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- Schedule—study time should be scheduled so that review begins close to the time at which it will be used. Retention is much better following a well-spaced review. It may be helpful to group material into small learning segments. Study goals should be set before beginning each period of study (number of pages, for example).
- Organize—many students have better retention of material after they have reorganized and relearned it.
- Rephrase and explain—try to rephrase material in your own words or explain it to another person. Reinforce learning through repetition and usage.
- Decide on order of importance—organize study time in terms of importance and familiarity.
- Use mechanical memory aids—mnemonic (memory) devices simplify recall. For example, in "On Old Olympus's Towering Top a Finn and German Viewed Some Hops," the first letter of each word identifies the first letter of a cranial nerve (see Appendix B ).
- Association—associate new material with related concepts and principles from past experience.
- Original learning—if an unfamiliar topic is presented, do more than review. Seek out sources of additional information.
- Make notes—look for key words, phrases, and sentences in the outlined review material, and mark them for later reference.
- Definitions—look up unfamiliar terms in a dictionary or the glossary of a basic text, or in Appendix C .
- Additional study—refer to other textbook references for more detailed information.
- Distractors—keep a pad of paper on hand to jot down extraneous thoughts; get them out of your mind and onto the paper.