A
- Active recall
- A study technique in which you deliberately retrieve information from memory, for example by answering questions or explaining a topic without notes, instead of rereading it.
- AI tutor
- Software that uses artificial intelligence, typically a large language model, to explain concepts, answer questions, give feedback and quiz a learner in a conversational, one-to-one way.
B
- Blurting method
- A revision technique in which you write down everything you can remember about a topic on a blank page without notes, then check against your source and fill in the gaps.
C
- Chunking
- A memory strategy in which you group individual pieces of information into larger, meaningful units, or chunks, so that more information can be held and recalled at once.
- Cornell notes
- A note-taking system that divides each page into a main notes column, a narrower cue column for questions and keywords, and a summary area at the bottom, designed for later self-testing.
- Cramming
- Studying a large amount of material intensively in a short period just before an exam, usually instead of spreading study over the preceding weeks.
D
- Desirable difficulties
- Learning conditions that make study feel harder and slower in the moment, such as spacing, interleaving and testing, but that improve long-term retention and transfer.
- Dual coding
- A learning strategy that combines verbal information, such as words and explanations, with visual representations, such as diagrams, timelines and graphs, so the same idea is stored in two forms.
E
- Elaborative interrogation
- A study strategy in which you ask and answer why and how questions about the facts you are learning, connecting each new fact to what you already know.
F
- Feynman technique
- A learning method in which you explain a concept in simple, plain language as if teaching it to someone else, then use the gaps in your explanation to guide further study.
- Flashcards
- Cards, paper or digital, with a prompt on one side and the answer on the other, used to test yourself through active recall, usually reviewed on a spaced repetition schedule.
- Forgetting curve
- A description of how memory for newly learned information declines over time when it is not reviewed, typically falling quickly at first and then more slowly.
I
- Interleaving
- A study strategy in which you mix different topics or types of problems within one session, instead of practising one type at a time in a block.
L
- Lecture transcription
- Converting the spoken content of a lecture into written text, either live during the lecture or afterwards from a recording, usually with speech-recognition software.
- Leitner system
- A flashcard method that sorts cards into numbered boxes, moving a card to a less frequently reviewed box each time you answer it correctly and back to the first box when you get it wrong.
M
- Metacognition
- Awareness and control of your own thinking and learning, including judging how well you know something, planning how to study it, and adjusting your strategy based on results.
- Mind mapping
- A visual note-making technique in which you place a central topic in the middle of a page and branch related ideas, keywords and images outward from it to show how they connect.
- Mnemonics
- Memory aids, such as acronyms, rhymes, images and the method of loci, that link hard-to-remember information to something more memorable.
P
- Pomodoro technique
- A time-management method in which you work in focused intervals, traditionally 25 minutes long, separated by short breaks, with a longer break after every four intervals.
- Practice testing
- Using low-stakes tests, such as quizzes, past papers, practice questions and flashcards, as a study method to strengthen memory and find gaps, rather than only to measure what you know.
R
- Retrieval practice
- Any learning activity that requires you to bring information to mind from memory, such as quizzes, flashcards or free recall, used as a way to learn rather than only to assess.
S
- Spaced repetition
- A review method in which you revisit material at gradually increasing intervals, timed so that each review happens just as you are starting to forget it.
- SQ3R method
- A structured reading method with five steps, survey, question, read, recite and review, designed to make textbook reading active and to build in self-testing.
T
- Testing effect
- The finding that retrieving information through a test or quiz improves long-term memory for that information more than spending the same time restudying it.
Put the techniques to work
See how these methods fit into a week-by-week plan for a specific exam in the exam study hubs (MCAT, USMLE Step 1, NCLEX-RN, LSAT, A-levels, GCSEs, IB and AP), or turn your own notes into spaced-repetition cards with the AI flashcard generator.
