Memorisation :/ (1 Viewer)

planino

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What is the best way to memorise effectively i.e. large amounts in short period of time?

I think that there are 3 (4?) types of memory: Short term, medium term and long term memory (lol I could be horribly wrong here), so if this is true, then how can I use this to memorise more effectively?

Yes, practice questions etc. helps, but memorisation are a must anyway, even for chem etc. I suck at memorising things in most cases and it's what really turns me off studying and I end up screwed for exams eventually.

I really need help :/
 

Aysce

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There really aren't many ways: Read large amounts of info, condense it down, write as dot points and see if you can rewrite them as a whole - that's what I used to do when I rote learned.

Alternatively, stop rote learning (unless it's unavoidable/very hard not to e.g. social impacts in chemistry etc) and actually take the time to understand the concepts. You don't need to memorise much, if at all. Chemistry is very conceptual - you will struggle through pure memorisation.
 

albertcamus

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There really aren't many ways: Read large amounts of info, condense it down, write as dot points and see if you can rewrite them as a whole - that's what I used to do when I rote learned.

Alternatively, stop rote learning (unless it's unavoidable/very hard not to e.g. social impacts in chemistry etc) and actually take the time to understand the concepts. You don't need to memorise much, if at all. Chemistry is very conceptual - you will struggle through pure memorisation.
Just condense the info down into acronyms etc. to help memorise - for chem, rewrite stuff over and over.

And I have to strongly disagree with Aysce here, I really don't think there's much of a big conceptual base to HSC Chemistry at all.

Planino: Of course understand the concepts, and go out of your way sometimes to try and understand it (e.g. the analyse periodic table trends and acidity/basicity of oxides --> if you know the reasons behind it i.e electronegativity + ionisation energy/atomic radius, it becomes very easy to keep it in your head).

But besides that, just write and rewrite, condense info into chunks, acronyms and yeah that's about it.
 

Aysce

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Just condense the info down into acronyms etc. to help memorise - for chem, rewrite stuff over and over.

And I have to strongly disagree with Aysce here, I really don't think there's much of a big conceptual base to HSC Chemistry at all.

Planino: Of course understand the concepts, and go out of your way sometimes to try and understand it (e.g. the analyse periodic table trends and acidity/basicity of oxides --> if you know the reasons behind it i.e electronegativity + ionisation energy/atomic radius, it becomes very easy to keep it in your head).

But besides that, just write and rewrite, condense info into chunks, acronyms and yeah that's about it.
Okay, looking back at the large chunks of useless info I skipped for HSC chemistry, you do have a good reason to disagree with me strongly :haha:
 

tonytran28

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Planino, for effective memorisation use this approach:
- apply the information you need to remember as metaphors or something interesting such as a scenario in real life. This will help you remember better, trust me
 

LoveHateSchool

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NOTE: Not condoning rote learning but know memorisation techniques from dance and play scripts.

1) Recording to yourself reciting the info you want to learn and listening to it over and over (auditory memory).
2) Colour coding; Say hypothetically you were memorising an essay, if you like colour based learning, you can use one highlight colour for quotes, one highlighter colour for techniques and it builds a colour patter in your mind to memorise the content. Works well combined with 3)
3) Write out first line. Repeat doing first and second line. 1st, 2nd and 3rd line etc.
4) Explaining the content to someone else
5) Flashcards if you are visual.
6) Kinetically based you can work on actions that kind of trigger your memory for that info you need to recall.
7) One I've heard people use, is scent memory. Now I've never actually done this, but people say that if you use a scent (i.e peppermint) when studying like eco, and you have peppermint fragrance on your sleeve in the exam, it can help you recall your study time.
8) I've always liked mneumonics or little sayings to myself to help trigger my memory.

Just some tips I can think off the top of my head. Obviously, conceptual understanding and ability to put things together on the spot is preferred to memorising in most cases.
 

RivalryofTroll

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Just condense the info down into acronyms etc. to help memorise - for chem, rewrite stuff over and over.

And I have to strongly disagree with Aysce here, I really don't think there's much of a big conceptual base to HSC Chemistry at all.

Planino: Of course understand the concepts, and go out of your way sometimes to try and understand it (e.g. the analyse periodic table trends and acidity/basicity of oxides --> if you know the reasons behind it i.e electronegativity + ionisation energy/atomic radius, it becomes very easy to keep it in your head).

But besides that, just write and rewrite, condense info into chunks, acronyms and yeah that's about it.
Yeah this is legit the best method to drill something into your mind when it comes to science.
 

BlugyBlug

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It depends on the person really.

"write and rewrite" won't get you far in life at all, though.
 

RivalryofTroll

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It depends on the person really.

"write and rewrite" won't get you far in life at all, though.
Memorisation won't get you far in life at all, though.
Despite being an advocate for the utter importance of memorisation,

the point of ''write and rewrite'' is not just for memorisation alone.

In science, it's so you can learn to clearly express your answer.

There's no point of ''understanding'' if you can't explain your ''understanding'' on paper.
 

planino

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Thanks a bunch, everybody!!
:)

Much appreciated cos fuck me, my half yearlies are coming up!
 

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