Effective methods of studying depend largely on the individual, but there are several key strategies that may help students achieve a better grade.

Katja Wiemer, associate professor in the Department of Psychology, said if students want to apply information to memory, creating note cards may help. Creating note cards is effective is due to the generation effect phenomenon that suggests information people produce for themselves is better remembered than simply studying off a printed list of information, Weimer said.

“Generating one’s own information is most important for preparing for essay-style exams,” Wiemer said. “If [the exam] is the first time you’ve generated the information, then it will be a lot harder to produce the information during the exam.”

Tying incoming information to knowledge one has already applied to memory is another strategy that could help improve memorization.

“Asking yourself, ‘How does [the information] relate to me?’ could help you remember the information because it ties it to your own life,” Weimer said. “Asking questions also helps students search for relevant information in a text rather than being overwhelmed trying to remember each sentence.”

Wiemer said studying is typically improved when students take breaks to rest, exercise or eat something nutritious, rather than trying to cram information into the brain all at once.

“Eating nutritious foods is important, but so is staying hydrated because [hydration] allows for the nutrients you eat to reach the brain.”

Another strategy that could help improve students’ performances is to study at the same location they will take the test, because retrieving information is linked to the physical environment.

“Spacial context is a really powerful retrieval cue for us,” Wiemer said. “If you can’t study in the test location, then you should study in multiple locations so you’re used to retrieving information in more than one place.”

Methods of studying can vary greatly, but still can lead to academic success.

Meagan Szydlowski, a sophomore political science major and honors student, said one thing that helps her in school is reading the material assigned instead of only listening to the lecture.

“I find [learning the material] to be more effective when I am prepared for a lecture,” Szydlowski said. “I also take a lot of notes and make outlines of the material.”

Michael Murphy, a senior math/economics double major and honors student, approaches studying in a much different way than Szydlowski, but finds equal success.

“Typically, I’ll put [the information] out in front of me while watching a movie or playing a video game,” Murphy said. “I will study for five or six minutes and then take a break to watch a movie or play a game, and then study again for another 5 or 6 minutes.”

Murphy claims he can associate what he’s studying with scenes in the movie or the game and as he recalls the scenes, he recalls the information he studied.

If any of the above study strategies sound appealing, Wiemer recommends changing study habits gradually rather than completely changing one’s way of studying all at once.