how to memorize long essays

How to memorise essays and long responses

Lauren Condon

Marketing Specialist at Atomi

When it comes to memorising essays or long responses for your exams, there are three big things to consider.

• Should you even try to memorise an essay?
• Do you know how to adapt your memorised response to the exam question?
• How on earth are you meant to memorise a 1,200 word essay??

It’s a lot to weigh up but we can help you out here. If you want an answer to the first question, here’s one we prepared earlier. But wait, there’s more! If you’re super keen to read more about question #2, then go ahead and click here .

And for that third point on how to actually memorise a long essay? Well, all you have to do is keep reading...

1. Break it down

Your essay/long response/creative writing piece could be anywhere between 800 and 1,200 words long. Yeah… that’s a lot. So when it comes to memorising the whole thing, it’s a lot easier to break the answer down into logical chunks and work on memorising it bit by bit.

So if you want to memorise your Discovery Essay, you might have something like this:

• Introduction
• Theme 1 with the assigned text
• Theme 1 with the related text
• Theme 2 with the assigned text
• Theme 2 with the related text

You’re going to want to memorise the paragraphs and pay attention to the structure then you can piece it all together in the exam. Having a killer structure makes it a lot easier to remember the overall bones of this situation and if you’re finding this effective, you can even break those body paragraphs down further like topic sentence > example > explanation > connection to thesis.

2. Use memory tricks

Now, there are lots of different strategies and approaches when it comes to memorising a long piece of writing. Moving in sections, you can try reading it out loud over again (slowly looking at the paper less and less) or the classic look-cover-write-check approach. If you’re really struggling, make some of your own flashcards that have the first sentence on one side and the next sentence on the back so you can test your progress.

You could also enlist the help of some creative mnemonics (memory tricks) to remind you which sentence or section needs to come next. Pick one keyword from each sentence in the paragraph and turn them into a silly sentence to help you remember the structure of the paragraph and to make sure you don’t forget one of your awesome points.

3. Play to your strengths

Not all of us are super geniuses that can just read an essay and then memorise the entire thing but we’re all going to have our own strengths. There’s going to be something whether it’s art, music, writing, performance or sport that just ‘clicks’ in your brain and this is what you want to capitalise on. So for me, I was really into debating and public speaking (hold back the jokes please) and was used to giving speeches and remembering them. So whenever I wanted to memorise a long response, I would write out the essay onto palm cards and then practice it out loud like a speech. Did it annoy my family? Yes. Was I too embarrassed to tell people my strategy? Yes. Did it work? Absolutely. 💯

Whatever your strengths are, find a way to connect them to your essay and come up with a creative way of learning your long response that will be much easier and more effective for you!

4. Start early

So you know how there’s that whole long-term/short-term memory divide? Yeah well that’s going to be pretty relevant when it comes to memorising. You’re going to have a much better chance of remembering your long response if you start early and practice it often, instead of trying to cram it in the night before… sorry.

The good news is, you still have a couple of months before the HSC so try to get your prepared response written, get good feedback from your teachers and then make it perfect so it’s ready to go for the HSC. Then, the next step is to start memorising the essay now and test yourself on it fairly regularly all the way up to your exams. This way, you have plenty of time to really lock it deep into your memory.

5. Test yourself

The final and maybe even most important step is to test yourself. And not with flashcards or the look-cover-check-repeat anymore. Once you’ve got the essay memorised pretty well, you want to spend the weeks coming up to HSC doing past questions so you can practice

• Having the essay memorised
• Being able to recall it under pressure
• Adapting it to any question so that all your hard work will actually pay off

For this to work, you really need to commit 100% to exam conditions (no cheating!) and it’s definitely worth sending those responses to your teacher to get them marked. That way, you will actually know if you’re doing a good job of remembering the core of your argument but also tailoring it perfectly to the question.

Any subject with essays or long responses can be super daunting so if you want to have a pre-written, adaptable response ready to go then it’s worth making sure you can actually memorise it for your exam. Remember to break down the essay into sections, play to your memory strengths and make sure you consistently test yourself all the way up to HSC. That should do the trick. 👌

Published on

July 28, 2017

Recommended reads

Strategies for using retrieval

The syllabus: your key to smashing your studies

Techniques to smash procrastination

What's atomi.

Engaging, curriculum-specific videos and interactive lessons backed by research, so you can study smarter, not harder.

With tens of thousands of practice questions and revision sessions, you won’t just think you’re ready. You’ll know you are!

Study skills strategies and tips, AI-powered revision recommendations and progress insights help you stay on track.

Short, curriculum-specific videos and interactive content that’s easy to understand and backed by the latest research.

Active recall quizzes, topic-based tests and exam practice enable students to build their skills and get immediate feedback.

Our AI understands each student's progress and makes intelligent recommendations based on their strengths and weaknesses.

Memorization Strategies

Many college courses require you to memorize mass amounts of information. Memorizing for one class can be difficult, but it can be even more frustrating when you have multiple classes. Many students feel like they simply do not have strong memory skills. Fortunately, though, memorizing is not just for an elite group of people born with the right skills—anyone can train and develop their memorizing abilities.

Competitive memorizers claim that practicing visualization techniques and using memory tricks enable them to remember large chunks of information quickly. Research shows that students who use memory tricks perform better than those who do not. Memory tricks help you expand your working memory and access long term memory. These techniques can also enable you to remember some concepts for years or even for life. Finally, memory tricks like these lead to understanding and higher order thinking . Keep reading for an introduction to effective memorization techniques that will help you in school.

Simple memory tips and tricks

In addition to visual and spatial memory techniques, there are many others tricks you can use to help your brain remember information. Here are some simple tips to try. Check out this video from the Learning Center for a quick explanation of many of these tips.

Try to understand the information first. Information that is organized and makes sense to you is easier to memorize. If you find that you don’t understand the material, spend some time on understanding it before trying to memorize it.

Link it. Connect the information you are trying to memorize to something that you already know. Material in isolation is more difficult to remember than material that is connected to other concepts. If you cannot think of a way to connect the information to something you already know, make up a crazy connection. For example, say you are trying to memorize the fact that water at sea level boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit, and 212 happens to be the first three digits of your best friend’s phone number. Link these two by imagining throwing your phone into a boiling ocean. It’s a crazy link, but it can help that fact to stick.

Sleep on it. Studies show that your brain processes and stores information while you sleep. Try to review information just before you go to sleep—even if it’s only for a few minutes—and see if it helps embed the information in your memory.

Self-test. Quiz yourself every so often by actively recalling the information you are trying to study. Make sure to actively quiz yourself—do not simply reread notes or a textbook. Often, students think they remember material just because it is familiar to them when they reread it. Instead, ask yourself questions and force yourself to remember it without looking at the answer or material. This will enable you to identify areas that you are struggling with; you can then go back to one of the memory tricks to help yourself memorize it. Also, avoid quizzing yourself immediately after trying to memorize something. Wait a few hours, or even a day or two, to see if it has really stuck in your memory.

Use distributed practice. For a concept to move from your temporary working memory to your long-term memory, two things need to happen: the concept should be memorable and it should be repeated . Use repetition to firmly lodge information in your memory. Repetition techniques can involve things like flash cards, using the simple tips in this section, and self-testing. Space out your studying and repetition over several days, and start to increase the time in between each study session. Spacing it out and gradually extending the times in between can help us become more certain of mastery and lock the concepts into place.

Write it out. Writing appears to help us more deeply encode information that we’re trying to learn because there is a direct connection between our hand and our brain. Try writing your notes by hand during a lecture or rewriting and reorganizing notes or information by hand after a lecture. While you are writing out a concept you want to remember, try to say the information out loud and visualize the concept as well.

Create meaningful groups. A good strategy for memorizing is to create meaningful groups that simplify the material. For example, let’s say you wanted to remember the names of four plants—garlic, rose, hawthorn, and mustard. The first letters abbreviate to GRHM, so you can connect that with the image of a GRAHAM cracker. Now all you need to do is remember to picture a graham cracker, and the names of the plants will be easier to recall.

Use mnemonics. Mnemonics are systems and tricks that make information for memorable. One common type is when the first letter of each word in a sentence is also the first letter of each word in a list that needs to be memorized. For example, many children learned the order of operations in math by using the sentence Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally (parentheses, exponents, multiply, divide, add, subtract). Check out Wikipedia for a good list of examples and ideas.

Talk to yourself. It may seem strange at first, but talking to yourself about the material you are trying to memorize can be an effective memory tool. Try speaking aloud instead of simply highlighting or rereading information.

Exercise! Seriously! Studies show that exercise can improve our memory and learning capabilities because it helps create neurons in areas that relate to memory. Cardio and resistance training (weights) both have powerful effects, so do what works best for you.

Practice interleaving. Interleaving is the idea of mixing or alternating skills or concepts that you want to memorize. For example, spend some time memorizing vocabulary words for your science class and then immediately switch to studying historical dates and names for your history class. Follow that up with practicing a few math problems, and then jump back to the science definitions. This method may seem confusing at first, but yields better results in the end than simply spending long periods of time on the same concept. Check out this video for more explanation on interleaving and other similar strategies.

Visual and spatial techniques

Visual and spatial techniques are memory tricks that involve your five senses. They utilize images, songs, feelings, and our bodies to help information stick. Humans have outstanding visual and spatial memory systems. When you use visual and spatial memory techniques, you use fun, memorable, and creative approaches rather than boring, rote memorization. This makes it easier to see, feel, or hear the things you want to remember. Visual and spatial techniques also free up your working memory. When you group things together, you enhance your long-term memory. Using visual and spatial techniques helps your mind focus and pay attention when your mind would rather wander to something else. They help you make what you learn meaningful, memorable, and fun.

The common practice of using your knuckles to remember the number of days in each month is a great example of an easy visual spatial technique to help you remember details.

Memorable visual images. The next time you have a key item you need to remember, try making a memorable visual image to represent that item. Images are important because they connect directly to your brain’s visuospatial centers. Images help you remember difficult concepts by tapping into visual areas. But you don’t just have to use images—the more of the five senses you can use, the easier it will be for you to recall information. Rather than just visualizing an image, try to smell , feel , and hear the image as well. For example, if you are trying to remember that the capital of Louisiana is Baton Rouge, draw up an image of a girl named Louise carrying a red baton.

The memory palace technique. This technique involves visualizing a familiar place—like the layout of your house or dorm room—and using it as a visual space where you can deposit concept-images that you want to remember. This technique can help with remembering unrelated items, like a grocery list. To use the memory palace technique, visualize your place (house or dorm room) and then imagine items from your grocery list in different areas around the place. For example, picture a cracked egg dripping off the edge of the table or a bushel of apples sitting on the couch. This technique can take some time to get used to, but once you do, the quicker and more effective it becomes. This Ted Talk explains memory palaces more.

Songs and jingles. Much like the memory palace and images, songs or jingles use your brain’s right hemisphere and can help us remember tricky things like equations and lists. There are already plenty of songs out there for things like the quadratic formula—try Googling what you are trying to remember to see if someone has already created a tune. If not, try making your own.

The five senses. Using as many of the five senses as possible when studying helps you use more parts of your brain and retain information better. For example, if studying for an anatomy exam, pick up the anatomy models, feel each part, and say the names of them out loud.

Lively visual metaphors or analogies. This can help you to not only remember but understand concepts, especially in math and science. A metaphor is a way of realizing that one thing is somehow similar to another. For example, think about the country of Syria as shaped like a bowl of cereal and the country Jordan as a Nike Air Jordan sneaker. Metaphors—especially visual ones—can stick with you for years. They help glue ideas in your mind because they make connections to neural structures that are already there.

Final thoughts

Some of these techniques can feel strange at first or take some time to develop. The more you practice them, the easier and more natural they become, and the more information you can commit to memory. Also, remember that you do not need to do every tip on this list. Experiment with a few and find which ones work for you.

Remember that you can make an appointment with an academic coach to discuss memory techniques, create a study plan, or talk through any other academic issue.

Check out some of the Learning Center’s resources on other effective study strategies:

• How to Succeed Academically at Carolina
• Metacognitive Study Strategies
• Strategic Test Prep

Works consulted

Brown, P., Roediger, H., and McDaniel, M. (2014). Make it stick. Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Foer, J. (2011). Moonwalking with Einstein: The art and science of remembering everything. New York: The Penguin Group.

Oakley, B. (2014). A Mind For Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science (Even If You Flunked Algebra) . New York: Penguin Group.

Robinson, A. (1993). What Smart Students Know . New York: Three Rivers Press.

If you enjoy using our handouts, we appreciate contributions of acknowledgement.

Make a Gift

36 Best Memory Techniques for Studying

Here is a list of memory techniques to help speed up your learning:

Tip: if you’re a beginner with memory improvement techniques, join our free online community and we’ll send you a ebook that shows you how to start training your brain like a memory champion. It’s free!

1. Memory Palaces

Made famous by the Sherlock TV show, the memory palace technique is one of the most important memory techniques. A memory palace is also known as a “ mind palace ”.

If you’ve ever heard of people who can memorize thousands of digits of pi or shuffled decks of cards, it’s likely that they are using the memory palace technique.

You can also use the memory palace technique to make studying easier.

Check out the method of loci page for an example of how to create your own memory palace in 5 minutes!

2. Mnemonic Image Method

A mnemonic image is a picture in your mind that represents a piece of information in the real world. You can link the mnemonic image with the thing you’re trying to remember in order to make it more memorable.

For most people it’s easier to remember mental pictures than words, so the linked mnemonic image helps the information stick in your brain more easily.

For example, if you need to remember that the Spanish word dormir means to sleep , you could picture a dorm room, because dorm sounds like dormir , and you can sleep in a dorm. The link between the word and the image will help you recall the word or meaning later.

To learn more about them, see our tutorial on how to create mnemonic images .

3. Names and Faces Techniques

There are several ways to memorize names and faces . One of the most common ways is to find a memorable feature on someone’s face.

Then use a mnemonic image (see above), to create a picture that represents their name.

For example, if you meet someone named Alan, you could picture an image of an Allen wrench (shown below), and imagine the wrench interacting with a feature on his face that stands out to you.

When you see the person again, you would notice the feature that stands out the most to you, and then try to recall the mnemonic image that you created. The mental picture of the Allan wrench would remind you that his name is Alan.

4. Test Yourself

Testing yourself on what you learn can help you remember it better.

Active recall is the process of actively trying to retrieve information from your memory. When you try to recall information from your mind, it makes the information stick better than if you just passively read the information.

In the book The Principles of Psychology , William James described it like this:

A curious peculiarity of our memory is that things are impressed better by active than by passive repetition. I mean that in learning (by heart, for example), when we almost know the piece, it pays better to wait and recollect by an effort from within, than to look at the book again. If we recover the words in the former way, we shall probably know them the next time; if in the latter way, we shall very likely need the book once more.”

Here’s an example of the difference between active recall and passive recall: with passive recall, you’re just reviewing the information by repetitively looking at your notes. Re-reading your notes can help, but trying to recall the information from your own memory is far more effective for long-term memory.

To use the active recall technique while studying, you could create test questions as you take your notes. For example, if you’re studying JavaScript data types , you could write down the question “What are the 8 basic data types in JavaScript?“. Then put your notes away and look at the questions you’ve written down. See if you can answer them without looking at your notes. If you can’t remember some of the items, no problem — look at your notes, and then try the active recall again later.

Basic active recall can also be combined with other techniques like spaced repetition and the Feynman Technique (see below).

5. The Feynman Technique

This study technique appears under several names, but it is often referred to as the Feynman Technique due to the popularity of a book called Ultralearning .

This is an essential technique for any serious student, and it’s simple to do.

After you read a little bit of your book, or study a little bit of your course, stop for a moment and pretend to teach the material to an imaginary student. Alternatively, you can write down the material in your notes as if you were teaching somebody else.

Forcing yourself to put the material into your own words helps you lock the information into your brain and make sure that you understand it completely before moving on.

Learning by “teaching” is one of the most important memory techniques, so definitely give it a try!

6. Sleep on It

Getting a good night’s sleep can help with memory , and there’s an extra trick you can use to boost that effect ever further.

Every night before you go to sleep, do a bit of studying. Several studies have shown that studying right before you sleep can help with remembering the material :

At the 24-hour retest, with all subjects having received both a full night of sleep and a full day of wakefulness, subjects’ memories were superior when sleep occurred shortly after learning, rather than following a full day of wakefulness.

7. Alphabet Pegs

If you already know how to say the alphabet in order, you can use that ability to remember long lists of other information, using a technique called the Alphabet Peg System .

