by Ms P. K. Styles

Created on: August 27, 2008   Last Updated: September 10, 2009

1. Take notes well.

If you know what material the professor is most excited about, drones the most about, and gives you repeated assignments on, then chances are you should be studying it. So be awake in class, take good notes, and listen well.

2. Don't wait until the last minute.

Your brain will take in and remember everything you study if you get the proper rest. So don't stay up late at night pouring over books and don't depend on caffeine or pills to keep you awake either.

Study right after class in the middle of the afternoon or early evening if you can. Your mind will be alert and awake. Then go over your notes again right before bed. Your brain remembers things when you take them in right before sleeping.

3. Find a quiet place to study.

There's nothing like trying to remember what year a president was assassinated while your roommate blasts heavy metal into your skull. This is why it's so important to study earlier in the day: chances are the library is still open when you get out of class. The library is, of course, always a quiet place and therefore an ideal place to study.

4. Set a time limit.

So that you don't overwhelm yourself, set yourself an amount of time that you will study. Study world history half an hour. Practice math equations another half an hour. But don't study endlessly. Too much studying will cut into your rest and you'll be too tired the next morning to think.

5. Read out loud.

Studies show that people remember things better when they read them out loud. When I was in college I turned my notes into a story. "Genghis Khan and his brother were rejected by their own people as leaders and kicked out of the village." That whole chapter became a story for me and that's how I remembered it on the essay question the next day. I took that test two years ago and to this day I still kind of remember it.

6. Attach words to images.

This is another good memory trick. Learning about Colonel Custer? Think of a custard pie. Get creative.

7. Review the chapters.

You can't always depend on your notes alone. Refer to your text book and skim through your assigned chapters, making certain to review the vital points.

8. Review the material before you go to bed.

Right before you lie down to sleep, flip through your notes and go over the material one more time. Like I said before, your brain remembers information that you feed it right before sleeping. If you tell your brain right before bed that busy beavers like building bridges, I guarantee you'll remember in the morning.

9. Get the proper amount of rest.

I can't stress this enough. In order to function properly the next day, your brain needs to rest for a minimum of five hours. If you wait until the last minute and stay up all night studying, your brain will be too dopey and sleepy the next morning to think. Don't wire yourself up with caffeine. Just rest.

10. Believe in yourself, stay calm, take your time. Past the test.

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