If you have problems remembering what you read in your textbooks, or if you never feel prepared enough for exams, you could probably benefit from learning some better study techniques.  Memory is a complex thing, but basically you need to be able to store information in your brain so that it’s easy to find again when you need to remember it.  These tricks will help you do a better job of committing what you read to memory.

Write it down.  Generally people remember things much better if they write it down.  It’s far too easy to lull yourself into a stupor by reading a particularly boring chapter in your textbook, so keep yourself and your mind awake by jotting down the key points as you read.  But beware: Don’t fall into the trap of writing down everything that seems important at the time.  Instead, read a few paragraphs or a section at a time; looking back on the material after reading it, you should be able to more easily see what the main points are that you should be writing down.

Draw connections.  Studies show that people remember things better and more easily when they are interesting and personally relevant.  You can make the material more relevant to you by drawing connections as you read.  For instance, in a psychology or sociology text, you might try to think of instances where you have seen something happen in real life, just as it is described in the textbook.  As another example, consider the rhymes teachers taught you as a kid to remember spelling rules, multiplication tables, or other things that are difficult for children to remember.

Review frequently.  The second time you learn something, you tend to remember it better, which is why cramming the night before a test doesn’t work very well: You won’t remember it as well during the test, and you will forget it faster after the test.  If you’ve written down the main points of the chapter, refresh your memory after a day or two by looking over your notes.  If you do this every few days or so, you shouldn’t have to study much at all by the time the test date rolls around!

Studying and remembering what you read are two things that many students struggle with, but it doesn’t really have to be that difficult.  If you know what tricks to use to make things easier to remember, homework and test taking will be a breeze for you!