First, make a list of the letters in the alphabet and think of an animal that begins with that letter. Here’s an example for the beginning of the alphabet:

• A — A lligator

Then make a list of the facts that you want to memorize, for example, the periodic table of elements. Create a mnemonic image for each item in the list, like this:

• Hydrogen — water is H2O, so you could imagine that “water” represents the fact “hydrogen”
• Helium — a helium-filled balloon
• Lithium — a battery
• Beryllium — a berry, because “berry” sounds kind of like “beryllium”

To memorize the elements, create a mental picture that links each item from one list with the corresponding item and the other list.

• An alligator is swimming in water
• A bear is holding some balloons and is floating away into the sky
• A battery -powered cow
• A duck is eating a berry

Review your images a few times, and then recall the list by walking through the alphabet letters (A, B, C, D, etc.), thinking of the corresponding animal, remembering what the animal was doing, and then turning the mnemonic images back into the chemical elements.

You can create as many alphabet peg list as you want, using different animals, fruits, vegetables, peoples names, or anything else that can be linked with the letters.

If you’re going to memorize a list with more than 26 items (like the periodic table), it may be easier to use a memory palace or number pegs.

8. Number Pegs

After you learn alphabet pegs (above), try learning how to use Number Pegs .

To make a simple number peg system, create a mnemonic image for each number from 1 to 10. For example, you could use pictures that rhyme with the numbers:

• ONE rhymes with GUN .
• TWO rhymes with SHOE .
• THREE rhymes with TREE .

Once you have created the pegs, then make a list out of the facts you want to memorize. For example, you could memorize a shopping list:

Now link each item from the two lists together:

• Imagine shooting a loaf of bread with a GUN .
• Imagine putting an apple in your SHOE .
• Imagine shaking a TREE and having cabbages fall out.

When you get to the grocery store, you can recall the items by counting the numbers:

• What rhymes with ONE ? The answer is GUN . What was the gun doing? Shooting a loaf of BREAD .
• What rhymes with TWO ? The answer is SHOE . What happened with your shoe? You were putting an APPLE in it.
• What rhymes with THREE ? The answer is TREE . What happened when you shook the tree? CABBAGES fell out.

There are many ways to expand on this technique, which you can learn about by creating a free account on this site.

9. Other Peg List Systems

You can make a peg list out of any information that you know in order. You probably know the months in order, so you could create an image for each month like this (adjust for your local climate):

• January — snow
• February — freezing rain
• March — bird singing
• April — spring showers

To memorize facts with the list, attach your mnemonic image of the fact to the mnemonic image for the month. Then, to recall the facts, walk through the months in order, and convert all the images back to facts.

Also check out Simon’s peg list images for a kind of alphabet peg system that uses actions that can be applied to each fact that you want to memorize.

A peg list can be made from any list of facts that you might know in order: days of the week, zodiac signs, TV/movie/book series titles, and more. The only limit is your imagination.

10. Chunking

Chunking is a mnemonic technique where you break up the information you want to memorize into smaller chunks.

You can see an example of this in the telephone numbers of many countries. For example, in the United States, phone numbers are chunked in groups of 3, 3, and 4 like this:

• 555-555-1212

This makes phone numbers much easier to remember than if they were written as a 10-digit number like “5555551212”.

Whenever you see an overwhelming amount of information that you have to learn, try breaking it into chunks. The chunks can be grouped by their order, by category, or in whatever way makes sense to you.

11. Lanier Verbatim Memory System

The Lanier Verbatim Memory System is a complex memory technique for memorizing text word-for-word.

It requires knowledge of several other memory techniques and is not for the faint of heart. Even if you never end up using it, the design of the system is quite interesting.

12. Story Method

Creating a story out of information can make it memorable. To use this technique, put all of the information that you want to memorize into a list, and then link the items together by creating a story about them. You can exaggerate the story to make it more memorable.

This technique can be especially useful when combined with other techniques like memory palaces.

13. Memory Boards

A memory board is a kind of mnemonic device that is kind of like a memory palace on a board. You can make them with various materials like wood, beads, and shells. Each item on the board can represent a location in the memory space, and you can mentally walk through the memory space (just like with a mind palace) to recall the information.

A great way to learn about memory boards is to read the book Memory Craft by Lynne Kelly.

The photo below shows a lukasa — a type of memory board used by the Luba people in Central Africa.

14. Acronyms

To create an acronym take the first letter of each thing you want to memorize, and combine the letters together into a word.

For example, the colors of the rainbow are traditionally described as:

Combining the first letters from each color into a word gives you the made-up name: Roy G. Biv. If you can remember “Roy G. Biv”, then you can convert the letters back into colors to remember the order.

15. Acrostic Mnemonics

An acrostic mnemonic is a phrase or poem that represents the facts you want to remember.

Acrostics are commonly used by medical students, for example to create mnemonics for tarsal bones .

Here’s an example of an acrostic mnemonic:

• “ O ld P eople F rom T exas E at S piders”

The first letter of each word there can remind you of the cranial bones:

The difference between an acronym and an acrostic is that an acronym spells out a word (like “ ROY G. BIV ”, explained in the acronyms section), and an acrostic is more like a poem or phrase where the first letters represent facts. An example of an acrostic for the colors of the rainbow is “ R ichard O f Y ork G ave B attle I n V ain”.

16. Number Rhyme System

A number rhyme system involves finding a word that rhymes with each number (usually from 0 to 9). We already saw a quick example of it in the peg list section above.

Because pictures are much easier to remember than numbers, you can chain those pictures together with the story method to remember the digits.

Here are some examples of how to creating number rhymes for digits:

• ONE rhymes with GUN
• TWO rhymes with SHOE
• THREE rhymes with TREE
• FOUR rhymes with DOOR

If you want to remember the number 4314, you could convert the digits into their rhyming pictures like this:

Then create a story (story method) to keep them in order: a giant DOOR falls on a TREE , knocking it onto a GUN , which fires at another DOOR , destroying it.

This only works for short numbers, but the technique is easy to use. If you want to memorize longer numbers, keep reading to learn more about advanced number memorization systems.

17. Number Shape System

A number shape system is similar to a number rhyme system, but instead of creating mnemonic images based on rhymes, you create them by finding pictures that look like the digits.

Here’s an example:

• The digit 1 looks like a CANDLE .
• The digit 2 looks kind of like a SNAKE about to strike.
• The digit 3 looks like the folded wings of a BUTTERFLY .
• The digit 4 looks kind of like a FLAG .

Once you have pictures for each digit, you can use them as a peg list or as a way to remember numbers in the same was as with the number rhyme system.

18. Shaper System

You can take number shapes to the next level by using the Shaper System .

In the Shaper System, you convert every 2-digit number (00-99) into a picture that looks like the number. The pictures make it easier to remember the numbers, especially if you place the pictures into a mind palace.

Here are some examples of Shaper System images:

• 00 looks like two eggs
• 10 looks like a stick and drum
• 20 looks kind of like a snail
• 78 looks kind of like a shopping cart , if you put the 8 on the ground

Check out this page for a full list of example images.

19. Spaced Repetition

Spaced repetition is a simple technique that you can use to remember things better. To use spaced repetition, you review the information that you’re trying to memorize at increasing intervals.

For example, after learning some new material, you might create a review schedule like this:

• immediately after memorizing it
• before going to sleep
• 1 day later
• again before going to sleep
• 1 week later
• 3 weeks later
• 2 months later
• 6 months later
• 2 years later

The increasing intervals will help you maintain the information in your memory. You can experiment with intervals to see what kind of spacing works best for you.

We also offer memory palace software that automatically schedules the spaced repetition for you.

20. 2-Digit Consonant Vowel System

A 2-digit consonant-vowel system is a variation on an idea from the Ben System.

In the Ben System, 3-digit numbers are given a 1-syllable pronunciation by converting the digits into a consonant-vowel-consonant pattern.

A 2-digit consonant-vowel system is similar but it’s designed for 2-digit numbers. The first digit gets translated into a consonant, and the second digit becomes a vowel.

Here’s a sample translation table:

Note: the digits represent sounds, not letters . This is a common source of confusion, especially for English speakers. The English alphabet isn’t consistent and one letter can have many different sounds, but in these kinds of consonant-based memory systems, the digits represent exact, specific sounds, not letters. That’s why the vowels are written with uppercase letters. They aren’t English letters, but are symbols that represent exact vowel sounds.

Here’s an example of how to create mnemonic images for numbers using this kind of system.

• 03 — The first digit becomes a consonant. Looking at the table above, it’s an “s or z”. The second digit becomes a vowel. The table says that 3 is an “AA” sound like in the word “cat”. To find an image, think of a word that start with the sound “SAA…“. The first word I think of is “satellite”, so my image for 03 is the satellite, Sputnik 1.
• 86 — Looking at the table, an 8 in the consonant position becomes an “f or v”. The 6 in the vowel position is an “IH” sound like in the word “six”. That makes the sound “FIH”. “Fiddle” or “fitness instructor” would be a good fit. In my system, I use “fiddlehead fern”.

To complete the system, create a fixed image for each number from 00 to 99. You can then use your system to memorize numbers of any length.

21. Major System

The Major System is a classic technique for memorize long numbers.

In the Major System, each digit is given the sound of a consonant, and then a word is created from the consonants.

For example, the digit 2 becomes an “n”. To make a mnemonic image for the number 22, you would find a word that has “n” as the first two consonant sounds. The word “o N io N ” would be a good fit.

Another example: the number 2 in “n” and 0 is and “s” or “z” sound. So the number 20 could be converted into the word “ei NS tein”, because the first two consonant sounds in Einstein are “n” and “s”.

After you have fixed images for all the numbers betwee 00 and 99, you can then memorize numbers of any length by placing the images into a memory palace!

22. Mnemotechnic Words

The Mnemotechnic Words technique builds on the Major System to make it useful for memorizing things like historic dates.

In this system you’ll create Major System images on the spot to memorize facts like historical dates.

Start with an event that you want to remember, like “the founding of Rome”. Then take the date (753 BCE) and create an image from it using the Major System (or other number conversion method). Try to pick a word that can be easily linked with the fact. 753 in the Major System could be the world “ C o L u M n”, and Rome has a lot of architectural columns, so it fits well.

Now you have the name of the event (“the founding of Rome”), and a mnemonic image that represents the year (“ C o L u M n”). The next step is to link them together with a memorable phrase or idea.

It’s easy to link “Rome” with “column” — you might come up with a phrase like “Rome was founded on columns.” To recall the date, you just need to recall the phrase and convert the word “ C o L u M n” back into a date using the Major System (or whatever number system you used to encode the date): 753.

23. Group Compression

When you have to remember lists that have lots of repeated information, you can combine the items that have similarities and just memorize the differences. This compresses the data and reduces the number of facts that you have to memorize.

Here’s an example that uses patterns in a list of data. It’s a sleep log that contains a lot of repeated information:

You don’t need to remember eight pairs of words. First, determine the number of states. In this case, the number of states is two: “good sleep” and “bad sleep”. Count the number in each group like this:

Now you only need to memorize the names of the two states and the number 23211 (easy to do with a technique like the Major System), and you’ve losslessly memorized the information without as much effort. This is an exaggerated example, but the basic concept is useful whenever you see lists of information that have repeated values.

Here’s another example using a list of triggers from a programming language:

• before insert
• before update
• before delete
• after insert
• after update
• after delete
• after undelete

At first glance, it looks like seven items to memorize, but if you look closer there are patterns:

• There are only two kinds of triggers: before and after .
• Each type of trigger has three actions: insert , update , and delete .
• There is also an action called undelete , which can only happen in the after type of trigger.

So now you can remember the list by realizing that triggers happen either before or after something else. They relate to the mutating actions of a basic CRUD pattern ( C reate, R ead, U pdate, D elete). There’s just one item in the list that doesn’t fit the pattern, which is undelete , and it only appears in the after group.

Identifiying the patterns might be all you need to do to remember the information, but you can also supplement this method with another technique like a peg list or memory palace.

For another example, see the Memory Town section of this page.

24. Dominic System

The Dominic System is similiar to the Major System, but instead of turning digits into consonants, you turn them into letters which then become the initials of people.

The digits get translated into letters like this:

Here are some examples of turning 2-digit numbers into mnemonic images:

• 02 — looking at the table, the digit 0 becomes the letter O and the digit 2 becomes the letter B. The initials, O.B., could stand for Obi-Wan Kenobi.
• 16 — 1 would become A, and 6 would become S. The initials A.S. could become an image of Arnold Schwarzenegger.

25. PAO System

The legendary person-action-object (PAO) system , is a method of reducing the repeated images when memorizing very long numbers.

In a PAO system, each number gets a person, an action, and an object. Most people work with 2-digit numbers, so a PAO group would be six digits (two for the person, two for the action, and two for the object).

Here’s a table of three sample Dominic System numbers that are prepared for the PAO system.

If you come across the number 321615, you would chunk it in groups of two like 32-16-15. Then choose the person for the first 2-digit number, the action for the second 2-digit number, and the object for the third 2-person number.

Looking at the table above, 32-16-15 would be converted to images like this:

• 32 becomes a person: Charlie Brown
• 16 becomes an action: lifting
• 15 becomes an object: blackboard

The compound PAO image that gets placed into the memory palace location is “Charlie brown lifting a blackboard”. It represents the six-digit number 321615.

Using the table above, see if you can figure out what the PAO image would be for the number 153216. Write down your answer and then scroll to the bottom of this page to check the answer. 1

Here’s a video that explains in detail how the systems work together:

26. Shadow System

The Shadow System is an advanced technique for memorizing cards that encodes card pairs as images but requires fewer images than the 2-card Ben System.

27. SMASHIN’ SCOPE

SMASHIN’ SCOPE is an acronym that helps you think of ways to create mnemonics. Examples: synesthesia , movement, symbolism, color, order, exaggeration, etc.

28. SEM Cubed

The SEM Cubed method for creating 10,000 pegs by combining a 10x10 grid of cells with Major System images. See this discussion for some links to detailed descriptions of the technique.

29. Ben System

The Ben System is one of the great innovations in modern memory techniques. Many top memory athletes use the Ben System.

It’s similar to the Major System in some ways but uses a consonant-vowel-consonant pattern, which has some advantages over all consonants. Instead of having one mnemonic image per card, it combines two cards for each image, compressing the data into fewer memory palace locations, and reducing the number of repeating images.

30. 10,000-Image Number System

Most mental athletes have number systems with 100 images (2-digit system) or 1,000 images (3-digit system), but there are at least a couple of people who have created 10,000-image number systems (4-digit system).

A 10,000-image number system is extremely difficult to create and use, but if you want to try it, check out the link above!

31. Association System for Numbers

The Association System for Numbers is an alternative to number systems like the Major System and Dominic System. Instead of assigning sounds or letters to digits, you can associate the number with some arbitrary association.

For example, the number 05 could be a starfish because a starfish has 5 arms. The number 25 might be a Christmas present, because Christmas is on December 25th. 41 could be Mozart, because Mozart wrote “41 symphonies”. As long as the associations make sense to you, they should work.

32. Five Binary Number Systems

There are at least five techniques for memorizing binary numbers .

• The 8-letter method where every three binary digits are converted into a letter. The letter is then turned into a picture, which is easier to remember than the random digits.
• Gary Lanier’s method, which turns binary numbers into pictures that look like the numbers. For example, the number 010 looks kind of like a cannon with two wheels. (See the photograph of the cannon below.)
• A number conversion system converts the binary numbers into decimal numbers and then uses a decimal number memorization system like the Major System to encode the number as images.
• The binary grids system arranges the numbers in 3x3 grids. Each row becomes a 1-digit decimal number, and the results of those three rows become a 3-digit decimal number. Once you have it converted to a 3-digit decimal number, you can memorize it with any 3-digit number system.
• The Ben System also has its own way of memorizing binary numbers by chunking them in 10s and then again into groups of 4, 3, and 3. This is probably the most complex way to memorize binary numbers, but it compresses the most digits into in each mnemonic image.

33. Memory Town System

The Memory Town System was created by 8x World Memory Champion, Dominic O’Brien. It expands on the basic memory palace method.

With a memory town, your memory palace becomes an entire town. When you create mnemonics for words, you can place the images in their relevant spots in the town. For example, the images for food nouns could go in a supermarket, the images for verbs could go in a park or stadium, and the adjectives could go in a shopping mall. You can design the layout of the town according to the data you’re trying to memorize.

A clever part about the memory town idea is that you can separate the words into different parts of town, for example, by word gender. A masculine food would go in one supermarket, and a feminine food would go in a different supermarket. You would be able to determine the gender of the noun by which supermarket it’s in.

The memory town system is a type of group compression system where information about groups of things (e.g., nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs) is encoded by their positions within a larger memory palace.

34. Repetition with Rhythm

Giving a sentence a rhythm, or arranging it to have meter, and then repeating it can help with memorization.

