Why some study methods work better than others
In 2013, a team of psychologists reviewed the research on ten techniques that students can use on their own and rated how useful each one was [1]. They looked at whether the benefits held across different learners, materials, kinds of test and real classrooms.
| Technique | What you do | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Practice testing (retrieval practice) | Recall from memory: flashcards, past questions, a blank page | High |
| Distributed practice (spacing) | Return to the same material on several days | High |
| Interleaved practice | Mix different kinds of problems in one session | Moderate |
| Elaborative interrogation | Ask yourself why a fact is true | Moderate |
| Self-explanation | Explain to yourself how each step or idea fits | Moderate |
| Summarising, highlighting, rereading, the keyword mnemonic, imagery for text | — | Low |
Step 1: Test yourself (retrieval practice)
In a classic experiment, students read short prose passages and then either reread them or tried to recall them, without feedback [2]. Five minutes later, the rereaders did better; two days and one week later, the students who had practised recalling remembered substantially more, even though rereading had made students more confident [2].
Meta-analyses that pool many studies agree. One found that practice tests led to better learning than restudying or any other comparison activity, although the size of the benefit depended on the kind of test, the learners and how the study was done [3]. Another found bigger benefits when the practice test asked people to recall the material than when it only asked them to recognise it [4]. So answering a flashcard before you turn it over, or writing everything you remember on a blank page, is likely to do more than a multiple-choice quiz.
Why does rereading feel so effective? A review of how people manage their own learning found that they often misjudge how well they have learned something, and that these judgements are swayed by how fluent the material feels at the time [5]. Smooth reading is not the same as being able to recall it later.
Step 2: Space it out
A meta-analysis of 317 experiments on verbal learning found that the gap between study sessions that gave the best retention grew with how long the information had to be remembered [6]. In practice, that means reviews spread over a few days for a quiz next week, and over weeks for a final exam months away.
The same pattern appears in language learning. Across 48 experiments with 3,411 learners, spacing second-language practice had a medium-to-large effect, and longer gaps did better on delayed tests [7]. Gaps that grew over time worked as well as equal gaps, but not better [7].
Step 3: Add interleaving, "why" questions and self-explanation
These three techniques were rated moderately useful [1]. The reviewers noted that elaborative interrogation and self-explanation had not been adequately tested in real classrooms, and that research on interleaving had only just begun, so their full value is not yet known [1].
- Interleaving. Instead of 20 problems of one type, mix problems from several topics. It can feel harder, because each problem makes you work out which method it needs. The evidence is strongest for maths and for learning to tell problem types apart [1].
- Elaborative interrogation. Ask "why is this true?" about each fact and answer it. It helped fact learning most when learners already knew something about the topic [1].
- Self-explanation. While you study a worked example or a text, explain to yourself why each step follows or how the new idea connects to what you know.
Step 4: Use a memory palace for ordered lists
The method of loci, or memory palace, uses a route you know well. You leave one vivid image at each stop, then walk the route in your mind to recall the items in order.
In a 1980 experiment with 150 undergraduates, people taught the method of loci or a peg system were best at recalling 20-word lists in the right order on an immediate test [8]. The mnemonics helped ordering more than they helped the number of words recalled [8]. In a 2017 training study, 51 young men with no mnemonic experience did six weeks of method-of-loci training (40 sessions of 30 minutes), n-back training, or no training [9]. The method-of-loci group improved its recall of 72-word lists significantly more than both other groups, and the advantage was still there four months later [9].
So a memory palace suits material you need in order: speech points, a sequence of events, the steps of a procedure. These studies tested word lists, not understanding of concepts. A related imagery technique for vocabulary, the keyword mnemonic, was rated low utility: it is hard to use in some contexts, and it seemed to help only with a limited range of materials and over short retention intervals [1].
Habits to replace: rereading and highlighting
Most students say they reread and highlight, yet the review found that these techniques do not consistently improve performance and recommended using others in their place, such as practice testing instead of rereading [1].
Reading once to understand is still necessary, and highlighting can mark what to turn into questions. The problem comes when you stop there.
A sample week with Recall Cards and Memory Palace
LaserMind has two free tools for these techniques.
Recall Cards are flashcards you write yourself. You see the question, answer it in your head first, then show the answer and rate how well you recalled it: Again, Hard, Good or Easy. Each card is scheduled with FSRS, an open-source spaced-repetition scheduler, so it comes back when your predicted chance of recalling it has fallen to about 90%. A card you get wrong comes back within the same sitting. Each session shows the cards that are due first, then up to ten new ones.
Memory Palace walks you through the method of loci. Pick a route (your home, your body, a classroom or office, or your own route of 5 to 20 places) and picture one item at each stop, making the image big, moving, odd or funny and touching the place. Then walk the route in your mind and type what is at each stop. You can ask to be tested on the same list again the next day.
