Study flash cards if you need to bone up on vocabulary words, memorize terms or learn other rote facts. Write the vocabulary word on one side of the card and the definition of the other. Read one side of the card and say the answer out loud.
Start or join a study group if you need to digest complex topics, such as historical events, or biological or scientific phenomena, or complicated philosophical, political, psychological, literary or mathematical theories. Study groups help because you can learn by teaching others. Group members can help if you don't understand something.
Read the material again if you don't understand a topic the first time. Pause occasionally while reading to help you fully understand, according to recommendations from Wichita State University. To ensure you are memorizing or fully comprehending a topic, summarize the topic in your own words.
Create a mnemonic device if you need to learn the specific order of something, such as the names of plates. A mnemonic device is a sentence created in which the first letter of each word corresponds to the first letter of the words you need to memorize. For example, the order of the first four planets in our solar system is Mercury, Venus, Earth Mars. A mnemonic device could be, "My very earnest mother."
Create a mind map if you are studying a complex topic and if you are a visual leaner. A mind map resembles a Venn diagram in that you write words inside circles, and link the related circles with straight lines. For example, a mind map about the Civil War could include main circles that read, "North" and "South," with related terms and ideas written inside subsequent circles.
Combine study techniques for maximum comprehension. Read and reread so that you thoroughly understand. Then, create a diagram, use flash cards and study with a group to ace your test.