35. Rhyming

Rhyming can help with memorization, especially when combined with rhythm and meter. Older poetry relied heavily on rhymes and meter, which helped with memorization, especially in times when paper didn’t exist or wasn’t abundant.

36. Singing and Music

You can take the ideas of rhythm, meter, and rhyme even further and turn the material into music. The music can be a short melodic line or an entire song.

The Element Song by Tom Lehrer is a great example of taking that technique to a high level.

Where to Go Next

Ready to learn more? Create a free account and begin your memory journey!

1 Here is the answer to the quiz question in the PAO System section above: the number 153216 would be “Albert Einstein tripping over weights”. Did you get it right?

Memory Palace Guide

Learn more about how to use memory palaces.

• How to Build a Memory Palace 🔥
• Learn How to Use Sherlock's Mind Palace 🔥
• How to Create Virtual Memory Palaces 🔥
• Books About Memory Palaces
• How to Reuse Memory Palaces
• List of Memory Techniques for Studying
• How to Use Spaced Repetition
• How to Use the Method of Loci
• Advanced Memory Palace Tips
• Memorize Numbers with a Memory Palace
• Memory Palace for Language Learning
• Simonides of Ceos and the Method of Loci

Feedback and Comments

What did you think about this article? Do you have any questions, or is there anything that could be improved? We would love to hear from you! You can leave a comment after clicking on a face below.

• ALL ARTICLES
• How To Study Effectively
• Motivation & Stress
• Smarter Study Habits
• Memorise Faster
• Ace The Exam
• Write Better Essays
• Easiest AP Classes Ranked
• Outsmart Your Exams
• Outsmart Your Studies
• Recommended Reads
• For Your Students: Revision Workshops
• For Your Teaching Staff: Memory Science CPD
• Our Research: The Revision Census
• All Courses & Resources
• For School Students and Their Parents
• For University Students
• For Professionals Taking Exams
• Study Smarter Network
• Testimonials

BEST Memorisation Techniques For Exams: The Secret Science Of How To Remember What You Study

by William Wadsworth | Last updated Aug 14, 2023 | First published on Feb 28, 2019 | 20 comments

by William Wadsworth

The Cambridge-educated memory psychologist & study coach on a mission to help YOU ace your exams . Helping half a million students in 175+ countries every year to study smarter, not harder. Supercharge your studies today with our time-saving, grade-boosting “genius” study tips sheet .

Pretty recently – the last decade or so – scientists have reached broad agreement that there is one memorisation technique for exams and tests that, above all others, will solve the age-old question of how to remember what you study.

Before I tell you what the technique is, I was shocked to learn that as few as 7% of college-level students (and possibly even fewer students at high school) say they are using this technique as their main revision strategy.

So what’s the technique?

It’s called “ retrieval practice ”, and it’s based on the act of trying to pull information out of your memory.

It seems counter-intuitive at first that trying to remember something helps you to learn it, but you’ll be astonished at how powerful this strategy can be for getting information locked away in memory, ready for when you need it.

Read on to discover:

• how retrieval practice works
• why it’s so useful
• and precisely how you should be using retrieval practice memorisation techniques to prepare for exams – including some common mistakes people often make when applying it.

What is “retrieval practice” and how can it help you to remember what you study?

When psychologists talk about “retrieving” something from memory, they mean recalling it, or remembering it. So “retrieval practice” just means practising remembering a piece of information you previously read, heard or saw.

A common misunderstanding – one I held myself for many years when studying for exams in high school – is that testing yourself on what you know only serves to “check” how much you know at that point, i.e. it won’t help you actually learn information.

We now know that’s not true.

A gigantic review of hundreds of studies testing how well various memorisation techniques prepared students for exams or tests concluded that, above all other techniques, retrieval practice (or “practice testing” as the review called it) was the most powerful.

The results from many of these studies were astonishing: students often improved by a whole grade (or more!) when learning using retrieval practice.

Part of the problem is that our own intuitions as students about what learning techniques are working for us are often flawed.

I highly recommend you take a look at a guest post I’ve written for my friends at Titanium Tutors, where I explain a fascinating experiment that beautifully demonstrates how our intuitions often lead to us making bad decisions about how to revise – and what we can do about it.

Benefits of using retrieval practice to learn for exams, and how it helps you to learn information

Retrieval practice works in a number of ways:

• Helps you lock information into memory: the very act of pulling a piece of information out of your memory means you can remember it more easily later on.
• Helps you find the gaps in your knowledge: by testing yourself, you’ll have a better idea of what you know and where you need to do more work.
• Helps you apply information to new contexts: it’s not just about learning the facts, studying using retrieval practice makes it more likely that you will be able to figure out unfamiliar problems based on what you know, make leaps of intuition, and apply knowledge in new ways. These are all skills often demanded by the questions that unlock top marks in exams.

The first of these is probably the most important of these effects, but also the most surprising: it can seem strange at first that simply trying to remember something will strengthen your memory of that information, making it easier to remember it later.

But think of it like this: a big chunk of success in most exams comes down to simply being able to remember the information from your course. In other words, the exam tests your memory of what you learned.

Let me give you an analogy. If you’re training for the Olympics, you’ll train for your chosen sport first and foremost by practising that sport .

For example:

If you’re a long jumper, your most important training will be practising jumping.

But if you’re a weightlifter, your most important training will be practising lifting weights.

And if you’re a 100m runner, your most important training will be practising sprinting.

So given that, if you’re a student preparing for exams that are largely tests of memory, your most important training should be practising remembering information .

Sure, you’ll need to do other things too – the runner will need to spend time in the gym doing leg exercises, and the student will need to spend time (re-)reading unfamiliar material, or working on their exam technique, or how they structure their essays. But the focus for getting knowledge under your belt and into your memory should be retrieval practice.

I often say to my more sporty students that the moment in which you’re trying to remember a fact is the “rep” (a “rep” is a single component of an exercise that makes you stronger – a single press-up, a single bicep curl, or a single pull-up in a set).

Fascinatingly, whether you succeed in pulling the fact you’re searching for out of your memory or not, you’ll still have done some good !

How to memorise for exams with retrieval practice strategies

So how to apply all of this when studying?

Here are some of my favourite retrieval practice based memorisation techniques for exams and tests you can start using today:

• Write what you know from memory on a blank sheet: a plain sheet of paper is a very under-rated study tool! Put your books away, then scribble down everything you can remember about a topic. After you’ve squeezed out as much as you can from memory, you might like to go back and add in any missing details in a different coloured pen. Next time you train yourself on this topic, aim to have fewer missing details – until you have none at all come the week before the exam!
• Draw concept maps from memory: a slightly more sophisticated variant on the “blank sheet” method is drawing concept maps based on what you know of a topic. A concept map links ideas together visually, putting ideas in boxes, and linking them together with arrows to show how they relate. Unlike mind maps, they are quick to draw, placing more importance on getting the right information down on the page, with a sensible structure around it, rather than spending too long making the final result sumptuously beautiful (I know it’s fun… but you’re not going to be graded on your artwork at the end of the day! Unless you’re studying Art, of course…) Here’s an example of a concept map summarising what you might need to know about rates of reaction in chemistry:

Got stuck sequencing my GCSE rates lessons until I made a concept map inspired by @Mr_Raichura ’s #CogSciSci talk. It works! pic.twitter.com/a7oRW1IueW — Elizabeth Mountstevens (@DrMountstevens) August 18, 2018

• Practice questions: Work through exercises from your text book or revision guide. Answer real exam questions. Or even make up your own quiz questions – I know some students who like to revise by first reading through their notes, making a list of their own “quiz questions” they know they will need to be able to answer to prove they know that topic properly. Then they put their notes away, and take the quiz.
• Train with flash cards: start by making them, and then use them! Flash cards are my favourite way to learn large amounts of information quickly, and through long experience (both my own, and coaching students), there are some very specific steps you need to take to get the most out of studying with flash cards.

Psst… why not grab a free copy of my “science of learning cheat sheet”, which includes a deep-dive “DOs and DONTs” to get the most out of retrieval practice techniques like flash cards:

Free: Exam Success Cheat Sheet

My Top 6 Strategies To Study Smarter and Ace Your Exams

Privacy protected because life’s too short for spam. Unsubcribe anytime.

Whichever of these techniques you’re using, keep your notes away until you’ve had a good try at remembering. Then you can check your notes (or the mark scheme, if you’re doing past exam questions) and give yourself feedback on where you went wrong.

This feedback step, understanding where you missed things or slipped up, is a very important part of the overall learning process, so don’t skimp on it.

If you find you can’t reliably remember a particular aspect of a topic, you’ll know to prioritise giving that issue some extra time until you have it nailed.

Don’t make these mistakes when using retrieval practice

Even the best memory techniques in the world won’t work properly if not applied correctly. Some traps to avoid when you’re using retrieval practice techniques in your studies:

1. Some difficulty is good, but if it’s too hard, make it easier…

If you can barely remember anything in a topic, no matter how hard you try, you probably need to back up a step.

Going back and re-reading your notes at this point is OK, and if you’re struggling to go from re-reading to remembering at least a good chunk of what you’ve just read, you need to break it up into smaller chunks.

Take what you’re trying to learn one segment at a time, get comfortable retrieving each segment on its own, then start to string them together.

Or for tricky memory jobs, try using intermediate prompts as “stepping stones” to jog your memory while also giving it space to do at least some retrieval practice. 

Here are a few fun and creative ideas for how you could use “stepping stones” in practice, to build up gradually to remembering the whole thing from scratch. The video is about remembering English literature quotes (hard!), but some of the ideas here could easily be applied to other subjects, from recalling maths formulas to learning anatomical terms:

2. But if it’s too easy, you need to make it harder

On the other hand, if you break something up so small that it becomes trivial to remember, you’re not giving yourself enough of a memory workout and the benefits will be limited.

Say you’re trying to learn the formula for a chemical compound – you could learn it one atom at a time, and test yourself on each atom in the seconds after looking at it. With such small amounts of information and no delay before trying to remember it, you won’t even break a sweat as you recall each atom perfectly – but what you’ve learned won’t stick in memory for long.

So if it feels too easy, try going for larger chunks of knowledge, or leaving more of a gap between re-reading information and doing retrieval practice on it.

3. Don’t let yourself get away with not fully knowing something!

Let’s say you’re working with flashcards. You might feel like you almost knew it, flip the card, find something familiar, and say “ah yes, I did know that”.

But beware! You didn’t, did you?

Train with discipline: give yourself a good moment to rummage through your brain for the information, and if it’s not there, note it down as a missed effort and come back to it again.

Remember, even failing to remember something is useful memory training as long as you gave it a good try!

Though obviously your goal is to succeed in remembering things, so pay special attention to the things you couldn’t remember at the end of the session, and in your review at the end of the day.

4. Remembering something once doesn’t prove you’ll know it forever

Just because you know it today, doesn’t mean you’ll remember it tomorrow, or next week. Some scientists recommend aiming for at least 3 successful retrieval attempts before deciding you “know” something – though you might need more, depending on how long you’ve got before your exam, and how complex the information is.

5. If you’re trying to remember something complex, write it down

If you’re trying to remember a long formula, big number, quote, list, or diagram, you won’t be able to hold it all in your brain at once.

Say you need to remember a list of 7 factors.

By the time you’re trying to remember the sixth item, you can’t be sure whether you’re remembering a sixth that you hadn’t already thought of, or whether you’re actually just re-listing one of the items you’d already come up with!

So get the component parts out of your head and down on a sheet of paper as you think of them, so your memory is freed up to focus on remembering the missing information, and you can be certain you’ve got it all.

At first, retrieval practice won’t feel like the easiest way to memorise for exams, but stick with it!

You’re in elite study territory now: any student that decides to apply all of this properly will have a massive head-start on their peers when it comes to learning information for their exams.

Retrieval practice is incredibly powerful, but, let’s be honest, trying to pull information out of your brain is going to feel like harder work than just sitting back and re-reading your notes again!

A lot of students feel they prefer other ways to study for your exams: re-reading, highlighting, making notes or summarising are all very popular choices.

But here’s the thing:

Our own intuitions about what study techniques work best are really bad! Studies have repeatedly shown that “feel good” study methods that students like best (probably because they don’t take quite so much effort!) are having relatively small benefits, comparing to slightly more effortful but much more effective memorisation techniques for exams like retrieval practice.

Trust the science, and give it a go: you will be astonished at the results!

Ooooh, and just before you go… don’t leave without your copy of my “Science of Learning Cheat Sheet”: my four all-time fave strategies for studying smarter. Retrieval practice is absolutely on the list – but make sure you check out the other techniques too!

The Science Of Studying Smart

Download my free exam success cheat sheet: all my #1 must-know strategies to supercharge your learning today.

Your privacy protected. No spam. Unsubscribe any time.

• Latest Posts

• Managing Stress for Students – with Heather Lillico [PODCAST]
• Avoiding Burnout for Students – with Hannah Tackett [PODCAST]
• Test Taking Anxiety – with Dr Wallace & Dr Artyom [PODCAST]

20 Comments

thank you . this very useful for to study for my exam

Thanks for stopping by, so glad to help! Wishing you every success in the exam, you’ve got this 😀

– William

This is an interesting and informative post on memorization techniques that can help students remember what they study during exams. It’s great to know about the science behind effective memory retention, and I look forward to learning more from this article.

How do you do the method on a day before your exam?

How can I remember what I read on the day of exam

1. Re. how to do the methods the day before an exam – it’s exactly the same. You might also like to check out my guide to exam-week / test-taking technique https://geni.us/exams .

2. Re. how to remember what you read on the day of the exam: “READ” is the key word that jumped out at me here! If all you’re doing is reading, it’s really hard to remember. Check out more effective study methods at https://examstudyexpert.com/how-to-study-effectively/

Am definitely trying out the retrieval practice cos am about to write an exam

Brilliant – good luck with it! It will probably feel hard at first – that feeling is the feeling of your memory building, keep going 🙂

Thanks for this enlightening . It really open my understanding to some things that u have been doing that are actually mKingm my brain weaker

Okay, this is seriously the first time I actually really enjoyed what I was reading and continued it till the end (considering English is not my mother language and I normally get tired and bored pretty fast). I also listened to one of your podcasts. Your content is really fascinating and helpful. Thank you.

That’s lovely feedback – thank you so much for sharing, Florentina. I hope you’re finding some useful ideas – anything else we can do to support, just let me know!

This was one of the first articles I read from this website – and I’m so glad I did! Tried and tested these tips myself and they work wonders – smart studying is the way to go 🙂

This is one of the most incredible blogs I’ve read in a very long time. The amount of information here is stunning. Great stuff; please keep it up!

I’ve been using retrieval practice for several years, after reading about it in a book by researchers in the field. Some other things that are necessary: 1. Retrieval practice is great for improving factual information for factual exams, but is less helpful for exams that require applying remembered knowledge to new situations. The main issue here is that students need to do more than just remember things, they need to apply that knowledge. So: 2. Practice applying remembered information to new situations. 3. When doing “brain dumps” or “mind maps” filling in the missing information is important, but students should also _correct_ their mistakes. 4. A related method that I use: write questions in the margins of lecture notes and Powerpoint slides related to the information in the slide. 5. After reading the slide, and writing and reading back the question, ask yourself to answer the question. And, ask your, “What did I just learn in this slide (or paragraph or abstract or paper or movie or video or flash card)?

I should add, 6. All of this takes time, so don’t cram or study at the last minute. 7. Check out the “Method of Inquiry” (related to my point #4) from researchers at Ryerson University in Canada.

Thanks for such a quality comment, Beccles. Are you a current student? Would love to do a mini-interview (5-10 mins) with you for the Exam Study Expert podcast about your experiences with retrieval practice, and your tips for success. Would you be up for that? ( https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/exam-study-expert-study-tips-psychology-hacks-to-learn/id1456034719 )

Great tips for students!

I am preparing for my exam that I failed once. I was into feel good study mode, and now I discover this retrieval process. I will use this from now on and will try to stick with it. Better to stick with a scientific proven methods than repeating my feel good technique which didnt give me results.

Wishing you every success in your re-take! If you come up against any questions on using the techniques, I’m always happy to try and answer them – put them here or drop me an email ( https://examstudyexpert.com/about/contact/ ).

Good luck 🙂

Thank you for sharing this excellent article. I used this article to show my assignment in college. Excellent job.

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

• Five minutes a day to exam success: with retrieval journaling - OC Tuition - […] “Retrieval practice” means learning by practising remembering (or “retrieving”) what you know. Flashcards, self-testing and past paper questions all…
• Introducing: the greatest back-to-school study tip of all time - - […] journaling is based on the two most powerful principles of effective learning known to science: retrieval practice and spaced…

Submit a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

Read My Test-Taking Technique Book For More Marks In Exams

Top Picks: Recommended Reading From The Blog

How To Study Effectively : Ultimate Guide [READER FAVOURITE]

Why Study [READER FAVOURITE]

Exam Memorization Secrets

Inspirational Exam Quotes

Finding The Perfect Study Routine

Pomodoro Method : 9-Step Guide

Best Books About Studying

Listen To The Podcast

Have a language expert improve your writing

Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, generate accurate citations for free.

