Name: 8 evidence-based study tips 📚 how to study smarter, improve your grades, & achieve academic success
Uploaded: 2024-04-27 13:30:22
Duration: 14 min 21 s

Question 1

What are the most evidence-based study tips to improve grades?

Accepted Answer

In this video, I focus on strategies that research consistently supports: active recall, spaced repetition, and practice testing. I also talk about understanding-first learning (instead of memorizing blindly), synthesizing your notes into visual summaries, taking controlled mental breaks, and building a study schedule. The goal is to retain information long-term and perform under exam conditions.

Question 2

How do I know what to study for an exam?

Accepted Answer

Before I start any study session, I list down every lesson that will be tested for each course. I need that clear roadmap because I don’t thrive on uncertainty, and I get anxious if I don’t know the coverage. Once it’s listed, I can allocate time properly and avoid getting thrown off by unfamiliar questions.

Question 3

How do I study for concept-heavy subjects like biology?

Accepted Answer

I prioritize understanding the underlying concept or principle, because if I don’t fully grasp it, I won’t retain it or apply it on the exam. When lectures aren’t enough, I look for simpler explanations online or watch videos to see processes step-by-step. Then I explain it back using the Feynman technique to find the gaps in my understanding.

Question 4

Is rewriting notes and highlighting effective for studying?

Accepted Answer

For long-term retention, passive strategies like rereading, highlighting, and rewatching lectures can feel productive but often create an illusion of competence. You recognize the content, but you can’t necessarily retrieve it during an exam. That’s why I push active recall—because it trains your brain to actually pull information from memory.

Question 5

How do I use active recall if I don’t like flashcards?

Accepted Answer

Active recall doesn’t have to be fancy—I used to literally cover parts of my notes and try to fill in the missing information from memory. You can also use prompts from your own summaries (like criteria in a table) and force yourself to answer before checking. The key is that you’re retrieving, not just rereading.

Question 6

What is spaced repetition and how do I use it for exams?

Accepted Answer

Spaced repetition is doing active recall at increasing intervals over time, so you reinforce information before you forget it. It works with the forgetting curve—your memory fades unless you intentionally refresh it. I use Anki because it schedules cards based on how easy or difficult they were for me, so the hard ones show up sooner.

Question 7

What’s the best way to study with practice problems and practice tests?

Accepted Answer

I like doing practice tests because you learn the step-by-step thinking process, not just the final answer. Back in high school, my friends and I would grind physics and calculus practice tests for hours, then compare solutions and spot where we struggled. For exams, I recommend doing end-of-chapter problems or finding practice tests online to test your learning.

Question 8

How long should I study before taking a break?

Accepted Answer

Studies show brief, controlled mental breaks help you maintain focus over long periods. The Pomodoro technique is one option (25/5), but it doesn’t work well for me personally. I prefer 15 minutes of focused work with 10 minutes of break because it genuinely refreshes my brain—so experiment and find what works for you.

8 evidence-based study tips 📚 how to study smarter, improve your grades, & achieve academic success

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Albulescu, P., Macsinga, I., Rusu, A., Șulea, C., Bodnaru, A., & Tulbure, B. T. (2022). “Give me a break!” A systematic review and meta-analysis on the efficacy of micro-breaks for increasing well-being and performance. PloS One, 17(8), e0272460.

Deactivation and reactivation of task goals preempt vigilance decrements. Cognition, 118(3), 439–443.

Tips for classroom use and for guiding students’ learning. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology, 1(1), 72–78.

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.

Karpicke, J. D. (2012). Retrieval-Based learning. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 21(3), 157–163.

Do students practise retrieval when they study on their own? Memory, 17(4), 471–479.

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