Memorising Patterns For A Levels And Other Exams

Ever wondered how some of your peers constantly brag about getting all the As while you barely struggle on crossing that border between an `oh-I-got-an-almost-B` to B?

If that`s your case, than you are reading the right thing. I haven`t always been an exemplary student - I just invested the right amount of energy in the right goals at the right time, and guess what? That (and an efficient memorising pattern to tackle my second-nature laziness) led me to all my A*s (yes, As with stars on them) at the end of high school! It also led me to being accepted to two of the leading universities in the UK and the world (ICL and UCL if you`re so curious). So why don`t YOU give it a shot?

First of all, you have to know one thing: there is no such thing as ";I can`t remember that. It`s too long/complicated/confusing"; whatsoever. You can. And that`s because our brains function according to patterns. Neural connections for memories are established only when the brain finally understands that what you want to remember is important and therefore worth remembering. But it`s you who has to tell that to the brain in the right way! And how do you do that? Repetition is the key, but not any kind of repetition. #59;

Our brains are designed to function according to an internal clock. In other words, you have to adapt your repetition patterns in order to work in tandem with your internal rhythm. The brain is like a sponge, but a fussy one: it can absorb loads of information, but only when it`s ";in the mood";. #59;

In the following lines, I am going to tell you what to do to remember material for as long as you wish (minutes, weeks or even years - yeah, I still remember in detail all the contens of the Chemistry A Level syllabus and that`s why I teach it).

Start by dividing a lesson in small chunks, i.e. less than one paraghraph long. Then repeat it for ten times - ten is the magic number. Each time, try to reproduce it from your own mind even if you struggle at first. The first three repetitions are guaranteed to be nightmarish - so don`t be put off by that. The following four will be better but not great whilts the last three will surprise you - they will be perfect. This ensures that that piece of information remains in your short term memory - that is 10 minutes. Don`t believe me? Try it yourself! But bear in mind that for information to comply this rule of memorising, it has to be of decent length. Try reducing the paragraph length you try to keep in mind if you struggle to retain it after seven repetitions.

To make information settle for more than one day, you have to established a ";learning rota";. That is, you have to set your alarm clock for after 10 minutes you finished your 10 repetitions. When it does ring, re-read all the info you have been memorising for those past 10 minutes. Do this 12 times (the equivalent of 2 hours of study) or 6 times (for 1 hour) depending on your study session length. At the end of the session, revise ALL the info you had aquired. #59;

To remember things for the whole week, revise it the next day. Then, keep revising it at key points in time - memory`s milestones. These include: after seven days (for remembering it the whole month), after one month (for remembering it for three months), after three months and after six to retain it for more than a year.

So, as you can see, you don`t need to study the same thing ceaselessly for the whole week so you can remember it for the exams and forget it after. You can learn many more at the same time, with the least investment (but at the right times) for the maximum achievements!

Good luck with your exams!