• Knowledge Base

The Beginner's Guide to Writing an Essay | Steps & Examples

An academic essay is a focused piece of writing that develops an idea or argument using evidence, analysis, and interpretation.

There are many types of essays you might write as a student. The content and length of an essay depends on your level, subject of study, and course requirements. However, most essays at university level are argumentative — they aim to persuade the reader of a particular position or perspective on a topic.

The essay writing process consists of three main stages:

• Preparation: Decide on your topic, do your research, and create an essay outline.
• Writing : Set out your argument in the introduction, develop it with evidence in the main body, and wrap it up with a conclusion.
• Revision:  Check your essay on the content, organization, grammar, spelling, and formatting of your essay.

Instantly correct all language mistakes in your text

Upload your document to correct all your mistakes in minutes

Table of contents

Essay writing process, preparation for writing an essay, writing the introduction, writing the main body, writing the conclusion, essay checklist, lecture slides, frequently asked questions about writing an essay.

The writing process of preparation, writing, and revisions applies to every essay or paper, but the time and effort spent on each stage depends on the type of essay .

For example, if you’ve been assigned a five-paragraph expository essay for a high school class, you’ll probably spend the most time on the writing stage; for a college-level argumentative essay , on the other hand, you’ll need to spend more time researching your topic and developing an original argument before you start writing.

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

Before you start writing, you should make sure you have a clear idea of what you want to say and how you’re going to say it. There are a few key steps you can follow to make sure you’re prepared:

• Understand your assignment: What is the goal of this essay? What is the length and deadline of the assignment? Is there anything you need to clarify with your teacher or professor?
• Define a topic: If you’re allowed to choose your own topic , try to pick something that you already know a bit about and that will hold your interest.
• Do your research: Read  primary and secondary sources and take notes to help you work out your position and angle on the topic. You’ll use these as evidence for your points.
• Come up with a thesis:  The thesis is the central point or argument that you want to make. A clear thesis is essential for a focused essay—you should keep referring back to it as you write.
• Create an outline: Map out the rough structure of your essay in an outline . This makes it easier to start writing and keeps you on track as you go.

Once you’ve got a clear idea of what you want to discuss, in what order, and what evidence you’ll use, you’re ready to start writing.

The introduction sets the tone for your essay. It should grab the reader’s interest and inform them of what to expect. The introduction generally comprises 10–20% of the text.

1. Hook your reader

The first sentence of the introduction should pique your reader’s interest and curiosity. This sentence is sometimes called the hook. It might be an intriguing question, a surprising fact, or a bold statement emphasizing the relevance of the topic.

Let’s say we’re writing an essay about the development of Braille (the raised-dot reading and writing system used by visually impaired people). Our hook can make a strong statement about the topic:

The invention of Braille was a major turning point in the history of disability.

2. Provide background on your topic

Next, it’s important to give context that will help your reader understand your argument. This might involve providing background information, giving an overview of important academic work or debates on the topic, and explaining difficult terms. Don’t provide too much detail in the introduction—you can elaborate in the body of your essay.

3. Present the thesis statement

Next, you should formulate your thesis statement— the central argument you’re going to make. The thesis statement provides focus and signals your position on the topic. It is usually one or two sentences long. The thesis statement for our essay on Braille could look like this:

As the first writing system designed for blind people’s needs, Braille was a groundbreaking new accessibility tool. It not only provided practical benefits, but also helped change the cultural status of blindness.

4. Map the structure

In longer essays, you can end the introduction by briefly describing what will be covered in each part of the essay. This guides the reader through your structure and gives a preview of how your argument will develop.

The invention of Braille marked a major turning point in the history of disability. The writing system of raised dots used by blind and visually impaired people was developed by Louis Braille in nineteenth-century France. In a society that did not value disabled people in general, blindness was particularly stigmatized, and lack of access to reading and writing was a significant barrier to social participation. The idea of tactile reading was not entirely new, but existing methods based on sighted systems were difficult to learn and use. As the first writing system designed for blind people’s needs, Braille was a groundbreaking new accessibility tool. It not only provided practical benefits, but also helped change the cultural status of blindness. This essay begins by discussing the situation of blind people in nineteenth-century Europe. It then describes the invention of Braille and the gradual process of its acceptance within blind education. Subsequently, it explores the wide-ranging effects of this invention on blind people’s social and cultural lives.

Write your essay introduction

The body of your essay is where you make arguments supporting your thesis, provide evidence, and develop your ideas. Its purpose is to present, interpret, and analyze the information and sources you have gathered to support your argument.

Length of the body text

The length of the body depends on the type of essay. On average, the body comprises 60–80% of your essay. For a high school essay, this could be just three paragraphs, but for a graduate school essay of 6,000 words, the body could take up 8–10 pages.

Paragraph structure

To give your essay a clear structure , it is important to organize it into paragraphs . Each paragraph should be centered around one main point or idea.

That idea is introduced in a  topic sentence . The topic sentence should generally lead on from the previous paragraph and introduce the point to be made in this paragraph. Transition words can be used to create clear connections between sentences.

After the topic sentence, present evidence such as data, examples, or quotes from relevant sources. Be sure to interpret and explain the evidence, and show how it helps develop your overall argument.

Lack of access to reading and writing put blind people at a serious disadvantage in nineteenth-century society. Text was one of the primary methods through which people engaged with culture, communicated with others, and accessed information; without a well-developed reading system that did not rely on sight, blind people were excluded from social participation (Weygand, 2009). While disabled people in general suffered from discrimination, blindness was widely viewed as the worst disability, and it was commonly believed that blind people were incapable of pursuing a profession or improving themselves through culture (Weygand, 2009). This demonstrates the importance of reading and writing to social status at the time: without access to text, it was considered impossible to fully participate in society. Blind people were excluded from the sighted world, but also entirely dependent on sighted people for information and education.

See the full essay example

The conclusion is the final paragraph of an essay. It should generally take up no more than 10–15% of the text . A strong essay conclusion :

• Returns to your thesis
• Ties together your main points
• Shows why your argument matters

A great conclusion should finish with a memorable or impactful sentence that leaves the reader with a strong final impression.

What not to include in a conclusion

To make your essay’s conclusion as strong as possible, there are a few things you should avoid. The most common mistakes are:

• Including new arguments or evidence
• Undermining your arguments (e.g. “This is just one approach of many”)
• Using concluding phrases like “To sum up…” or “In conclusion…”

Braille paved the way for dramatic cultural changes in the way blind people were treated and the opportunities available to them. Louis Braille’s innovation was to reimagine existing reading systems from a blind perspective, and the success of this invention required sighted teachers to adapt to their students’ reality instead of the other way around. In this sense, Braille helped drive broader social changes in the status of blindness. New accessibility tools provide practical advantages to those who need them, but they can also change the perspectives and attitudes of those who do not.

Write your essay conclusion

Checklist: Essay

My essay follows the requirements of the assignment (topic and length ).

My introduction sparks the reader’s interest and provides any necessary background information on the topic.

My introduction contains a thesis statement that states the focus and position of the essay.

I use paragraphs to structure the essay.

I use topic sentences to introduce each paragraph.

Each paragraph has a single focus and a clear connection to the thesis statement.

I make clear transitions between paragraphs and ideas.

My conclusion doesn’t just repeat my points, but draws connections between arguments.

I don’t introduce new arguments or evidence in the conclusion.

I have given an in-text citation for every quote or piece of information I got from another source.

I have included a reference page at the end of my essay, listing full details of all my sources.

My citations and references are correctly formatted according to the required citation style .

My essay has an interesting and informative title.

I have followed all formatting guidelines (e.g. font, page numbers, line spacing).

Your essay meets all the most important requirements. Our editors can give it a final check to help you submit with confidence.

Open Google Slides Download PowerPoint

An essay is a focused piece of writing that explains, argues, describes, or narrates.

In high school, you may have to write many different types of essays to develop your writing skills.

Academic essays at college level are usually argumentative : you develop a clear thesis about your topic and make a case for your position using evidence, analysis and interpretation.

The structure of an essay is divided into an introduction that presents your topic and thesis statement , a body containing your in-depth analysis and arguments, and a conclusion wrapping up your ideas.

The structure of the body is flexible, but you should always spend some time thinking about how you can organize your essay to best serve your ideas.

Your essay introduction should include three main things, in this order:

• An opening hook to catch the reader’s attention.
• Relevant background information that the reader needs to know.
• A thesis statement that presents your main point or argument.

The length of each part depends on the length and complexity of your essay .

A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . Everything else you write should relate to this key idea.

The thesis statement is essential in any academic essay or research paper for two main reasons:

• It gives your writing direction and focus.
• It gives the reader a concise summary of your main point.

Without a clear thesis statement, an essay can end up rambling and unfocused, leaving your reader unsure of exactly what you want to say.

A topic sentence is a sentence that expresses the main point of a paragraph . Everything else in the paragraph should relate to the topic sentence.

At college level, you must properly cite your sources in all essays , research papers , and other academic texts (except exams and in-class exercises).

Add a citation whenever you quote , paraphrase , or summarize information or ideas from a source. You should also give full source details in a bibliography or reference list at the end of your text.

The exact format of your citations depends on which citation style you are instructed to use. The most common styles are APA , MLA , and Chicago .

Is this article helpful?

Other students also liked.

• How long is an essay? Guidelines for different types of essay
• How to write an essay introduction | 4 steps & examples
• How to conclude an essay | Interactive example

More interesting articles

• Checklist for academic essays | Is your essay ready to submit?
• Comparing and contrasting in an essay | Tips & examples
• Example of a great essay | Explanations, tips & tricks
• Generate topic ideas for an essay or paper | Tips & techniques
• How to revise an essay in 3 simple steps
• How to structure an essay: Templates and tips
• How to write a descriptive essay | Example & tips
• How to write a literary analysis essay | A step-by-step guide
• How to write a narrative essay | Example & tips
• How to write a rhetorical analysis | Key concepts & examples
• How to Write a Thesis Statement | 4 Steps & Examples
• How to write an argumentative essay | Examples & tips
• How to write an essay outline | Guidelines & examples
• How to write an expository essay
• How to write the body of an essay | Drafting & redrafting
• Kinds of argumentative academic essays and their purposes
• Organizational tips for academic essays
• The four main types of essay | Quick guide with examples
• Transition sentences | Tips & examples for clear writing

"I thought AI Proofreading was useless but.."

I've been using Scribbr for years now and I know it's a service that won't disappoint. It does a good job spotting mistakes”

7 Memory Strategies That Work at Any Age

These strategies, tips, and tricks can help jog your memory..

Updated August 2, 2023 | Reviewed by Davia Sills

• What Is Motivation?
• Take our Burnout Test
• Find a therapist near me
• Memory lapses can happen to anyone and are not just age-related.
• The most effective memory techniques often do not rely on memory.
• Having a sense of purpose can actually improve memory as you age.

Anyone can have a memory lapse.

When I polled a group of friends to find out their favorite memory tips and tricks, the most common response was, “Sorry, I don’t remember.” Haha. I guess I’m acquainted with more comedians than I thought.

Fortunately, other people had scads of useful ideas for triggering memories. This blog will be devoted to the best memory tips I could find from experts, friends, and my own experience. At the end of the blog, I’ll offer a few research-based tips for strengthening memory at any age.

While it’s true that some forgetfulness occurs with aging, memory lapses can happen to anyone, according to psychologist Lydia Cho. Still, it’s disconcerting when a name or a fact slips your mind. Here are seven general strategies you can use to minimize memory mishaps.

Strategy 1: Don’t try to remember.

Ironically, the most powerful memory tip might be… “Don’t try to remember.” Instead, the instant you think of something you want to act on later, write it down. Yes, make lists.

This practical idea comes from productivity guru David Allen in his classic book, Getting Things Done . If your brain is filled with to-do items, project ideas, long-term goals , short-term goals, grocery lists, and whatever, you can easily feel overwhelmed. Allen advises you to capture “all the things that need to get done—now, later, someday, big, little, or in-between—into a logical and trusted system outside of your head and off your mind .” (Italics are mine.)

I would add: Forget things that don’t matter to you. In other words, first set priorities. Then pay attention only to what is essential to your goals and values. Sweep the rest out of your mind… or into a folder that you can look at again if you need to.

It’s striking that only a few of the tips below rely on actual memory. The rest depend more on habits, systems, and records. Like this one:

Strategy 2: Write it down.

Here are a few trusted tactics to get your to-dos off of your mind and onto a list ASAP:

1. Email yourself from your cellphone. This is my favorite technique. I email myself reminders, articles from newsletters and social media , items to put on my Master To-Do List (“The List of Lists”), and everything else.

2. Use your phone or paper calendar. One friend enters everything she wants to do as an “Event” on her cellphone calendar. Others write goals and tasks on their paper calendar as if they were appointments, such as: “10 a.m.: Exercise.” “Find a time for it” is one of the most effective ways to follow up on your goals.

3. Write notes in large letters on a whiteboard, a notepad, or a sticky note. Then tape them to a spot where you can’t not see them.

4. Use general terms to back up specific ones. On your phone contact list, for example, add a title or category to a name: “Dr. Samantha Brown, neurologist”; “Rennie Bowles, electrician.” If you forget the name, you have another way to retrieve it.

Don’t worry if your item ends up on more than one list. Redundancy will ensure that you see and act on an item eventually.

Strategy 3: Use visual reminders.

1. Take a photo with your smartphone. That list of groceries? Snap a picture now. Delete it later.

2. Set out objects that will remind you of your must-do tasks. One classic example: Block the doorway with your laundry basket.

If you take an assortment of medications, a pillbox with compartments for each day of the week is essential. This will solve two problems: Remembering to take your pills and later—when you ask yourself, “Did I take my pills?”—demonstrating that you did , in fact, take your pills.

3. Color your world. Use colored pens, markers, and folders to draw your attention to a special task or item.

Strategy 4: Set up habits, routines, and cues.

A habit is an action you’ve repeated so many times that it’s ingrained in your brain. A routine is a series of habits. If you want to remember something without effort, make a habit of it. For example:

1. Put essential items in the same place every time. Your keys? On a dedicated hook or in a zipped compartment of your purse. Same for your phone, glasses, and any other essentials. If you have to put an item in an unfamiliar place, talk out loud about what you are doing, suggests memory expert Cho: “I am setting my phone on the kitchen table now.”

2. Set up health routines. For example, create an exercise “no-brainer” like this one from a friend: Set out walking clothes the night before. Wake up, slip into exercise clothes, eat breakfast, go for a walk.

3. Link a time to a task. If you want to establish a writing habit, for example, set aside a date and time, say, Monday-Friday, at 8 a.m. The time becomes a cue for the activity.

Once a routine becomes second nature to you, no reminders are needed. However, if you need to change a routine, you may need to post a reminder sign.

Strategy 5: Use your mind to remind yourself.

There are times, such as when you are driving, when you might not be able to write something down immediately. At these times, remembering is your only option. But these fun tips can keep your item at the top of your mind until you can put it on your list.

1. Use mnemonic devices. A mnemonic is a device such as a pattern of letters that will assist your memory. If you suddenly recall some needed grocery items on your way to the store, make up a word, if you can: “MEAD,” for milk, eggs, apples, and dates, for example.

2. Visualize like a pro athlete . Did you notice those Olympic athletes visualizing how they would tackle their ski run or their figure skating program before hitting the ice? You can do the same. Maybe you remembered that you forgot to pay a bill. Create a mental scenario where you walk in the door, throw down your things, and head for the computer (or the checkbook) to pay up.

3. Issue “self-instruction.” “When I see my datebook sticking out of my purse, I will remember to check my commitments for the week” is an example of self-instruction.

4. Talk to yourself out loud—or even sing. Repeat your to-do task out loud, over and over: “Call Ann, call Ann.” When you are introduced to someone, repeat their name, urges expert Cho. To make sure my four stovetop burners are off before I leave the house, I sing the theme from Beethoven’s Fifth, as I doublecheck them. Da-da-da-DA.

Strategy 6: Prepare.

There are few things more frustrating than not being able to remember the right words when you need them, and I find myself in this dilemma more and more as I age. True, the right words or phrases might come to me within minutes. But meanwhile I am struggling to express myself while the other person waits, patiently or impatiently. So I’ve figured out a few ways to manage.

