The most reliable way to memorize anything is to test yourself from memory instead of rereading, and to space those tests over days and weeks. A large review of ten common study techniques rated exactly those two, practice testing and distributed practice, as high utility, and rated highlighting and rereading as low utility. Everything else in this guide is how to apply that to the kind of material you actually have.
Key takeaways
- Memorizing is storing something so you can recall it later without looking. It is different from recognising it on a page.
- Rank your methods by evidence: practice testing and spacing first, then explaining and mixing topics, and rereading last.
- Match the method to the material: facts and vocabulary suit small cards, long arguments suit explain-it-back, procedures suit mixed practice.
- Start small and daily. A few minutes a day beats one long session before a test.
- Check yourself honestly. The feeling of knowing is a poor guide to whether you can recall.
What the evidence says works best
Practice testing is trying to recall an answer from memory, and distributed practice is spreading study over several sessions. Interleaved practice is mixing different problem types within one session. These three are the building blocks used below.
In 2013, Dunlosky, Rawson, Marsh, Nathan and Willingham reviewed ten learning techniques for Psychological Science in the Public Interest (Improving students' learning with effective learning techniques). They rated practice testing and distributed practice as high utility, elaborative interrogation, self-explanation and interleaved practice as moderate, and summarization, highlighting, the keyword mnemonic, imagery for text learning and rereading as low. The full ranking and why rereading feels effective but is not are in why rereading fails and practice testing works.
Two caveats. First, the review judged how well each technique works across many students, materials and tests, so "low utility" means it is a poor use of your time compared with the alternatives, not that it does nothing. Second, the review covered ten techniques. Other approaches, such as memory palaces, were not among the ten, so this guide does not rank them.
A method for each kind of material
The table below is practical advice built on that ranking. It is a suggestion for applying the evidence, not a research result.
| Material | Method to start with | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Facts, definitions, vocabulary | Small flashcards, reviewed on a schedule | Practice testing plus distributed practice in the smallest form |
| Long explanations or arguments | Close the book and explain it back in your own words, then check | Self-explanation and retrieval together |
| Procedures and problem types | Mix problem types in one session instead of doing one type at a time | Interleaved practice |
| Book highlights and notes | Turn each into a question you can answer from memory | A highlight is a record, not a memory |
The routine, step by step
- Break it down. Split the material into pieces that each ask for one small thing. How to write good flashcards covers how.
- Recall before you look. Try to produce the answer first, then check. Even a failed attempt is useful practice.
- Space your reviews. Come back after a day, then after longer gaps. The 2008 study by Cepeda and colleagues found that the best gap depends on how long you need to remember, and that gap shrinks as a fraction of that time when the target is further away (Spacing effects in learning). For a concrete plan, see spaced repetition schedule: how often to review.
- Grade yourself truthfully. If you needed the answer revealed, that was not a clean recall. See how to grade your flashcard reviews honestly.
- Keep sessions short. A small daily session is easier to keep up than a long weekly one. How many flashcards should you review per day helps you size it.
Why forgetting is normal
Memory fades quickly after learning and then more slowly, a pattern first described by Ebbinghaus and explained in the forgetting curve. Retrieval at well-chosen moments slows that decline. This is the idea behind spaced repetition, and the difference between the testing part and the spacing part is covered in active recall vs spaced repetition.
Languages, exams and reading
The same routine adapts to the situations people ask about most:
- A new language: one meaning per card, recall in both directions. See how to memorize vocabulary in a new language.
- An exam: start early and let reviews widen as the date nears. See how to study for an exam with spaced repetition.
- A book: turn highlights into questions. See how to remember what you read.
Doing this in Cirello
Cirello is a spaced repetition flashcard app. It schedules reviews with FSRS-6, shows only what is due, and lets you paste a list of cards in bulk or point a card at a book or website. Progress is counted by the week, not as a daily streak. See the flashcard app overview. The beta is free.
Written by the Cirello team; see about Cirello and how we write for our editorial approach. Questions or corrections? Contact us at [email protected] or through the support page.
Sources
- Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., & Willingham, D. T. (2013). Improving students' learning with effective learning techniques. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1), 4-58. DOI
- Cepeda, N. J., Vul, E., Rohrer, D., Wixted, J. T., & Pashler, H. (2008). Spacing effects in learning: a temporal ridgeline of optimal retention. Psychological Science, 19(11), 1095-1102. PubMed