Much of school life is about being accountable for the ideas you learn as a student. In order to be accountable, you have to be able to retain and recall information when you need it. Sometimes that recall will be for tests, sometimes for conducting research, and other times for writing. Whether you need to recall information from a lecture, from a textbook you read for class, or from research you have done on your own, most students find it much easier to recall information when they have reviewed material systematically.
Take notes on material—this includes anything you want to remember well such as a lecture, a chapter from a textbook, an article from the library, etc. Without something to review from, reviewing would be impossible. Right after class has ended or you have finished reading something, make a plan to review the material. It’s good to organize notes. You can synthesize or expand ideas as you see fit or type your notes in something like Google Docs so you have easy access to them—whatever you think will make it easier for you to keep at it. One week later, review again and test yourself on your recall. This will tell you how effective your review is. A few weeks to a month later, review and test yourself again. Reviewing information three times should give you a good start at overcoming the Forgetting Curve. always keep in mind that recall isn’t just about doing well on tests. Much of the information you learn in college will be useful to you for years to come.