1. Study the vocabulary you need for appointments. That’s right: Study up, just like you learned to do in high school. I might write those words on a card or in my appointment book. If I don’t have time to write them down, at least I’ve refreshed my memory and increased the chance that I’ll remember them at the doctor’s office or when I meet with the HVAC guy.

2. Make a document with your medications, doctors, and other critical information. Print it out and take it to your appointments. Don’t rely on memory!

3. Make a list of questions you might have when you meet with a professional. These can go in your phone or on a traditional list.

Strategy 7: Set up your environment for easy remembering.

1. Meet with friends and family in a quiet place where you are more likely to hear the other person. Another great tip from Dr. Cho.

2. Use a timer. Want to remember to turn off the lawn sprinkler? Start dinner? Set a timer and let the bell toll for thee.

The bigger picture: A healthy mind in a healthy body

Good memory and good health are closely related, as one friend reminded me. She advised that we stimulate our brains and bodies by regularly doing word and number puzzles, reading, keeping up with technology, socializing, eating healthy food, exercising, and sleeping 7-8 hours per night. Research bears out the value of her suggestions. In this recent study , data compiled from dozens of studies show that adults from 55-68 can prevent a decline in personal memories with regular exercise.

If you would like to improve your recall, consider mindfulness meditation , which numerous studies have linked to better memory and attention. Recent research also indicates that brief mindfulness meditation might improve your visual memory, perhaps by reducing stress . (Details here .)

Having a sense of purpose has also been linked to better memory. With a sense of purpose, your memory could even improve as you age, according to memory expert Angelina Sutin. Connecting with others, pursuing long-term goals, reflecting on meaningful everyday activities, and following your curiosity are four such ways to find purpose and improve memory, says Sutin here .

It’s encouraging to realize that by following your purpose—goals that are exciting and motivating for you—you could be improving your memory as well as improving the world around you.

(c) Meg Selig, 2022. All rights reserved.

Important Note: If memory problems interfere with your daily functioning, consult with your doctor.

Thanks to these friends for ideas: Ann Ross, Sara Salmon, Jane Klopfenstein, Kate Kimelman, Brian Carr, Beth Powell, Susan Waugh.

Allen, D. (2001) Getting Things Done . New York: Penguin.

Selig, M. (2009) Changepower! 37 Secrets of Habit Change Success. New York: Routledge.

Solan, M. “Managing memory slip-ups.” 1/1/2022. Harvard Health Publishing.

Meg Selig is the author of Changepower! 37 Secrets to Habit Change Success .

• Find a Therapist
• Find a Treatment Center
• Find a Psychiatrist
• Find a Support Group
• Find Online Therapy
• United States
• Brooklyn, NY
• Chicago, IL
• Houston, TX
• Los Angeles, CA
• New York, NY
• Portland, OR
• San Diego, CA
• San Francisco, CA
• Seattle, WA
• Washington, DC
• Asperger's
• Bipolar Disorder
• Chronic Pain
• Eating Disorders
• Passive Aggression
• Personality
• Goal Setting
• Positive Psychology
• Stopping Smoking
• Low Sexual Desire
• Relationships
• Child Development
• Self Tests NEW
• Therapy Center
• Diagnosis Dictionary
• Types of Therapy

Sticking up for yourself is no easy task. But there are concrete skills you can use to hone your assertiveness and advocate for yourself.

• Emotional Intelligence
• Gaslighting
• Affective Forecasting
• Neuroscience

The Secret(s) to Getting Through Long Papers

By Sophie, a Writing Center Coach

It’s the beginning of the semester—meaning, as a graduate student, it’s time for me to get back into the groove of planning and writing long papers. For me, the hardest part of approaching a paper is coming up with a topic that will stay interesting to me throughout the research and writing process. A good example of this is from the end of last semester, when I found myself dreading the final paper for my archives class. We covered so many interesting topics in the class, it was hard to decide which one to choose.

In my experience, a bad topic can make the writing process feel infinitely longer and more stressful. As I thought about my archives paper, I worried about finding something that I could focus on for 12 pages. So many of the topics in my class felt interwoven, and I was afraid it would be hard to pick out one thread. If I try to start a long paper without planning, I’ll end up staring at the same sentence or paragraph for hours, trying to figure out what I could possibly say next.

So, when I finally had to commit to a topic, I decided to break down the process into a few fun steps. Dividing it up helped take away some of my worries and made the process easier because I only had to do one step at a time. Here’s how I got started:

1) Create a real brainstorming session

First, I decided to meet up with a few of my friends who were also in the class. We went to a coffee shop we all like, and we brought our notes and readings from the class. None of us had a concrete idea about what to write; we just wanted to throw some possibilities out to see how other people would react to them. 

We started by talking about some of the things we found funny or interesting in previous class discussions. As we talked, we found natural points of disagreement and interest. I took notes about points that stuck out to me. At the end of the conversation, I had a document full of questions and arguments that I wanted to explore further.

My friends also thought of topics, but they arrived at their ideas in different ways. One of my friends kept coming back to a short paper she had already written, and by talking about it, she discovered that she had much more to say. Another friend talked about something that he felt was conspicuously missing from our class discussions, so he decided that this paper would be a good opportunity to learn more.

All three of us came out of the session with inspiration and initial feedback. This step reminded me of the value of talking through my ideas, especially since my peers could push me to think more deeply about particular questions. Plus, connecting with my classmates through discussion helped me get excited about writing. 

Alternatively, I know that, for some people, meeting with friends isn’t always effective; there are also other ways to brainstorm. Sometimes, it helps to talk to someone who doesn’t know about the class or topic—like a Writing Center coach ! For others, the note-taking part could be like having a conversation with yourself, which might be all you need. The Writing and Learning Centers also have some great tools for brainstorming if you prefer to work independently.

2) Conduct some initial research

Once I had the beginnings of an idea, I decided to look for sources that could help me narrow my topic. The first place I go to find scholarly articles is the UNC Libraries’ page with “Resource Tools.” At this phase, I like to do keyword searches with Articles+. When you open the advanced search options, you can limit your results to be really specific by choosing a discipline, language, date the material was published, and whether the source needs to be scholarly/peer reviewed. In this case, I used “AND” to limit my results to articles with all of my desired keywords, like: “Sexual material” AND “Archives.” There’s another great article that explains the logic behind this kind of search, which uses Boolean logic.

After I’ve combed through relevant results for one search, I’ll usually adjust my keywords to see if anything new pops up. I’ll also see if the best articles (the ones that feel most related to my topic) have been cited by anyone else and whether those articles have something to offer me. I also repeat this process with Google Scholar and with the “E-research by Discipline” option, which will lead me to specific databases for my field. 

In this case, I used the Information and Library Science option, which took me to the best databases for journals in my discipline. Searching within a discipline allows me to think more carefully about my keywords; I might not have to include “archives,” or “libraries,” for example, because many of the articles are already about archives.

As I’m going along, I like to save any articles that I find in Zotero, a citation manager that I downloaded from the library’s website. Within Zotero, I make a folder for the assignment (“Final Paper”), and it automatically saves all the information I need to quickly go back to the article if I need it. (Note: I first learned about using Zotero from a helpful university librarian, so if you’re new to citation managers, it might be helpful to have a librarian give you a tutorial. You can also read another blog article on using Zotero .)

At the end of this process, I usually have a file full of “maybe” sources that I could come back to later. This helps give me an idea of what people have already said about this topic and where I might be able to add to the conversation.

3) Meet with your professor

After I came up with an idea and did some preliminary research, I thought it would be a good idea to check in with my professor during office hours. Since my professor is an expert in the field, I knew she would have a better sense of the context surrounding my research question. 

(Note: Sometimes I like to go to office hours before I do any research; getting some expertise at the beginning can make the search process even faster. In this case, my professor encouraged us to find what we could before checking in with her.)

Before the meeting, I read through the abstracts of the sources I had already found in my preliminary research (those were saved in my Zotero library). Based on those, I wrote down some questions that I had about the topic. I met with my professor for about 15 minutes, and in that time, I pitched my question and told her what I had already found. She was able to direct me to some additional books and cases to look at, and I wrote those down to research later. 

My professor also encouraged me to post my topic in our class’ Sakai forum. She created a discussion page specifically for final topic ideas so that my other classmates could provide feedback. Often, she said, students with similar topics will find sources that are helpful to each other, so the forum is a good place to share resources. I left the meeting with a strong sense of direction of what I needed to begin the actual writing.

After going through these steps, I felt like I had a good idea of what I wanted to write about and some evidence that could support my argument. Still, because it was such a long paper, I felt like I needed help to get started on the outline and the actual writing process. So, I decided to make a Writing Center Appointment to get my ideas in order and to make a plan for finishing the paper on time. Again, since I’m a person who likes to talk through my ideas, it was helpful to hear another person’s reaction to my topic so far. It also gave me a self-imposed deadline to complete these initial steps.

Breaking down the first few steps of writing my research paper helped me think of it as a list of small tasks to check off instead of one giant, frustrating project. It felt good to accomplish little things that I knew would add up to finishing the whole thing. This process also led me to a topic that really excited and engaged me, so when it was time to do the final step (the actual writing), I was happy to get started.

This blog showcases the perspectives of UNC Chapel Hill community members learning and writing online. If you want to talk to a Writing and Learning Center coach about implementing strategies described in the blog, make an appointment with a writing coach , a peer tutor , or an academic coach today. Have an idea for a blog post about how you are learning and writing remotely? Contact us here .

Last places remaining for July 14th and July 28th courses . Enrol now and join students from 175 countries for the summer of a lifetime

• How to do a large amount of work in a small amount of time: advice from a veteran of rushing, botching, and bashing it out

1. Get in the zone

I don’t know about you, but I have a dozen little rituals I have to perform before I sit down to do a big slog of work. In general, I make it a rule to work in the library or university, because I find working at home, with all its possibilities of making and drinking tea, drifting off to watch TV, or being drawn into long conversations with my housemates, too distracting.

But when I’m really up against the clock, or even about to start what I know will be an all-nighter, I prefer to be in my room, with easy access to vital things like coffee, food and the shower. (N.B. There is nothing like a shower for waking yourself up in the middle of a miserable work-session. Just don’t do what I did one particularly inauspicious Wednesday at 4am: fall asleep sitting down in it with a foot covering the plug, and wake half an hour later under a jet of now-freezing water to find that you have transformed your bathroom into a giant soapy sea).

But back to the rituals. Before I do any serious, or seriously rushed, work, I’ve got to do a number of things to ‘get in the zone’. This might sound like elaborate procrastination — which, in reality, it most definitely is — but if I don’t do these little things, I find my concentration is poor, and my mind constantly wanders. First, my room has to be absolutely, books-in-alphabetical-order, spotless — mess is incredibly distracting, and when I’m working I want to use all the space on my desk. Plus, while you’re tidying you get to watch videos of cats falling over on YouTube. Next, I have to have a strong coffee (which I never drink more than a few sips of before remembering that I hate coffee and it gives me a headache — but it smells nice and is somehow a very reassuring thing to sit next to). Third, classical music doesn’t work for me; while I’m working, and especially at night, I find it keeps the mind sharp to blare out tragic noughties techno music. In particular, the songs of the ultimately unsuccessful Australian band Pendulum played at approximately a million decibels are so unpleasant they keep one constantly skittish with adrenaline, hammering out a thousand questionable words an hour while simultaneously imagining you’re in a warehouse rave. Finally, and most embarrassingly, I have a pair of leggings called my essay leggings that I like to wear while I’m working. They’re very comfy (and holey) and haven’t been replaced since my first year of university, because they’re somehow magically conducive to getting lots done in very little time. Now, the line between preparing oneself for work and procrastination is always thin, and one I continually find myself on the wrong side of. Your rituals might look very different to mine, and perhaps take a little less time. But if you need to do certain things to change your mindset from play to work, I’d advise you do them.

2. Work out exactly what you’ve got to do

Now that you’re sitting comfortably at your desk in your spotless room, work out exactly what you’ve got to do — and how long you’ve got to do it. Make a list of your tasks in order of priority, what they involve, the date they’re due in and how long you realistically think they’ll take. Your list might look something like this:

• Write out labels for Art coursework (2 hours, due tomorrow)
• Write self-analysis for Art coursework (3 hours, due tomorrow)
• Finish researching, plan and write History coursework essay (12 hours? 2 days? Due Friday)
• Finish Physics lab report (2 hours, due Thursday)
• Maths problems (3 hours, due tomorrow)

Now, for some of these tasks it will be absolutely essential that you hand the work in on or before the deadline. For any task that counts towards your coursework, or an exam, you’ll usually lose marks if they’re late — in my university, we would lose 5 marks out of 100 if an essay was handed in one minute after 12pm on the day of the deadline, and a further 10 if it was more than a day late. For these tasks, you absolutely can’t mess about — they should sit right at the top of your list of things to do, and be the first thing you get out of the way — and the ones you put most effort into getting right. But, even though it won’t make you very popular with your teachers, sometimes you’ve got to accept that you can’t do everything you’re expected to in a small amount of time. When I’ve got a big deadline coming up, I jettison everything else: I tell people I can’t make other commitments, even if that annoys them, and if I haven’t got time, I simply don’t do less important pieces of work. On the list above, for example, I might decide that only the pieces of coursework were really important, and that I wasn’t going to bother handing in the lab report or the Maths problems. Of course, all this is advice for an emergency situation: if you’ve got the time to do everything you need to, then deciding that you won’t is probably not the best strategic move and will mean you have to endure hours of unnecessary telling-off.

Make a timetable detailing exactly when you’re going to do each of the things on your list. Make sure you plan enough time for each task rather than being overly optimistic — you’re going to stick to this timetable no matter what . Think about the times of day when you work best, and how tired you’re going to be at various stages of the day/night/week you’re mapping out — the morning of your deadline, for example, when your eyes are itchy with tiredness and your brain about as much use as its equivalent weight in mincemeat, is probably not the best time to be proof-reading or tackling difficult Algebra problems. I study English and consequently write lots of essays, and I find that I can read and take notes at pretty much any time of day, but planning and writing are tasks I can only really do well first thing in the morning. Once you’ve made your plan, sit back and take a deep breath — it might be a rush, and you might not see sunlight for the next week, but it is possible to do everything you need to in the time you’ve got. All you need to do (and this is the important bit) is make sure you stick religiously to your timetable. Here’s how:

 4. Let things be less-than-perfect

If you’re still not happy with something near the end of the time you’ve allotted for it — tough. Finish up and leave it in its imperfect state — if you’re lucky, you might have time at the end to come back to it, but it’s much more important to stick to a schedule which will allow you to get everything done than it is to perfect one part of the task. This means not reading that extra useful-looking article, not toying with the wording in an introduction any longer, and leaving a problem you just can’t solve. Remember — when you’re working on any task, it’s completely normal that that task will feel like the most important one — but it’s important to take a step back and gain some perspective over your whole project. I’m constantly messing up because I find it really hard to leave things alone – – for example, I wasn’t happy with my dissertation last year the day before I handed it in, and decided to stay up all night before the deadline restructuring and rewriting the last 3,000 words before I’d even begun my referencing or conclusion. This meant (as I’m sure you can guess) that the section I rewrote was garbled and full of spelling mistakes, my footnotes and bibliography were a total mess and my conclusion was 5 lines long- not exactly what I’d planned when I decided to begin my noble rewriting mission, and not exactly the formula for a winning dissertation. Polished and finished, if slightly flawed, work will always make a much better impression than something messy and incomplete, even if it’s more carefully thought out — it actively irritates examiners to find silly mistakes or signs of haste in things they’re marking. Take it from me, look at the bigger picture and simply move on .

5. Be selfish

I’ve got a friend who actively refuses to make any plans other than a quick coffee for about four weeks before any deadline. Sometimes she doesn’t leave her house for days, and while she’s working she lets other people cook for her and tidy up her mess. Last year she didn’t go to her boyfriend’s birthday party because it was the week before a talk she was preparing. Now, this might all sound a bit mad, but my friend always does really, really well at everything she puts her mind to. Basically, in quite an extreme way she’s got her priorities straight — most of the time she’ll do anything for anyone, but when she’s got important work on her plate, she’ll say honestly that she needs to concentrate, and just can’t make other commitments. I, meanwhile, work in the absolute opposite way. I let friends come to visit me the week before a deadline because I don’t want to annoy them by cancelling, and am anxious about work and cranky for the whole time they’re there. I’ll go to the library with someone else but get annoyed when we distract each other. I end up getting so stressed out over all the commitments I’ve made that I can’t concentrate even when I’ve actually got time to work. I’ve come to conclude that my friend’s got it sorted. When you’ve got stuff to do, be selfish. This is one of very few chances you’ll have in your life (apart from, if you’re a girl, maybe your wedding) to be totally unreasonable, self-centred, and rude to everyone around you. Like a mad cross between Professor Snape and Kim Jong Un. Get your mum to make you dinner but refuse to sit and eat it at the table. Cancel plans, leave a mess. Refuse to read someone else’s work or do anyone a favour. Your friends might not like the new crazy you, but you’ll probably annoy them just as much by being irritable and stressed than you will by being selfish — and if you pick the latter course, you might actually get stuff done.

