer.
- Answer all questions.
- Save a few minutes at the end to go back over
questions you skipped, to review your answers and look for careless
mistakes.
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