Students are stressed out these days with the high demands. There are so many tips on how you can improve your grades and do better at school. With that being said, there is always one item on that list. Using flashcards to help memorize your work has been around for a long time. It is one of the best tools you can use if you are faced with a lot of content to memorize. As time went on, we all became a bit fancier in our study approaches, but this one never fails.
When it comes to studying, nothing will work if you are trying to cram a lot of information into your brain. If you want it to truly work for you, then you have to give yourself sufficient time to study. Times when I need to summarize an article, I know how much time I have to get the job done. Most students have a clear idea of how much time is required to get through their work. If you are going to start preparing early, you want to give flashcards a try. Here’s why.
Short answers
The idea with flashcards is to give yourself a little clue at the front of the card and an answer at the back. Try and keep your answers as short as you possibly can. If you make it too long, it is going to start feeling like reading a textbook. Your clues should also be short. There does not need to be a sentence. If you are making the flashcards yourself, you know exactly what you meant when you wrote Japan on the front.
Variety of colors
Use a few different colors when making your flashcards. Do it in such a way that you group certain chapters together. Your brain will start understanding that you are now working with a specific section of your textbook. With flashcards, you can learn chapters upon chapters if you do it the smart way. Using different color cards is going to compartmentalize these facts in your brain. Summarizing an article can take me an hour to do, so do not rush through the process of creating great flashcards.
Images
Have you ever tried using images to help you create better flashcards? This is a great trick for people with an artistic brain. It not only makes it more fun to use, but it triggers a specific part of your brain that does not see this as work. It can be a map if you are doing geography or any picture relating to the content. It seems like a lot of work to do, but you don’t have to use it on all your flashcards. If I was doing it, I’d go as far as printing images from the computer and pasting it on the flashcards.
Flow
Create a flow between your flashcards in the way that you are studying. It is great to just randomly pick a card out of the stack, but it might be confusing as well. Sure, you need to know all the work off by heart when you are done, but a flow might work better. Cover one section at a time and use that to master first. Then move on to the other one when you know everything of the previous section. If you rephrase a paragraph you focus on that one paragraph alone. It also stores it in your brain more synchronized, which helps with recalling information.
Move on
When you have memorized certain cards, be sure to move on to the next. It is a great feeling when you get an answer right and you just want to hold on to that feeling. If the information is already stored in your brain, you need to start focusing on the rest of the work. You can always come back to the ones you know later and use it in your review time.
Conclusion
It is important to stick with what works because it has been tested time and time again. Instead of going out and finding methods that you are not sure is going to help you in the exam. These days we also have access to electronic flashcards, which might work better for those who don’t have much time. Just be sure to put in the hard work. You might want to set up electronic flashcards on your phone if you are not always in front of your computer.