6. Do not entertain the thought that you might not finish

With the energy I’ve spent over the years asking for extensions, making up excuses or writing cringing apology emails to tutors and employers explaining that I just haven’t done things, I could have written novels. Stuff it, I could have written the Iliad . Extensions and the like might feel brilliant in the short term, but they’re not the solution to anything — you’ll still have to do the work one way or another, and you’ll annoy people and complicate your own life in the process of putting it off.

7. Just do the work

This is fairly self-explanatory. Though this article has tried to show that you can make things seem easier and more surmountable by organising, rationalising, and preparing, there are no magic solutions that can make you work miraculously quickly. There’s no substitute for sitting down, closing the door, turning off the internet and just doing your work . It might not be exactly fun, but it’ll feel worth it when you’re done, and then you can sleep and relax properly without feeling guilty or stressed. Got any top tips for getting things done quickly? Let us know in the ‘Comments’ section below!

• Neuroscience

The 5 Best Ways To Improve Your Memory

S ome skills you don’t need past graduation: geometry, cursive, the ability to dissect a frog. But memorization is not one of them. Far beyond your final spelling bee, your memory either saves you from—or delivers you to—public humiliation. Just think about the last time you forgot the name of a very important person.

Memory is important in adulthood because it also enables all kinds of life-enriching learning, from remembering several seasons’ worth of football statistics (a very big deal to very loyal fans) to learning a new language.

But keeping it sharp requires practice. Just ask Ed Cooke, who can memorize the order of a shuffled deck of cards in 45 seconds. A fierce competitor in memory tournaments, Cooke was crowned a Grand Master of Memory in his early twenties. (As of last year, there were only 151 Grand Masters of Memory in the world.)

Cooke wanted to figure out the very best way to learn as fast as possible, so he cofounded Memrise , an online language learning program devoted to that mission. “Science actually hasn’t really asked the question, ‘What’s the fastest way to learn?’” Cooke says. “It’s discovered hundreds of things that help learning, but it hasn’t discovered the perfect recipe.”

Today, Memrise launched an online experiment, called Memprize , pitting five very promising learning methods against one another. Earlier, Memrise put out a call for scientists to design the best memorization program. Out of 20 rigorously tested entries, the five being unveiled were the winners—and now, anyone willing to devote a couple hours to experimenting with speedy learning can help determine the winner of Memprize. After entering the experiment at the website, people will play with one of the memorization programs to learn 80 words in an obscure foreign language, like Lithuanian, in an hour. They’ll be tested a week later to determine how much they retained. A winning technique will then be crowned.

“Over time, we might be able to discover and share methodologies of learning that are twice as good as the things that exist,” Cooke says.

From the top 5 methods facing off, Cooke told us some of their top strategies for learning words fast.

• Take a guess. One of the best ways to remember a new word, it turns out, is to guess its meaning before you even know it. You’ll likely be wrong, of course. “But just the act of guessing can mean that when you’re then told the answer, you remember the answer much better than if you don’t guess at all,” Cooke says. It works for names, too, he says. Guess someone’s name when you meet for the first time, and when you learn the real name, you’ll remember it better.
• Repeat, repeat, repeat. It’s well established that repetition is key to memory. But one innovation, called mega-drilling, has proven especially powerful. According to this technique, “you’ve got to actively recall the memory 30 times,” Cooke says. So when you meet someone new, you might want to repeat her name 30 times.
• Create a mnemonic . Use whatever a new word sounds like or makes you think of, and you’ll remember it more. “It helps connect the word to the knowledge you already have in your mind, and the quality of memory which gets formed is much higher,” Cooke says.
• Think spatially . “Humans have an incredible memory for space,” Cooke says. One effective strategy for memorizing words is to picture a room, then attach the word and its meaning to a place in the room.
• Relax already . One of the techniques makes you take a weird little break in the middle of memorization. For a minute, you’re told to watch a video of a waterfall. “You’re wasting lots of time,” Cooke says. “But in the process of staring at this video of a waterfall, it calms you down and relaxes your brain and creates space, in a way, for new memories to form afterwards. Taking time out to rest your brain can actually speed you up in the long run.”

More Must-Reads from TIME

• Welcome to the Noah Lyles Olympics
• Melinda French Gates Is Going It Alone
• What to Do if You Can’t Afford Your Medications
• How to Buy Groceries Without Breaking the Bank
• Sienna Miller Is the Reason to Watch  Horizon
• Why So Many Bitcoin Mining Companies Are Pivoting to AI
• The 15 Best Movies to Watch on a Plane
• Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time

Write to Mandy Oaklander at [email protected]

• Skip to main content
• Keyboard shortcuts for audio player

• Dear Life Kit
• Life Skills

Forgot where you put the keys? Experts (and a trivia buff) share tips to boost memory

Andee Tagle

Margaret Cirino

Where did I put the keys? Tips to improve memory

Eugene Mymrin/Getty Images hide caption

You don't have to be a trivia buff to be great at remembering things.

Monica Thieu , a four-time Jeopardy! contestant and winner of the game's 2012 college championship, uses memory techniques like mnemonic devices and flash cards to retain world capitals, TV shows, Olympic cities and more.

"With practice, absolutely everyone can make their memory stronger," says Thieu, who also researches memory, human cognition and emotion as a postdoctoral scientist at Emory University.

Listen to the podcast episode: Where did I put the keys? Tips to improve memory

That's because memory is selective. What our brains choose to remember is something we can train, says Charan Ranganath , director of the Dynamic Memory Lab at the University of California, Davis, and author of Why We Remember . "It can be biased, warped and reconstructed."

If you want to improve your memory, even if it's just remembering where you parked or where you put your keys, try these science-backed strategies from our experts.

Pay attention to what you want to remember

"The first necessary ingredient in creating a memory that lasts longer than the present moment is attention," says Lisa Genova , a neuroscientist and the author of Remember: The Science of Memory and the Art of Forgetting . "We need that input — otherwise that memory doesn’t get made, even if your eyes see it."

When people gripe about having memory problems, they're often having attention problems, she adds. For example, if you blame your memory because you can't find your parking spot, you probably weren't paying attention to it in the first place. So slow down and focus on what you want to remember.

Don't always depend on GPS. Your sense of direction will thank you

Create a rule and a habit.

If you repeatedly lose track of an object like your keys, wallet or cellphone, pick a designated spot in your home and keep it there when it's not in use, says Genova. That way, you don't have to expend effort trying to remember where you placed it.

"If you put it in the same place every time, you've made it [a fact], sort of like your address and birthday: My keys always go in this bowl. There's a rule and a habit," she says.

The more details the merrier

To form memories you'll naturally keep, make them as immersive as possible, says Thieu. This is especially helpful when you're tackling a subject that you find difficult to connect with.

Let's say you're trying to learn more about the Renaissance era. Commit the period to memory by absorbing information about it through a variety of mediums, says Thieu. Make a playlist of music from the era. Watch period dramas set at that time. And "any time you have an opportunity to learn something in a richer way, do it" — like going to a theater performance on the subject matter.

Our brains love to remember anything that's "meaningful, emotional, surprising or new," says Genova. So the more details you can give your brain to latch onto, the stronger that a memory becomes and the easier it is to recall later.

For relationship advice (plus health, finance and parenting tips and more),  subscribe to Life Kit’s newsletter .

Trigger your memory

When your brain creates a memory, it naturally weaves together all the sights, sounds, tastes and smells associated with that memory, says Genova. So use those connections to your advantage.

Let's say you're studying for a vocabulary test. If you always listen to Dua Lipa while you're studying and "have a chance to listen to Dua Lipa while you take the test, it might help you remember those words," says Genova. Psychologists call this process "context-dependent memory."

Genova suggests enhancing your study space with smells, music or certain tastes. Try chewing a piece of cinnamon gum, for example, while you're preparing for a big exam — and then again while you're taking it. Your senses can act as triggers for the rest of your memory to fall into place.

Negotiating isn't just for job offers. Here's how to use it in everyday life

"chunk" long strings of information.

If you have a big load of information to recall at once, Ranganath suggests a strategy that researchers call " chunking ." It's a way to organize longer strings of information to make them easier to recall. Let's say you want to remember the phone number (130) 555-1212. "That’s 10 digits, which is a lot to juggle around in my mind."

So "chunk" it into three parts, he says: 130, 555, 1212. Instead of recalling each number individually, you can recall the entire group — and then retrieve each individual number more easily.

Create a "mind palace"

Need to remember to grab eggs, milk and coffee creamer from the store? Ranganath suggests a method that memory researchers, as well as memory champions, call a "mind palace" — or the method of loci , which means "places" in Latin. You may have seen this ancient mnemonic device on TV shows like Sherlock .

This technique allows you to pair a place you know well, like your childhood home, with new information. Picture yourself placing the items of your grocery list around the house. Place a carton of eggs on your couch. Put milk on the kitchen counter. Put some creamer on the coffee table. Later on at the supermarket, recall this path through your house as you're shopping. It'll help you remember your grocery list.

How to start a new habit: think small

Try good old flash cards.

Don't overlook the power of reviewing flash cards, says Thieu. "Some of the best trivia experts I know do a lot of flash-carding."

Thieu likes to watch old Jeopardy! reruns and create flash cards for the information in each episode. Then, she'll use the cards to quiz herself. She also uses this technique to drill lists of more specific trivia information — say, the world's longest rivers or deepest lakes.

Take your flash-carding one step further by testing yourself before you learn the information, to see what you already know, and then afterward to see what you were able to remember. A pre-lesson test primes your brain for what you'll need to recall later on.

"We learn the most when we challenge ourselves — and that's an extraordinarily powerful tool for retaining information in the long run," says Ranganath.

Go easy on yourself

Lastly, don't expect your memory to be perfect, say our experts. It's normal to occasionally misplace your keys or forget to pay a bill.

"Life is an open-book test," says Genova. You're not cheating if you look something up or write it down. It could save your mental energy for something more meaningful.

The audio portion of this episode was produced by Margaret Cirino. The digital story was edited by Malaka Gharib. The visual editor is Beck Harlan. We'd love to hear from you. Leave us a voicemail at 202-216-9823, or email us at [email protected].

Listen to Life Kit on Apple Podcasts  and Spotify , and sign up for our newsletter .

• How to Memorize an Essay: The Proven Way to Improve Your Knowledge
• How to Memorize an Essay and Improve Your Overall Knowledge?

Great ways to memorize each word of an essay

How to turn the memorization process into real fun, simple tips on how to learn a substantial essay preparing for an exam, improve your subject knowledge by making notes and doing exercises, what is a mind map, and how to use it for essay learning.

Memory is a valuable tool people use to accumulate knowledge and use it afterward. Memorizing essay unlike a classification essay, is not as difficult as it may seem at first. The main thing is to find a suitable method of memorization and to organize the work in the right way. Want to memorize an essay quickly and effectively to ace tests in a particular area of knowledge? Here are the proven methods of storing information in your memory so that you can use it whenever you need it. Check the helpful tips and tricks to memorize the whole story word by word. Are you stuck in writing your essays and want to pay someone to do my homework ? Entrust your tasks to our professional academic assistance service and get your assignments done by experts!

Everyone will benefit from the ability to keep in mind the critical details of a future presentation or speech. To learn the material quickly, you need to eliminate all external stimuli and create a working environment. For active memorization , it is better to use several channels of perception and to adhere to this algorithm:

• Read the entire text several times, understand its meaning.
• Use associations (memorize a picture drawn by the imagination while reading).
• Divide it into logical parts and make an outline.
• Write reference words or quotes to the essential points.
• Retell each part separately, then put all the pieces together.

If you need to learn the story by heart or memorize an essay , you're recommended to do the following:

• If possible, listen to the audio version based on the printed text.
• Rewrite each paragraph of the essay several times.
• Cover the end of sentences and enter the missing words from memory. Reproduce the text actively either orally or in writing. 

Pictograms are a way to replace words and sentences with pictures. It is not necessary to be an artist — the more straightforward and funnier the photos, the better.  Visualization is the most effective way to recollect the knowledge in any area. It is also a great tip on how to focus on school work .

Haven’t you memorized it yet? Make the process as fun as possible using game techniques to remember:

• Replace part of words with pictures and recreate the full text. Gradually paint overall new words and draw pictures in their place, each time retelling part by part.
• Make a copy of the text and cut into small pieces. Gather it as a puzzle, simultaneously reading the resulting sentences — the brighter and funnier the font, the better. 

Need to memorize a considerable essay? Just follow the step-by-step guidelines below:

• Divide it into parts and work with each of them separately.
• Make a plan or enter the primary data in the table.
• Repeat the essay regularly, making short breaks.
• Use multiple channels of perception (for example, visual and auditory ).

Keep in mind that the details are stored in memory automatically if you're interested in the subject. Writing in a clear language is amenable to memorize. Make sure it sounds easy for perception. If not, do your best to make it as simple as possible and clear up all the incomprehensible points.

This method of gaining new knowledge is especially suitable for visuals (those who better perceive information through sight), but anyone can use and increase his/her chances to succeed. The result will be noticeable in any case. Check the ways to memorize an essay:

• Divide the text into several parts. Work with each area of knowledge separately. 
• Read the first part, look up unfamiliar terms and phrases.
• Rewrite some parts 1-2 times.
• Fill in the individual phrases with the office corrector. Add them from memory. 
• Check yourself. Rewrite the essay again. 
• Paint over twice as many fragments as you remember. Fill in the blanks. 
• Repeat until you can fully reproduce the paragraph.
•  Put all the pieces together and retell the story. 

If there is very little time to learn a particular area, and you need to memorize everything quickly and finish homework faster , consider the technique of constant repetitions.

• Write paragraphs on small sheets of paper. It is better to choose bright markers to highlight key ideas in a specific area of knowledge.
• Hang them around the house: above the kitchen table, in the bathroom, on the mirror in the hallway, on the balcony. 

Visiting these places, or merely passing by, you’ll understand that the eye “catches” the sentence, and knowledge is stored in memory successfully. This method will give a good result and speed up the memorization process.

It is essential to understand the meaning of the essay and understand what you are going to talk. That’s why you should convey everything in your own words.

• Read the text aloud thoughtfully. Write out unfamiliar terms to improve your knowledge on the subject. 
• Break the material into logical parts (intro, key thoughts, and facts, ending). 
• Make a detailed plan for each part. Describe it in the form of short abstracts, quotes, or questions. 
• Retell a few times, looking at the original if necessary. 
• Retell the text without looking at the original, and then without using the plan.
• Strong points in the form of quotations can be distinguished directly in an original way. Highlight them with a pencil.

It is a thought map that allows you to structure the information in any area of knowledge without any difficulties. You're free to depict a map as you wish and retell the story using a map. This technique will be helpful to those who need to learn but not necessarily reproduce it word by word quickly. 

• Highlight the critical issues in a particular area of knowledge. Write or draw it, circle it.
• Portray secondary thoughts in the form of branches in any direction. Someone draws to the right and left, someone from top to bottom. There are no restrictions.
• Get a detailed plan in a convenient format, based on which it will be easy to retell all in your own words.

Those who like to draw can replace sentences with pictures. It will make the process of gaining knowledge more exciting and even help you learn the information better, being confident in your understanding.

Whatever way to study the area of knowledge you choose, it is vital to memorize material consciously. Learning a text by heart is not the goal itself, but just a stage to achieve it. The main thing is to start using the acquired knowledge in speech and writing. To reproduce the gained knowledge, you need to have a clear picture of the article purpose and critical points. Remember: if you lack either time or motivation to prepare for an exam, turn to professionals who know how to boost your knowledge effectively. 

Writing is a skill you will need throughout your academic and business life. Well, unless you will work as a free laborer or engineer, you will have to fill out various forms and prepare documents. In any case, every citizen should be literate. It is the image of the country. That is why high school...

Need to learn how to do homework faster? Go no further if you are one of those students wondering whether the amount of assignments is fair and how to manage your busy schedule successfully. In this blog post, our academic writing experts share insights into how to finish homework tasks until your d...

Are you a parent who wants to encourage his kid to study? Or you are a student who just wants to find out how to do homework effectively. No matter who you are and how hard the homework is. Our homework service made an article that will teach our readers how to make homework fun and deal with it eff...

Memorizer : Memorizing, made easier.

Enter what you want to memorize. Be sure to use line breaks.

Hello there! Want to focus? Go fullscreen. Not sure what to memorize? Try an example.

Help me memorize it!

Firstly, say it at least a few times. Try glancing at the screen briefly.

