How to memorize essay answers when all hope is lost: 10 easy steps…

I came across this strategy when revising for my first semester exams. Because the questions on the exam required essay style answers, I decided that the most effective use of my time would be to construct model answers and learn them off by heart. This seemed to be a much more efficient method, than to just learn basic facts and attempt to string them into an essay during the exam, while under increased pressure.

My first exam went perfectly as planned. I had a good 2 days to learn my essay and could recite it without pause or mistake whenever required. The problem came when I realised that the very next day, at 10am I would have another exam, which required another two more essay answers. Hence, I developed the following strategy.
Note: This strategy does not assume that you have a brain like a sponge and does not expect you to be able to absorb and retain vast amounts of information. Even if you have a brain like a colander, with a little effort you can make it work like a filofax.

1.    Spend a good amount of time, constructing a well thought-out answer, give the examiner exactly what they’re looking for.

2.    Using your Mac/PC, record yourself while you read the essay aloud. Try to put in as much emphasis as possible, because this makes a big difference to your ability to retain information.

3.    While you do other things, play your recorded essay repeatedly through earphones to yourself.

4.    Before you go to bed, attempt to read the essay from memory as best you can, if you can get through only 2 sentences, don’t panic!

5.    Take out a highlighter pen and highlight any parts you are having difficulty remembering. Our brains like shapes and colours, so placing symbols next to difficult paragraphs can help to jog your memory in the exam room.

6.    Read over the essay again 2/3 times while in bed, prior to going to sleep.

7.    The next morning, you will be able to recall the essay much clearer than on the night before.

8.    If you have time before the exam, try and type out the essay from memory. You will find that typing or writing from memory is much easier than speaking from memory.

9.    If, when you get to the exam, you cannot yet recite your answer to yourself in your head, don’t panic! Your brain will be able to pick out the most important concepts and you will surprise yourself as to how much you did actually remember!

10.    Start earlier next time! You should ideally begin attempting to memorize an essay 3 or 4 days prior to the exam. This really helps to remove stress and allows you to concentrate more effectively.

For an advanced guide to memorizing for exams, I recommend reading Steven Aitchison’s blog post on the subject here: http://www.stevenaitchison.co.uk/blog/2007/01/02/how-to-memorise-an-entire-essay-or-speech/

Good luck!

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