Here is one way to combine everything in a week. The times are a starting point, not research findings. What research supports is the pattern: recall before you review, come back over several days, and mix topics.
| When | What to do | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Every day | Recall Cards: clear the due cards before adding new ones | 10–20 min |
| After each lecture or reading | Close your notes and write down what you remember. Check, then turn the gaps into a few new cards | 15 min |
| Two or three times a week | A mixed set of practice problems from different topics, explaining each step to yourself | 30–45 min |
| When a topic has an ordered list | Put it in a memory palace, walk it again later that day, and take the next-day test | 10 min |
| End of the week | A closed-book practice test on the whole week, then go through your mistakes | 30 min |
| Every night | Protect your sleep, especially before exams | — |
Common mistakes
- Showing the answer before trying. The effort of recalling seems to be part of why testing works [4].
- Rating cards too kindly. If you hesitated, don't press Easy. The schedule can only be as good as your ratings.
- Cards that ask for a paragraph. One fact per card, phrased as a question, is easier to check honestly.
- Cramming everything into the night before. Spreading the same study over several days is one of the two highest-rated techniques [1].
- Trading sleep for study time. Missing a night of sleep before learning harms memory for the new material [10].
What the research says
Try it on LaserMind
▶ Recall Cards (spaced repetition)Write ten cards from today's notes and answer each one before you look.
Try it on LaserMind
▶ Memory Palace BuilderPlace a list you need in order on a route you know, then walk it again tomorrow.
What research has not established
Many of these experiments used university students and fairly simple materials, such as word lists, word pairs, short texts and practice problems. Studies in real classrooms over a full course are fewer, and the 2013 review noted that elaborative interrogation and self-explanation had not been adequately evaluated in educational settings [1].
Benefits vary. In the practice-testing meta-analysis, the size of the effect depended on the test, the learners and the study design [3].
The six-week method-of-loci study included only young men, matched across groups on baseline ability, and measured recall of word lists [9]. Results may differ for other people and other materials.
We have not tested whether the FSRS schedule in Recall Cards gives better results than a simpler spacing schedule. Its 90% recall target is a design choice, not a research finding. Scores in LaserMind tools are compared only with your own history; they are not tests of your memory.
Frequently asked questions
How early before an exam should I start? As early as you can. The best gap between study sessions grows with how long you need to remember the material [6], so spread reviews for a final exam over weeks, not just the last few days.
Will a memory palace improve my memory in general? Research has not shown that. A major review of brain-training studies found extensive evidence for gains on the practised tasks, less for closely related tasks and little for everyday cognitive performance [11]. Practising memory palaces makes you better at using memory palaces.
What the research says
Last evidence check 2026-10-11Students who practised recalling a text remembered more of it a week later than students who re-read it, even though re-reading looked better after five minutes. Daily life [2]
A review of ten common study techniques rated practice testing as one of only two with high utility. Daily life [1]
Across hundreds of experiments, spreading study over time beat cramming it into one session for later recall; the best gap grows with how long you need to remember. Daily life [6]
The same review of study techniques rated distributed practice as the other high-utility technique. Daily life [1]
After six weeks of daily method-of-loci training, people new to it remembered far more words from a list, and the gain was still there four months later. Trained & similar tasks [9]
References
- Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., & Willingham, D. T. (2013). Improving students' learning with effective learning techniques. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1), 4–58. https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100612453266
- Roediger, H. L., & Karpicke, J. D. (2006). Test-enhanced learning: Taking memory tests improves long-term retention. Psychological Science, 17(3), 249–255. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01693.x
- Adesope, O. O., Trevisan, D. A., & Sundararajan, N. (2017). Rethinking the use of tests: A meta-analysis of practice testing. Review of Educational Research, 87(3), 659–701. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654316689306correction
- Rowland, C. A. (2014). The effect of testing versus restudy on retention: A meta-analytic review of the testing effect. Psychological Bulletin, 140(6), 1432–1463. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0037559
- Bjork, R. A., Dunlosky, J., & Kornell, N. (2013). Self-regulated learning: Beliefs, techniques, and illusions. Annual Review of Psychology, 64(1), 417–444. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-113011-143823
- Cepeda, N. J., Pashler, H., Vul, E., Wixted, J. T., & Rohrer, D. (2006). Distributed practice in verbal recall tasks: A review and quantitative synthesis. Psychological Bulletin, 132(3), 354–380. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.132.3.354
- Kim, S. K., & Webb, S. (2022). The effects of spaced practice on second language learning: A meta-analysis. Language Learning, 72(1), 269–319. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12479
- Roediger, H. L. (1980). The effectiveness of four mnemonics in ordering recall. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory, 6(5), 558–567. https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-7393.6.5.558
- Dresler, M., Shirer, W. R., Konrad, B. N., et al. (2017). Mnemonic training reshapes brain networks to support superior memory. Neuron, 93(5), 1227–1235.e6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2017.02.003
- Newbury, C. R., Crowley, R., Rastle, K., & Tamminen, J. (2021). Sleep deprivation and memory: Meta-analytic reviews of studies on sleep deprivation before and after learning. Psychological Bulletin, 147(11), 1215–1240. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000348
- Simons, D. J., Boot, W. R., Charness, N., Gathercole, S. E., Chabris, C. F., Hambrick, D. Z., & Stine-Morrow, E. A. L. (2016). Do "brain-training" programs work? Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 17(3), 103–186. https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100616661983