It might help to also write down what you're trying to memorize. Even when writing, make sure to glance at the screen as briefly as possible.

It's best to repeat this step until you know the flow of the text.

Secondly, say it without mistakes . Below are the first letters of each word.

Unlike the previous step, keep looking at the text to ensure that you're not skipping words.

Make sure you're comfortable with every line of the text.

Thirdly, say it without pausing . Below are the first words of each line.

If you have to learn a lot of text, try memorizing it in parts first and then all together. This is so that you don't take ages to get past this step.

If you're unsure about a word, go back two steps and reread that part.

Great! Repeat these steps every hour or so until it's memorized. Try saying it right now.

Text saved! When you come back later you won't have to enter it again. Delete saved text.

Available offline! You can use Memorizer without an internet connection.

Back Restart

About Memorizer

This free, streamlined memorization tool can help you with lines , poems , speeches and monologues - basically anything that needs to be spoken.

Memorizer works with dozens of languages , including English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.

Memorizer Options

Dark Mode Fullscreen

Latest Features

2015/10: Offers dark mode (in supported browsers). 2013/12: Available offline (in supported browsers). 2013/12: Calculates approximate speaking time.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Next step : ctrl / cmd + enter Enter fullscreen: f Exit fullscreen: esc

Memorization Tips

You learn best by hearing , seeing , or doing , so find out what type of learner you are and have matching memorization techniques.

In addition, ask people who know you well and/or are familiar with memorizing (teachers, actors, etc.) to help you out.

Make sure to experiment - the only way to find out how you memorize best is by trying to memorize in different ways.

Get the Reddit app

Thank you for visiting Essay Experts sub-reddit. Where the power of words meets the art of persuasion! Whether you're a seasoned academic writer a high school student tackling your first research paper, or anyone in between, this subreddit is your haven for everything related to essay writing. This is where the power of words meets the art of persuasion!

how to memorize an essay

Forgetful Much? How to Remember Things Better, Starting Now

The science of why we lose stuff and forget stuff—and simple ways to boost your brainpower.

When this happens, you might wonder whether it’s the start of a brain decline that’s going to cascade into dementia or Alzheimer’s disease . The reassuring news is that there are many reasons—everyday, non-scary reasons—why we forget things. And there are tips and tricks, as well as solid lifestyle changes, that can help you bolster your brainpower and strengthen your memory overall.

First, how memory actually works

Here’s a clear explanation from Lisa Genova , a neuroscientist and the best-selling author who wrote Remember: The Science of Memory and the Art of Forgetting . “Our senses are exposed to a lot of information, emotions, and language over the course of a day,” she says. “But the brain is not a video camera, recording everything. To make a memory, your brain takes in what you perceive and pay attention to, and it translates that into neurological language. Your brain weaves all that into a single pattern of associated connections, which is then stabilized as a neural circuit.

“Then, tomorrow or 30 years from now, you want to be able to retrieve it,” Genova continues. “We’ve got this neural circuit that’s connecting different parts of the brain—like, I saw, heard, and felt this about something. So now those three are connected and become a single thing that can be perceived as a memory—and if we want to be able to recall it, we need to be able to reactivate that neural circuit. And that is the experience of remembering.” So what gets in the way of the process? There are a host of reasons we may have trouble reactivating that neural circuit. Some of them have to do with our fast-paced days, moving from one task to another while we’re also keeping an eye on our phones and our kids and our jobs and thinking about our shopping list and whether we need to check in on our parents. And we think we’re much better at multitasking than we actually are (more on that to come!).

There are also larger lifestyle factors that can dull our brains, such as skimping on sleep and not moving our bodies enough. The flip side, though, is that there are actionable steps you can take—and by doing them proactively, you can reduce some of the anxiety that follows those I lost my keys again?! moments.

How to remember anything better

Want to be better at remembering? Try some of these suggestions:

Use the cues around you

Here’s a scenario you may well recognize: You’re getting ready to, say, climb into bed to read before shutting off the light, and you realize that your reading glasses are down in the kitchen. But when you’ve headed downstairs and gotten to the kitchen, you look around and wonder, Why am I here? What did I come downstairs to get?

It’s easier to retrieve a memory when the context of where you are matches the context of what was there when the memory was formed, says Genova. “In your bedroom, the contextual cues are your book on the nightstand, the time of day, your bed—but then when you get to the kitchen, the surrounding cues are the fridge and the teakettle on the stove. And you might think, Did I come downstairs because I was hungry or wanted tea? The cues in the kitchen actually misdirect the hunt, sending your neural activity down pathways that lead to a meal or tea.” When this happens, says Genova, “Go back to the previous room—even in your mind’s eye. Look around at the cues that are there, and they’ll probably deliver the memory of what you intended to get.”

Working memory is like information written on a Post-it note in disappearing ink, says Genova. “It only lasts a short while. New information in the brain only goes past working memory if something is meaningful, emotional, surprising, or new.” And that’s OK, she adds—you don’t need to remember every cup of coffee, every conversation. “But if your daughter texts you to say she’s just gotten engaged? You’ll remember that, because it’s meaningful, emotional, and surprising. That’s what kicks it from a working memory that evaporates in a few seconds into something that may stick around.”

Pay attention

“Attention is the golden ticket of memory,” says Genova. “It’s the first essential ingredient in remembering anything past this present moment. We often don’t use this, and then we think we’ve forgotten something. But it’s not that we’ve forgotten—we never created the memory in the first place if we didn’t pay attention .”

Let’s say you put your glasses down on the counter and then go off to do a bunch of other things. “A couple of minutes later, you’re like, Oh my God, I can’t remember where I put my glasses. What is wrong with my memory? Well, you never created a memory, because to do that, you need the neural input of attention,” says Genova. “Give it a moment’s attention—even say it out loud, because then you’re giving your auditory cortex a chance to have more input. Then you’re actually creating a memory.”

Write it down

Do you remember things much better when you’ve jotted them down? There’s a reason that’s a powerful tool, says Genova. “Think of a memory as nodes of attachment in the brain,” she says. “So if I just say some words, they have some meaning for me, but if I write them down, now I’m using another part of my brain. It involves more senses. If you think of the brain as a neural network, the more points of attachment there are to a memory, the more possibilities you have for accessing it later. Plus, by writing it down, you’re revisiting the memory, essentially practicing it, and when you do this, you are reactivating the neural pathways of that memory, making it stronger.”

Another important reason writing things down is a good practice: “Our brains are not designed to remember to do things later,” says Genova. “This is called prospective memory, and it is unreliable in everyone. People think, Oh, it’s cheating if I use a to-do list or a checklist. I should be working that part of my brain, or it’s going to get weaker. But it’s actually very good practice to outsource the job to a written list . Prospective memory requires the exact right cue in the exact right place at the exact right time. Don’t expect that your brain will remember anything you need to do later. It isn’t cheating to write things down.”

How to improve your overall memory

You can help keep your brain humming along and better able to retrieve memories by focusing on these five tips—all of which have multiple other benefits for your overall health.

Amp up your exercise

There have been several studies on the benefits of exercise for memory, and long-term research published in 2022 underscored this: It found that moderate and vigorous physical activity was associated with higher cognitive scores , including on memory tests. Besides the physiological benefits of exercise to the brain, the researchers pointed out that getting structured exercise involves self-motivation, social interaction, and planning, all of which are said to be stimulating for cognition.

You don’t need to run marathons to get benefits: brisk walking , HIIT workouts , dancing, and swimming all count. “Exercise is a total-brain activity,” says neurologist Douglas Scharre, M.D., of the Center for Cognitive and Memory Disorders at Ohio State’s Wexner Medical Center . “As you exercise, you’re building up brain connections and brain reserve and forming more neuron- to-neuron connections. The more complex the exercise, the more connections are likely made. However, any exercise is beneficial.”

Prioritize sleep

Not getting enough shut-eye night after night? That can definitely dull your memory , research shows. Here’s why: “ There’s evidence that sleep is a time when the brain is actively removing and clearing proteins and toxins,” Dr. Scharre says. “It’s important to get deep stages of sleep for the most benefit. When you’re sleep-deprived, we know that can lead to impaired thinking. And if you don’t get enough deep sleep, you may not be clearing the toxins from the brain as well.” When you focus on getting better sleep at night, you’ll very likely find that you feel sharper and more alert during the day.

Take time to de-stress

When you’re stressed and anxious, cortisol (a stress hormone ) runs high, which has an impact on the hippocampus as well as other sections of the brain that are involved in memory, research has found . So if you can’t remember where you stashed your phone and are frantically flipping over the couch cushions, take a break, sit down on that couch, and breathe deeply for a minute or two. When your brain calms down, you’ll be much better able to focus.

Zoom in on eating well

“Food definitely has an impact on memory,” says Dr. Scharre. “The brain needs oxygen, proper nutrients, and vitamins to function optimally. If you have deficiencies in any of these, the brain and the neurons will not work well. The Mediterranean diet —with vegetable oils, less red meat, more fruits and vegetables, and fewer processed sugars—seems to be good for brain function. And this diet leads to fewer problems from excess cholesterol and glucose.”

Try not to multitask

Yes, during a crazy- busy day, it’s hard to pay attention to just one thing at a time. But to return to something Genova said, attention is the golden ticket for memory. When you’re multitasking, your attention is split between two (or three or four) things, and that’s not ideal for focus. If you are talking on the phone while making coffee while putting away the groceries and then you can’t remember where you shelved the crackers you just bought, it’s no surprise: Your brain didn’t form that memory. But when you concentrate on what you’re doing, you’re making it easier for your noggin to do its job.

When to see a doctor about your memory: If you’re feeling more forgetful than not during the day and nothing seems to help, if your memory loss is associated with increasing confusion or behavior changes, or if your family is concerned that your forgetfulness seems to be increasing, it’s important to speak with your doctor right away. Cognitive and neurological tests can determine whether there’s a more serious medical situation.

Lisa is a writer and editor who specializes in producing investigative health reports and other stories that help people live their healthiest possible lives. She has won many editing awards, including the National Magazine Award. She is the former executive director of the Hearst Health Newsroom, a team that produces health and wellness content for Good Housekeeping , Prevention and Woman’s Day , and has also served on the staffs of Women’s Health , The Good Life , Parenting , Esquire and Glamour .

Brain Health

How Climate Change Changes Your Brain Chemistry

Pomegranates May Aid Memory in Alzheimer’s Disease

Study: This Slows Aging and Lowers Dementia Risk

Leaky Blood Vessels May Cause Long COVID Brain Fog

What Is Menopause Brain?

Study: Fiber Supplement May Improve Brain Function

What a Brain Expert Wants You to Know

Wendy Williams Diagnosed With Dementia and Aphasia

These 5 Habits Help Prevent Dementia

How to Age-Proof Your Whole Body

These Specific Exercises Boost Memory

Full-Length SAT Suite Practice Tests

Find full-length practice tests on Bluebook™ as well as downloadable paper (nonadaptive) practice tests to help you prepare for the SAT, PSAT/NMSQT, PSAT 10, and PSAT 8/9.

30+ Short Essay Examples

Short essay examples.

Writing essays can be one of the most daunting aspects of applying to college. From the personal statement to the extracurricular list to short answer essay questions, the way you communicate your experiences and personality within your application is crucial. Looking at short essay examples is an excellent way to prepare yourself to write your own. In this guide, we’ll provide several short essay examples to help you get a sense of what schools are looking for. 

We’ll break down the differences between short answer essay examples and long essays, give you some college essay tips, and provide a wide variety of short essay examples. Reading short essay examples for college can help you brainstorm how to structure your essays to best represent your personality. In this guide we’ll look at short essay examples from Columbia, Princeton, and many other schools and colleges. So, if you’re feeling overwhelmed by college application essays, then you’re in the right place!

But before getting into our short essay examples, let’s learn more about different types of essays and their requirements.

Essay Types and Requirements

Writing essays is a crucial part of the college admissions process. Therefore, learning about the different types of essays you’ll need to write in your college applications is a good place to start the process. There are three main types of essays you’ll encounter as you apply to college: personal statement, long/medium essays, short answer essay questions. 

Common App essay

The Common App essay , also known as a Personal Statement, is the most well-known college essay you’ll have to write. So, it is not surprising that most colleges require the Common App essay/personal statement as part of their application process. The word limit for the personal statement is 650 words, and is it usually the longest essay requirement. 

Supplemental essays

Supplemental essays vary in length; however, many colleges will have long/medium essay requirements in addition to short answer essay questions. Generally, long/medium essays are between 200-400 words. That being said, you should always review the essay requirements for each college well before the application deadlines as they will vary. 

Short answer essays

A sub-type of the supplemental essay format are short answer essay questions. It can be easy to leave the short answer essays to the last minute. However, since these essays usually have a word limit of 50-150 words, they can actually be the most difficult to write. Therefore, it’s important to dedicate enough time and energy to your short answer essays as they can help your application stand out. 

This guide will focus on short essay examples and college essay tips for short answer essay questions. Short answer essays can be challenging, especially given the small word limit. Indeed, it can be hard to adequately capture your personality and strengths in such a short format. We’ll cover short essay examples later in this guide to help inspire your writing process!

Short Essays vs. Long Essays

Managing all the different types of essays needed for your applications can be difficult. And, while the short essays may feel like they don’t take as much effort, they are just as important as the personal statement or other longer essays. 

In general, you’ll find long essays take longer to plan and edit. However, the benefit of longer essays is that you have more room to explore your ideas. Alternatively, short answer essays require you to be very intentional with every word. Therefore, they may be trickier to brainstorm and to edit down below the word limit.

Reading examples of college essays can give you a sense of how long and short essays differ, and how you should shift your approach for each. In fact, many of the short essay examples we’ve collected highlight just how impactful short answer essays can be at communicating your unique personality and interests. While long essays grant you more space, short answer essays can quickly help you stand out in the admissions process. 

Together, short and long essays help paint a holistic picture of who you are. Additionally, they help indicate if you’d be a good fit for a specific school. Reading through short answer essay examples can give you a feel of the pace and tone schools are looking for in this type of essay. 

Do all college applications require short essays?

No, not all colleges require short essays! While you research short essay examples, it’s good to keep in mind the essay requirements for each of the schools on your college list. 

You may encounter schools with a mix of short essays and long/medium essays, such as the University of Southern California or UT Austin . Some schools will only have long/medium essays in addition to the personal statement, like Vanderbilt and the University of Chicago . On the other hand, there are schools that don’t have any supplemental essay requirements, like Northeastern and Oberlin . As you make your college list, be sure to review the college admissions requirements for each school. 

What colleges require short essays?

Many different colleges require short essays. Later in this guide, we’ll look at short essay examples from Stanford , Princeton , and Columbia . However, many other schools have short essay questions.

Colleges with Short Essays

• Brown University requires four short answer essays, ranging from 3 words to 100 words. 
• California Institute of Technology (CalTech) has three optional short essays with word limits between 50-150 words. Given how competitive Caltech is, researching some short answer essay examples is wise!
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)  requires five short essay responses as part of their application. Responses should be between 100-200 words.
• University of Southern California has different short essay questions depending on your major. Check out the additional application requirements for the specific school you’re applying to. 
• University of Notre Dame has five unique short essay prompts, and students have to pick three of them to complete. Each short essay has a word limit of 50 words. Students must also respond to two other essay prompts, and although not necessarily deemed “short” essays, they have word limits of only 150. 
• Dartmouth College has three separate essay supplements; only one is considered “short” with a word limit of 100 . Reading through college essay ideas can help you brainstorm your best Dartmouth short essay. 
• Tufts University has two supplemental essay requirements, one of which is considered a short essay. For the Tufts short essay, all students must complete a sentence in 100 words or less explaining why they are applying. Take advantage of Tuft’s guide on tackling the short essay questions. 
• University of Pennsylvania has two mandatory short answer essays and one that is major specific. Each has a word limit of 150-200 words. 
• Virginia Tech has four required short essay prompts, each with a 120-word limit. 
• Occidental College has one 20-word response supplemental essay as well as a 150-200 word essay among their essay requirements.

As you can see, short essays are prevalent in many schools’ essay requirements. Therefore, reading short essay examples will help you with your applications. And remember, be sure to check each school’s specific requirements as every school is different! Writing requirements can also change yearly so search the school’s site for the most up-to-date information.

Examples of Short Prompts

In this section, we’ve compiled several short essay examples for you. For these short essay examples, we’ve included several different answers to each prompt. This will help you see the wide variety of ways you can tackle short answer essay questions. For each prompt, we’ll give you some college essay tips, and break down ways you can approach these short essays. 

The following prompts are all variations on personal interest essays. In general, these short answer essay questions help admissions officers understand your unique perspective and how your interests have shaped your understanding of the world. You can use these short essay examples as a jumping off point to shape your own approach to personal interest short essays. 

