Mistake 2

Cramming Too Much Information into Memory:

You have memorized every word in all the chapters from your textbook that you would be tested upon. You see a question in the paper that begs an answer you know is found on page … Oh, no! You can’t recall the page! And so, the answer escapes you!

As you try fervently to recollect that page, you realize it becomes harder! Meanwhile, the minutes pass away and you lose valuable time!

If you are one of those students who try very hard to memorize everything in your textbooks, stop! Unfortunately for most of us, our brains can often only retain 10% to 20% of the information that we read. More unfortunately, we cannot control what will be that 10% or 20% of information that we will remember!

So, instead of trying to recite every word from page 1 of your textbook to its last page, you should concentrate on understanding what is written in those pages. If you can understand what each topic in your textbook is about, why would you even need to memorize all those pages? You should be able to explain them in your own words!

You can improve your understanding of any topic, reinforce what you have previously read and increase the amount of information that you can remember by:

1. Taking part actively in classroom discussions and activities about the topic.
2. Discussing the topic with your friends.
3. Reading alternative books or chapters about the topic.
4. Watching video tapes and video compact discs about the topic.
5. Listening to audio tapes about the topic.

This is because our brains can remember what we have said and seen more vividly than what we have read.