Is cramming an effective study technique? (1 Viewer)

Do you cram?


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enoilgam

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The title says it all, do you cram and do you believe it to be an effective study technique? Feel free to offer your thoughts on the topic.
 

SpiralFlex

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Depends on the subject. But generally no. Though it can work...
 

enoilgam

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Personally I dont cram and I dont believe it to be an effective study technique. To me, consistant work is far more effective then shoving things in at the very last minute. Also, cramming is just way to stressful for me.

Some people swear by cramming as they believe they do "better under pressure". Maybe that is true for some people (as I always say on BOS, study is about finding what works for you), but I think there ultimately comes a time when crammers get caught out.
 

unLimitieDx

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Cramming was okay in the junior years but now there's just too much going and you cant cram a whole course into one or two nights
 

SpiralFlex

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But what do you define as cramming though? Do you define it as knowing bits and pieces of the content before hand then studying properly or just flat out first time learning it?
 

brent012

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I voted yes. It's an effective study method FOR SOME PEOPLE, but that doesn't mean it's a good idea. Definitely is no good for maths though.
 
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Anyone who votes 'yes' needs a reality check.
because you lack a certain natural ability and are still being baby sat in premed I will say this:

YOU GET A REALITY CHECK

cramming, despite what all the others say, it perhaps _THE_ best stratergy if you have a grain of intelligence about you. Go throughout the year, understand the concepts, but don't care about the hundreds of irrelevant facts you need to know. Cram those and you'll be fine.
 

brent012

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Go throughout the year, understand the concepts, but don't care about the hundreds of irrelevant facts you need to know. Cram those and you'll be fine.
That's what i did, doesn't seem to work as well for most people though.
 

iSplicer

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because you lack a certain natural ability and are still being baby sat in premed I will say this:

YOU GET A REALITY CHECK

cramming, despite what all the others say, it perhaps _THE_ best stratergy if you have a grain of intelligence about you. Go throughout the year, understand the concepts, but don't care about the hundreds of irrelevant facts you need to know. Cram those and you'll be fine.
Yeah, I plan to do a bit better than 'fine'.

lol @ the rest of your post though.
 

Obvious

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It doesn't work for me, therefore it's bad for everybody!
 

4025808

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I have so much on that I often just end up cramming a lot. Wouldn't suggest it if you're not that smart like me tbh.

Cramming can work in subjects where you rely mostly on memory and a little bit of applying the memorized stuff.
 

LoveHateSchool

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Cramming got me great results in jnr school, it can only cut it for certain subjects in senior school so I said "Sometimes".

If you have a good memory, some content based subjects can be crammed decently, Other more skills based subs cannot be.
 

Ealdoon

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Whoops, I thought the poll said 'Is cramming an effective study technique?' which is why I voted no. I cram sometimes :(
 

Sy123

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because you lack a certain natural ability and are still being baby sat in premed I will say this:

YOU GET A REALITY CHECK

cramming, despite what all the others say, it perhaps _THE_ best stratergy if you have a grain of intelligence about you. Go throughout the year, understand the concepts, but don't care about the hundreds of irrelevant facts you need to know. Cram those and you'll be fine.
It doesnt take natural ability to cram, you just need to have an adequate short term memory. But it cant work for stuff like yearlies or the HSC because there is too much stuff going on, moreover if you plan on doing better than fine, and doing better than everybody else you need to be at the top of your game and study like there is no tomorrow.

You seem to lack the understanding that there is genuine competition out there to take you out and if you aren't willing to study hard, then you deserve not to come first.

I would call myself someone with a grain of intelligence, I have crammed before for Chemistry and Physics, I get good, but the reality is there are other people who do better because they decide to study regularly, I deserve my crappy ranks at the moment but I am trying to change it.
 

RishBonjour

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everything except maths. cram cram cram.

only if you have a good idea of the content though - if its completely new - not sure if its a good idea.

Also, by cramming, you mean like studying for a day or 2 and doing a test?
I sort of think of cramming as 4-5 days.
 
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madharris

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I think cramming is effective on top of long periods of effective study as you just revise as much as you've studied for the past month into a few hours

however, cramming by itself with no study does not help anyone
 

SanjoyM

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NO WAY! You need a certain amount of time to absord information and retain it in your long term memory.
You MUST engrave information in your long term memory, rather than short term memory, as it is more beneficial.
Most often short term memory is not extremely helpful!
So, you need a certain amount of time to engrave information.
Remember the HSC is not about recalling info and writing it down, rather it is about APPLYING it:)
 

RishBonjour

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NO WAY! You need a certain amount of time to absord information and retain it in your long term memory.
You MUST engrave information in your long term memory, rather than short term memory, as it is more beneficial.
Most often short term memory is not extremely helpful!
So, you need a certain amount of time to engrave information.
Remember the HSC is not about recalling info and writing it down, rather it is about APPLYING it:)
good point.
but definitely - don't cram for maths- it just doesn't work- I don't even know how you can.
 

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