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5 Memorisation Techniques for Teens to Improve Memory Recall
Memorisation techniques are great to use when you’re studying for a test or an exam. You can also add them to your daily school routine to help you memorise important information in class. Memorisation techniques are helpful tools that can help you improve your ability to remember the content you are studying.
These techniques will help you to go into your exams feeling prepared, confident and less stressed. In this article, we’ll share 5 of the best memorisation techniques to improve memory recall, helping you to ace your exams!
Use Mnemonics
A mnemonic is simply a memorisation technique that can help you study for tests and exams. Using mnemonic strategies can give you the boost in your memory that you need while you’re studying for your exams.
It focuses on using memory strategies that help you retain the information that you’re studying so that you can recall it easily during your exams. It may look difficult at first, but with some practice, it will become easier to use these mnemonic devices to study. We’re going to share 4 of the most commonly used mnemonics that you can use.
Audio Mnemonics
Audio mnemonics use sounds, rhythms, and melodies to help store information in your memory. A simple and effective way to use this technique is by setting information to a familiar tune or song. You then adapt the song to the information you want to remember.
For example, take the song “If You’re Happy and You Know It”. You can change this song to remember a mathematical formula. By signing the formula to the melody, the rhythm and repetition will help you to reinforce the information in your mind.
For example:
If you’re solving for the area, use πr²,
If you’re solving for the area, use πr²,
If you’re solving for the area, solving for the area,
If you’re solving for the area, use πr².
You can enhance this method by using physical actions like clapping or tapping your fingers to the beat. This multisensory approach strengthens the links between your memory and the information. But remember to only use these actions while studying. Clapping or making noises during an exam might be disruptive and against the rules.
Using audio and rhyme mnemonics can make learning more enjoyable and significantly improve recall during exams.
Visual Mnemonics
Image or picture mnemonics use visuals to help you remember information when needed. These images can be mental or sketched into your study notes. The sillier the image, the easier it is to remember the information.
For example, picture meeting someone named Sarah Harward at a party. To remember her name, visualise Sarah sitting on a log in a forest (a “harwood”). The quirkiness of the image will make it more memorable. If you are sketching the image, don’t worry about your artistic ability, as it is more important for you to understand your sketch, no matter how it looks.
Word and Expressions Mnemonics
This is one of the most popular mnemonic and memorisation techniques used. It involves using the first letter of each item in a list to form a phrase or word. To do this, write down all the difficult-to-remember terms from a topic or subject and create a mnemonic for them.
In English, the seven coordinating conjunctions are For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, and So. The first letter of each of these conjunctions put together spells FANBOYS. Another example is in Maths, the order of operations is Parentheses, Exponents, Multiply, Divide, Add, and Subtract. An expression to remember this is “Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally”.
Spelling mnemonics
Spelling mnemonics can be an effective memorisation technique that makes difficult spellings much easier. If you have some tricky words you would like to use in your next English exam, you can come up with spelling mnemonics to help you remember them.
Take a look at some examples:
ARITHMETIC: A rat in the house may eat the ice cream.
BECAUSE: Big elephants can always understand small elephants.
DOES: Daddy only eats sandwiches.
To create your spelling mnemonic, focus on the most challenging words first, then move on to the easier words. This approach helps you to recall difficult words more effectively whilst studying or during exams.
Enhance Your Focus for Better Memory Recall
Maintaining focus is very important for effective memory recall. You need to concentrate on the material you are learning to transfer information from your short-term memory into your long-term memory, no matter which memorisation technique you are using.
Keep active to improve your focus
Staying focused involves minimising distractions in your environment. Young people typically maintain a peak focus of 1-2 hours daily. Regular exercise can also help you improve your focus by providing necessary breaks and keeping you alert during study sessions.
It is recommended to break your study time into 20-minute sessions for optimal mental and physical health during study periods. Set a study goal for the day, focus on it, and then reward yourself with a mini-break. You can get your body moving by taking a quick walk to refresh your mind before you begin another session.
Eliminate Distractions
To make sure you study well, you should choose a place that is free from distractions like television, music, and other disturbances. If you have trouble minimising your distractions, we have some techniques to help.
You can start by identifying the things that distract you the most. Remove these from your space before you start. If this does not work, you can try using the Checkmark System. Each time you lose concentration, you mark a check on a scorecard (this can be a blank page or a digital note). At the end of your study session, count the number of checks. Then aim to reduce the number of checks with each study session.
