For Students

Why Do We Forget In Exams?

Two important reasons for forgetting what you had learnt are:

Failure to record

Often we do not pay complete attention while remembering things. Thus obviously, when you haven't properly stored the memory, you shall not be able to recollect it as well.

You can try to solve this problem by studying in a good environment in a relaxed mood. Re-enforcement by speaking out the text to yourself or writing it down is a good method as well.

Interference.

Often, despite having remembered things properly, we are unable to recall it when required. The reason for this may be that we might have too many similar information stored up. Many students get confused while trying to recall a few selected points out of the many similar ones they had studied.

One way to not feel confused during exams is by ensuring you make a conscious effort to keep in mind the subtle differences. 'Abbreviate' also helps.

Remember More In Lesser Time

This is a very basic technique that I am gonna talk about today. You must have been told to follow this by your teachers or your parents, yet you never really did that for more than a couple of days.

Revise your lessons each day

A very simple way to study effectively is by revising what you have been taught in your class everyday so that when you go to your class the next day, you have a recap of what was taught in the earlier class and you can glean more out of each following class.

But this method is something which is not easy to follow.
Here are a few tricks which might help:

1. Utilize your time. It is very difficult to religiously open your books to revise your lessons each day after class. But you can do so while travelling to and from school/college. On you way, just pick up your notebook and revise whatever was taught in the previous class.

2. "The more you sweat in practice, the less you bleed in war."
While attending your classes, make notes. Small little certain things that a teacher might discuss which will help you when you finally study before your exams. Being attentive during class hours saves a lot of last minute mugging before exams.

Try these out. While this little tricks might help you a little, a lot depends on your own determination and will to make this extra effort to ensure that you study effectively.

Only he who is ready to make sacrifices in the present, can afford to enjoy in the future.
Good Luck!

Abbreviate

As a student, you often have to learn by heart certain textual matters and often, no matter how well you have learnt it, you tend to forget some bits of it during the examination. Here is a way by which you can ensure that you remember every single bit of what you had mugged up!

I will use an example to explain better.
Assume, I have been told that the following passage is a certainty for my exam tomorrow:

[
Differentiate between Internet, Extranet and Intranet.

Answer.

Element - Internet - Extranet - Intranet

1.Access
2.Security
3.Payment Method
4.Trading
5.E-Commerce Type ]


Let there be some portion or sub-explanation to all these elements of differences. I had learnt everything, but during my exams I tend to forget atleast 1 out of the 5 points. I am unable to recollect all the elements.

So what do I do to ensure that I do not forget during my exam?

I will take the first letters of each of the points and make an abbreviation. For convenience, I have taken it as:
P - Payment Method
E - E-Commerce Type
A - Access
S - Security
T - Trading

Thus if i forget any point during my exam, all I have to do is remember PEAST (or PASTE) and I will recollect all points. Once I recall the point, the explanations of the point is easy to recall and I score full marks tomorrow!

This is a technique that we might have heard of, but we generally underestimate its usefulness. We should use the 'Abbreviate' technique a lot more as it is a very simple and easy way to remember more.
Use it and Good Luck!

P.S. You can just make a small note in your notebook of the Abbreviation as you study for even quicker remembrance.
Example Courtesy: A.S.

There is an interesting article I found a while back. The last part of it has a few tips on how to get your child to be more effective. Have a look.
http://www.livemint.com/2007/10/27003138/Lessons-from-Bschool.html