Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

The act of writing answers helps you remember the information. Here are some ways to use writing while studying: Recopy your notes Write the answers to flashcards Make a study sheet Practice writing essay answers Writing by hand is best because it requires your attention and focus.

Keeping your brain trained on the same information for long periods of time isn’t beneficial. It’s smarter to jump from one subject to another a few times during a long study session. Along those same lines, you should study the same material in multiple ways. Research shows that using varied study methods for the same topic helps…

Studying the same information in multiple places helps the details stick in your mind better. Consider some of the following locations: Your desk at home A coffee shop The library Your backyard A park It’s best to switch between several different study spots instead of always hitting the books in the same place.

Early in the week, make a long outline that includes many of the details from your notes. Rewrite it a few days later, but cut the material in half. Shortly before the test, write it one more time; include only the most important information. Quiz yourself on the missing details.

After each class, you should have fleshed out your notes and rewritten them in a neat, organized format. Now, it’s time to take your re-done notes and write them once again. This time, however, your goal is to condense them down to only the most important material. Ideally, you want your rewritten notes to fit…

One week out from a big test, study for an hour per night. If you have two big tests coming up, increase your daily study time, and divide it between the two subjects. The day before the exam, spend as much time as possible studying — all day, even.

Of course, you may need to put in extra time before a big test, but you shouldn’t put this off until the night before. Instead, in the week leading up to the exam, block off a daily time segment for test preparation. Regular studying will help you really learn the material.

Cramming the night before a big test usually involves trying to memorize information long enough to be able to regurgitate it the next morning. Although that might help you get a decent grade or your test, it won’t help you really learn the material. Within a day or two, you’ll have forgotten most of what you…

Studying doesn’t always have to be an individual activity. Benefits of a study group include: Explaining the material to one another Being able to ask questions about things you don’t understand Quizzing each other or playing review games Learning the material more quickly than you might on your own Developing soft skills that will be…

To really understand a subject, you have to know the words that relate to it. Vocabulary words are often written in textbooks in bold print. As you scan the text, write these words down in a list. Look them up in a dictionary or in the glossary at the back of the book. To help you become…