Optimise your study times
It is important to understand at what time of the day you feel you can concentrate and perform best. Some teens find that they concentrate best in the late morning, and others feel more productive late at night.
Identifying your most productive times and creating a study schedule that aligns with it will help you improve your study sessions. If you struggle with managing your time, you can read our blog on effective time management techniques at this link
Understand the importance of sleep
Getting enough sleep is essential for maintaining focus and enhancing memory. Aim for 8-9 hours of sleep each night. A good night’s sleep can improve your ability to learn and retain new information. Taking a nap after studying can also help consolidate your memories and keep you focused.
Organise Your Thoughts
Organising your thoughts is an important part of most memorisation techniques. By structuring your information clearly, you can make it easier for your brain to store and remember information.
Information is organised in our memory by related topics. You can use this by structuring and organising the materials you’re studying. Group similar concepts and terms together, and outline your notes and textbook readings to keep related topics together.
Techniques for organising your thoughts
Organising information into meaningful groups is a powerful memorisation technique to improve memory recall. For example, if you are trying to memorise vocabulary for a foreign language class, classify words with similar meanings into categories. Associating words together this way gives them context and meaning, making them easier to remember.
It can be daunting to memorise large amounts of information, such as the human anatomy. The thousands of parts that make up the human body can be organised into systems based on function or location. This makes memorising them more manageable.
Use Chunking to Aid Memory
“Chunking” is a strategy for organising information into smaller, more manageable groups. You likely use chunking without realising it, such as memorising a phone number or a lock combination. When you break these numbers into smaller chunks of three or four digits, it becomes easier to remember the long number.
This method works because our short-term memory can only hold about three or four pieces of information at a time. Organising your thoughts might seem difficult at first, but once you chunk information into bits and pieces and practice daily, it will become second nature.
Use the Power of Association
You can link a term you need to remember with a memory or something you’re familiar with – this is known as association. Associative memory is a way to learn and remember the relationship between unrelated information, such as the name of someone or the smell of perfume.
When you’re studying a subject that you don’t understand, take the time to think about how this information relates to what you already know. By establishing relationships between new ideas and previously existing memories, you can greatly increase the chance of recalling the recently learned information.
How Association Helps You Remember
We all experience something that reminds us of something else. For example, the smell of fresh-baked bread might remind you of your mum’s apple pie, or hearing someone sing the ‘ABC alphabet’ song might take you back to your preschool days of learning the alphabet. Generally, the Association Technique is a useful tool to help you memorise unrelated items or ideas.
This memorisation technique connects the items or ideas we want to remember to a single visual theme. Our brains act like computer file folders, slotting newly learned information into the same file as already learned information. By organising information this way, you align with the brain’s natural method of processing and storing data, helping you remember information more easily.
Visualise It
Visualisation refers to our ability to create pictures in our minds based on what we read or hear. When words are used to create mental images, our understanding is increased in our daily studies. Therefore, those who use visualisation have an advanced ability to understand, learn, and remember.
How to Visualise Information
Many people benefit greatly from visualising the information they study. You can pay attention to the photographs, charts, and other graphics in your textbooks. If you don’t have visual cues to help, try creating your own. Draw a mind map and make use of highlighters or pens in different colours to group ideas in your study activities.
Using Visualisation Techniques To Study
There are many ways to use visualisation in your studies to help your memory recall. For instance, making flashcards of different terms in English Literacy you need to remember can help the information stick in your mind.
When reading text, you can read aloud and slowly, thinking of each image created by the words you are reading. You can pause after each piece of text you read and try to visualise with your eyes closed to create a mental image.
The Bottom Line
Memorisation techniques are invaluable tools in preparing for exams or trying to retain important information from classes. Adding these methods to your study routine can increase your chances of remembering and recalling your curriculum content, boosting your chances of good grades in your exams and assessments.
You can improve your chances of succeeding during your exam season using our workbook on How to Ace Your Exams. You can access the workbook and PDF download by following this link
GT Scholars is an award-winning education company and social enterprise. We run high-impact tutoring, mentoring & enrichment programmes for young people aged 11-18. If you’d like to give your child the support, skills and strategies needed to achieve their academic and career aspirations, you're in the right place!
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