Powerful revision strategies and seriously effective study hacks are all about RETRIEVING information.
They make us feel uncomfortable because we have to struggle to recall concepts from the depths of our memory. This is what builds knowledge in a way that allows us to really master new concepts, and apply this knowledge in new situations (such as those dreamt up by masochistic A level examiners).
1. the blurting method
- Study: read your notes or a textbook chapter for a set period (e.g., 15-20 minutes).
- Close: close your book and put your notes away.
- Blurt: on a blank piece of paper, write down everything you can remember about the topic. Write in any order; just get all the concepts, keywords, and connections out of your brain.
- Check: open your notes and compare. Use a different colored pen to fill in everything you missed or got wrong. This immediately shows you the gaps in your knowledge.
- Why it’s effective: It forces your brain to actively retrieve information from memory, which is far more powerful than passively rereading. The gaps you identify in a different color become your new, high-priority study guide.
2. the Feynman technique
- Topic: choose a concept you need to learn.
- Teach: on a piece of paper or to a friend, or maybe the dog – explain the concept in the simplest terms possible as if you were teaching it to someone who has never heard of it.
- Identify Gaps: whenever you get stuck, use complex jargon, or say “it just is,” you’ve found a gap in your own understanding.
- Review & Simplify: go back to your notes to fill that gap, then refine your simple explanation until it’s clear and concise.
- Why it’s effective: You cannot truly simplify a complex topic until you understand it deeply. This method forces you to break down ideas and build them back up, which cements them in your memory
3. AI generated quizzing
- Paste your notes, a PDF of a textbook chapter into an AI tool like ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini.
- Prompt: use a simple prompt like, “Act as my study tutor. Read these notes and generate 20 multiple-choice questions about the most important topics” or “Create 15 flashcards from this text.”
- Why it’s effective: It automates the creation of study materials.so you spend less time making flashcards and more time answeringthem, which is the active recall part that actually builds memory.
In contrast, passive studying is all about RECEIVING information.
It feels easy and comforting in the moment but is honestly a waste of your precious time! Watching videos, highlighting text books and rewriting your notes (even with perfect calligraphy and in pretty colours) will never help you truly get to grips with complex concepts.
So if studying feels stale and boring, try one of these ideas!
If this has been useful then please forward it on and thank you very much for reading,
