Realtyintellectlearn smart: a guide to study techniques

An independent guide to study techniques and self-education. Not an educational institution and not connected with the former site on this domain; we do not sell courses or educational documents.

Practice

Practice tasks

Reading about study techniques is useful, but they only pay off when you use them. This section contains tasks you can do with your own material: draw up a review plan, make flashcards for self-testing and honestly assess whether your studying has turned into passive rereading. You do not need any special software: a notebook, a calendar and a stack of paper cards will do.

If a session felt hard, that is not always a bad sign. The effort of trying to remember is exactly the work that strengthens memory.

— Editor's note

How this section works: each task is described step by step in general terms, without strict deadlines or quotas. Adapt it to your subject and schedule, and after a couple of weeks assess what worked and change the plan if needed.

Draw up a two-week review plan

  1. Choose the material

    Take one subject or one large topic and break it into small parts, each of which can be studied in a single session.

  2. Schedule the first pass

    Plan which day you will first work through each part. Do not put too many new topics on one day: leave time for reviews.

  3. Add reviews

    For each part, mark several returns on the calendar at growing intervals: the next day, a few days later and towards the end of the second week.

  4. Review by testing yourself

    Reviewing is not rereading. First try to recall the key points, answer questions or solve a problem, and only then check your notes.

  5. Flag the hard parts

    If you could not recall a topic, give it an extra, earlier review. If everything came back easily, you can make the next interval longer.

  6. Take stock

    At the end of the second week, test yourself on all the parts at once. Write down which topics have stuck well and which need to move into the next plan.

Flashcards for self-testing

  1. One question per card

    Write a question, term or problem on the front and a short answer on the back. Do not copy a whole paragraph from the textbook onto a card.

  2. Use your own words

    Writing the questions yourself forces you to understand the material while you are still preparing the cards. Add "why" and "how" questions, not just "what is".

  3. Answer before you flip

    Answer out loud or in writing first, and only then look at the back. An honest "I don't remember" is useful too: it shows you a gap.

  4. Sort by result

    Sort the cards into piles: "know it", "not sure", "don't know". Review the hard piles more often and the easy ones less often, but never drop them completely.

  5. Shuffle

    Shuffle the cards before each round and sometimes mix cards from different topics so you do not memorise the answers in order.

Check yourself: signs you are just rereading

  • You have read the chapter many times but cannot retell it with the book closed
  • Most of the page is highlighted, yet it is hard to explain what the main point is
  • The material feels familiar, but you cannot solve a problem without a hint
  • You have never tried to answer questions without looking at the text
  • All your reviewing happens on the last evening before a test
  • Lessons

    Short lessons on memory, spaced repetition, retrieval practice, interleaving, reading difficult texts and note-taking.

  • Methods

    Study techniques and what research says about them: practice testing, distributed practice, the forgetting curve, Pomodoro and Cornell.

  • Resources

    Types of learning resources, without brands or ads, and how to check a course or material before spending time on it.

Sources

  • Dunlosky et al., Improving Students' Learning With Effective Learning Techniques (2013)
  • Roediger & Karpicke (2006) — research on the testing effect
  • H. Ebbinghaus, Über das Gedächtnis (1885)

Study techniques are described in general terms based on classic work on memory and the research reviews listed in the sources. Choose techniques that fit your task and check what actually works for you.