Let’s check out the first prompt and three short essay examples that answer it. 

When the choice is yours, what do you read, listen to, or watch? (50 word limit)

Response #1.

Read: The New York Times, Vox, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Quora. Favorite authors include Siddhartha Mukherjee, Atul Gawande, Dushka Zapata, and Zora Neale Hurston. 

Listen: This American Life, The Daily, Radiolab, Invisibilia, U.S. and French pop. 

Watch: The Good Place, Brooklyn 99, YouTube science, baking, and fingerstyle guitar videos.

Response #2

Read: an unhealthy number of self-help books, re-reading Just Kids by Patti Smith, every one of Audre Lorde’s books… 

Listen to: Danez Smith’s slam poetry (my personal favorite? Dinosaurs in the Hood), Still Woozy, Invisibilia… 

Watch: all the television I was forbidden from watching when I was twelve, POSE, ContraPoints, YouTubers criticizing ContraPoints… 

Response #3

Read: On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, The Wendigo, How To Write an Autobiographical Novel, Night Sky With Exit Wounds, Brainpickings.org weekly newsletter

Listen: Shostakovich, Lauv, Atlas, 20-hour-rain soundtrack on Spotify 

Watch: Avatar, Forrest Gump, Schindler’s List, Hachi (if in the mood to cry), any Marvel movie!

These media focused short answer essay questions are very popular as your answer can say a lot about who you are! However, don’t try to be impressive or list things you haven’t actually read or watched – be honest and let your personality come through. 

Now, let’s look at some more prompts and their short essay examples:

Name your favorite books, authors, films, and/or artists. (50 word limit)

I love literature and art that helps me explore my roots and learn to love myself. These works and authors include: The Color Purple, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,

Maya Angelou, Day of Tears, Hope for the Flowers, and Langston Hughes.

What newspapers, magazines, and/or websites do you enjoy? (50 word limit)

I enjoy newspapers and magazines that enable me to learn something everyday. I like National Geographic because it lets me learn more about science. Once it even inspired me to do a self directed project on albatrosses. I also enjoy The Economist as it gives me a well rounded view of today’s politics and economics.

What were your favorite events (e.g., performances, exhibits, competitions, conferences, etc.) in recent years? (50 word limit)

“December 24th, 9pm, Eastern Standard time.” Rent began. I was sitting in between my best friends. We were losing circulation in our hands from holding on too tight and washing off our make-up with our tears. I felt an immense sense of harmony with the play and it was fantastic.

These short essay examples show how robust of an answer you can write with 50 words. Furthermore, they’re great examples of how students are able to expand on their personal interests to create a cohesive story with their essays. Indeed, the best college essay ideas will strengthen your personal narrative, even within short responses! These short essay examples show how much you can learn about an applicant in minimal words.

Moving on from those unique prompts, let’s turn to a favorite among schools. You’re likely to see a version of the following prompt for many different colleges. 

Name one thing you are looking forward to experiencing at Stanford. (50 word limit)

I live by my motto: “Dare!” in all instances of Truth or Dare.

Apparently, so do the students who brave Secret Snowflake. It spotlights what I love most, Truth or Dare minus the truth. Will I attempt to break the jalapeno eating record? Hop into The Claw in sub-zero temperatures?

We’ve included this Stanford prompt to highlight the ways in which short essay examples for college can also be used to gauge your knowledge about the school you’re applying to. Many college essay tips are school specific , but it’s important to think broadly when reading examples of college essays.

While some college essay advice may apply more to one school than another, many college essay tips can be used across various schools. This prompt highlights the importance of using research to demonstrate your interest in a school. 

In general, you might notice that many short essay examples have quite unique prompts. The following prompt is creative and fun, allowing students to take their response in any direction they want.  

Imagine you had an extra hour in the day — how would you spend that time? (50 word limit)

I’d split my hour two ways, investing time in my own wellbeing and in others. Half I’d spend baking treats for friends, which would double as a personal gift, since I find baking—like running—relaxing and restorative. The second half I’d spend answering Quora questions—something I’ve been meaning to pay forward.

At eight, I dreamed of becoming a YouTuber, documenting life in rectangular video. Each year, this dream drew further from reach.

With extra time, I’d retrieve what time stole. Creating comedic skits or simply talking about my day, I’d pursue what I value most—making others laugh and capturing beautiful moments.

These short essay examples demonstrate how one thought-provoking question can capture someone’s personality and values. College admissions officers use these questions to see how well a student knows themselves and what their priorities are. When reading examples of college essays, try to imagine how your answer will come across to a stranger. What details do you need to include to make sure your thoughts and ideas come across clearly? 

How to write a short answer essay for college?

After reading a couple of short essay examples, you may feel overwhelmed with how to answer the short answer essay questions. When you’re applying to college the short answer questions may be the last thing on your priority list. However, as our short answer essay examples demonstrate, short essays can help your application stand out. 

When you first approach a short essay prompt, feel free to break it down into even smaller parts. What is the core idea you’re trying to convey? Try to answer the prompt in a single answer, or even word, first. You can then use the remaining word count to explain or justify your answer. The best short essay examples get right to the point and communicate the answer clearly and concisely. 

Once you have a version you’re happy with, get some feedback! While the short answer essay examples we’ve included feel effortless, rest assured that they were edited and workshopped. Remember that the short essay examples paint a picture of the applicant– think about what you’re putting forward, and what assumptions the reader may make.

Planning your short essay responses

Despite the small word count, short essay examples for college require thoughtful planning and careful execution. Try reading the short answer essay examples as a college admissions officer might. What story is being told? Is it being told well? 

Then consider the response in the context of an application. Are you trying to highlight your experiences and how they relate to your major? Is there anything you’re proud of that you want to mention? Looking at the short essay examples holistically can help you see how other students have been able to shape a narrative, and, in turn, can help you map out yours. 

As our examples of college essays highlight, it’s important to be precise with your words – each word should have a role and work towards your overall answer. There’s no room for fluff here! 

Things to avoid in your short essay responses!

All of our short essay examples are well-written. However, it can be helpful to know what to stay away from in your responses.

Firstly, and most importantly, avoid generic answers. Have your answers be true to who you are, and allow them to display your unique personality. The short essay examples included in this article show how crucial personality is in the application process. Good short essay examples tell you something about the author and leave you with a better sense of who they are. 

When brainstorming college essay ideas, don’t try to create totally new interests to appear impressive. It’s hard to fake authenticity. As such, owning your experiences and hobbies will be more impactful than inventing them. The short answer essay questions are a tool to help bolster your application – use them that way!

The last thing to avoid when writing short essays is waiting until the last minute to get started. While it may be tempting to focus on your longer essays, it will be obvious to admissions officers if the short answer essay questions were rushed through. The short answer essay examples included here were not written the day of the application deadline – careful planning and drafting are essential! 

What is the format for a short essay?

The beauty of short essays is that there is no single format you have to follow. As demonstrated with our short essay examples, some answers come in list form and others in short paragraph form. So don’t be afraid to experiment with the format of your answers. But remember, answering the prompt directly and quickly will allow you room to explore your rationale – don’t make the college admissions officer search for your answer! 

Researching examples of college essays that experiment with form can help you think outside the box. There is no one formula for short essay examples, so let yourself be creative. With such a limited word count, you don’t have the space to build up to your answer. The short answer essay examples we’ve included here don’t follow the traditional essay format. Don’t be afraid to break away from traditional essay rules – as long as your essay response answers the prompt, it can take on any form!

As previously mentioned, we’ve got some school-specific essay examples in store for you – starting with examples for the Columbia essay.

Columbia Short Essay Examples

The Columbia essay, like all short essays, is an important part of the overall application. The short essay examples below can help you brainstorm your own responses and serve as a guide as you write your own Columbia essay. 

Let’s jump into our Columbia essay examples. Here are the prompts and the short essay examples: 

Columbia Essay Examples Guidelines

For the list question that follows, there is a 100-word maximum. Please refer to the below guidance when answering this question: 

• Your response should be a list of items separated by commas or semicolons.
• Items do not have to be numbered or in any specific order. 
• It is not necessary to italicize or underline titles of books or other publications.
• No author names, subtitles or explanatory remarks are needed.

List a selection of texts, resources and outlets that have contributed to your intellectual development outside of academic courses, including but not limited to books, journals, websites, podcasts, essays, plays, presentations, videos, museums and other content that you enjoy. (100 words or fewer) 

1984, Oedipus Rex, Antigone, A Thousand Splendid Suns, The Kite Runner, Number the Stars, Beowulf, Into the Wild, The Crucible, The Art of Strategy, The New York Times, NBC News, NPR, The Associated Press, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, CNalaysis, Elections Daily, Sabato’s Crystal Ball, Split Ticket, FiveThirtyEight, Twitter/X, Yahoo Finance, MarketWatch, Nature, Animal World, Discovery Channel, National Geographic, Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society, Mathematical Reviews, Timeline – World History Documentaries, History Matters, Mr. Beat, Oversimplified, The Metropolitan Museum of Art 

List a few words or phrases that describe your ideal college community. (150 words or fewer) 

Cultivates conversations that cross all boundaries and borders whether in the dorms of John Jay or at The Forum. 

A community that is collaborative but challenges individuals to be the best versions of themselves. 

Where a homebody can chill with a slice of Koronet pizza or go out for a night on the town. 

A campus spirited with the buzz and excitement of the city yet mellow with the rhythmic clicks and frantic thoughts in the library. 

Full of hands with sore thumbs and paper cuts from flipping through the pages of The Aeneid 

Where an introverted-extrovert can get lost in the crowds of 8 million people or among fellow students on the Van Am Quad. 

Home. 

List the titles of the required readings from courses during the school year or summer that you enjoyed most in the past year. (150 words or fewer) 

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

List the titles of the books you read for pleasure that you enjoyed most in the past year. (150 words or fewer) 

The Girls by Emma Cline, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, The Help by Kathryn Stockett, Devil in the White City by Erik Larson, How to Be a Bawse by Lilly Singh

List the titles of the print, electronic publications and websites you read regularly. (150 words or fewer) 

Time Magazine, Vox.com (especially the Youtube channel), Vogue, Refinery29.com

List the titles of the films, concerts, shows, exhibits, lectures and other entertainments you enjoyed most in the past year. (150 words or fewer) 

Isolation Tour (Kali Uchis), American Teen Tour (Khalid), Music Midtown (Kendrick Lamar, Billie Eilish, Rainbow Kitten Surprise) – Freudian by Daniel Caesar, The New York Times Great Hall exhibit at the Newseum, “Pictures of the Year: 75 Years of the World’s Best Photography” at the Newseum – A Changing America at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, “The Future Is…” podcast summer series, Stuff You Should Know (podcast by HowStuffWorks), The Good Place, Mad Men

You’ll notice that all of the Columbia essay prompts are in list format. Therefore, they don’t leave you much room to explain or elaborate on your answers. The lists you create will speak for themselves. These short essay examples highlight the ways you can still create a strong narrative through the lists you make. 

Next, we’ll turn our attention to some great Princeton essay examples!

Princeton Short Essay Examples

Remember, when researching short essay examples for college, it can be helpful to have college-specific short essay examples. Let these short answer essay examples inspire you as you begin brainstorming your response for your own Princeton essay. 

Here are the Princeton essay examples:

What is a new skill you would like to learn in college? (50 words max) 

I would like to learn the important skill of team collaboration in college. Through research programs and student organizations, I will work within a team and navigate diverse perspectives. This will help prepare me for the collaborative complexities of the real world beyond the campus.

What brings you joy? (50 words max) 

One of my hobbies is building election models that predict the results of the next general election. It brings me great joy when I predict the results with profound accuracy, and even if I get some wrong, it’s all part of the unpredictable process—sometimes even my models need a recount!

What song represents the soundtrack of your life at this moment? (50 words max) 

“Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield represents the soundtrack of my life right now. Its lyrics mirror my journey of self-discovery and untapped potential. Lines like “Feel the rain on your skin; no one else can feel it for you” inspire me to embrace my responsibilities and savor life’s experiences.

When reading them as a whole, each Princeton essay should work to create a sense of who you are and what you’re interested in. When writing a Princeton essay, it can be tempting to come across a certain way, or try to mimic what you think college admissions officers want. However, it’s important to remain authentic in your essays and own your interests and passions. These short essay examples demonstrate this – the more authentic your answer, the better your essay will be! 

Below, we’ll wrap up our school-specific essay examples with one final school: Stanford.

Stanford Short Essays Examples

For the Stanford short essays, we’ve included more than one example for each prompt. With such a small word count, you’ll have to be super careful with your Stanford short essays. Read through these Stanford short essays to help jumpstart your writing process . 

Here are some short essay examples for the Stanford short essays: 

What is the most significant challenge that society faces today? (50 word limit)

The deterioration of political and personal empathy. There’s been an aggressive devaluing of inclusive mindsets and common ground rules—the kind of solidarity of purpose necessary to accommodate divergent viewpoints, respect evidence, share burdens, and tackle national/international emergencies like climate change and immigration. We are fumbling—in backwards tribalism—while the world burns.

Where’s Waldo books. 

By searching for Waldo, we subconsciously teach children that certain people aren’t meant to belong–they are meant to be hunted. Our brains may be hardwired to notice people who are different, but we are instructed to treat those people differently. 

Searching for Waldo must be consciously unlearned. 

Ignorance poses a paradoxical issue: we can’t solve a problem that we don’t know exists.

For fifteen years, I heard gentrification and thought humanitarian. The Oxford English Dictionary had even taught me that gentrification means “positive change.” How can such atrocities become noticed when our perceptions are so skewed?

Response #4

Greed. The root of all evil. To make momentous strides towards improving societal conditions, people and corporations must put aside their greed. Unfortunately, greed – the deep, dark desire for power and money – is the dominant force at work in many aspects of society, making it society’s most significant challenge.

These short answer essay examples highlight the different approaches you can take when answering this question. These short essay examples get to the point quickly– each example directly answers the prompt within a single sentence (or word), and then uses the remaining space to justify the answer. 

Now let’s look at the second prompt and short essay examples:

How did you spend your last two summers? (50 word limit)

Learned to drive; internship in Silicon Valley (learned to live alone and cook for myself!); Governor’s Honors Program; AAJA JCamp in Detroit; wrote articles for The Borgen Project; lobbied at the Capitol and met Rep. Lucy McBath; Kenyon Review Young Writers in Ohio; read a whole lot.

My goal: Adventure

2015: Moved from North Carolina to Texas (mission trip to Birmingham, Alabama in between), vacationed in Orlando.

2016: Math program at MIT in Boston, engineering program at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, mission trip to Laredo, Texas, vacation to northern California including the lovely Palo Alto.

These short essay examples highlight the ways in which you can play with form. The first example is in list form, while the second breaks up the answer into an easily digestible format. Don’t be afraid to experiment with your form with the short answer essay questions – they don’t have to follow a traditional format.

Here’s the third prompt:

What historical moment or event do you wish you could have witnessed? (50 word limit)

Valentina Tereshkova’s 1963 spaceflight. Tereshkova’s skill, grit, and persistence carried her from working in a textile factory, through grueling tests and training, to becoming the first woman to fly solo in space. Her accomplishment remains symbolic of women’s empowerment and the expanded progress that’s possible with equity in STEM opportunities.

In 2001, Egyptian authorities raided a gay nightclub, arresting 55 men. The prosecutors tried them under fujur laws—initially passed by Egyptian nationalists to counter British ‘immorality’ during colonization. 

Watching the prosecution construct homosexuality as un-Egyptian would illustrate the extent anti-Western sentiment drove homophobia and how similar anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric remains today. 

Most definitely Paganini’s legendary one-stringed performance; one-by-one, his violin strings snapped mid-performance until he was left with only the G-string. Being Paganini, he simply continued to play flawlessly all on that single string!

Change does not happen without courage. I wish I could have witnessed the courage it took for the four A&T students sit in at the Woolworth’s counter in my hometown, Greensboro, North Carolina. I want to see the light overcoming darkness that created a change to last forever.

When applying to college, you may encounter prompts like this one, where you’re expected to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of world events. These short answer essay examples demonstrate how you can display your personality and interests in prompts like these.

Let’s look to the fourth prompt:

What five words best describe you? (5 word limit)

Speak up. Take action. Together.

Peter Parker meets Atticus Finch

The light of the world

Short answer essay questions like these can feel the most challenging, but don’t be afraid to get creative. They are meant to help capture the essence of your personality. These short essay examples for college highlight the ways these answers can have such a big impact, in such a small format.

What makes a short essay statement stand out?

When applying to college, there’s a lot of pressure to make your essays stand out. The best short essay examples help communicate the writer’s personality and interests clearly. Developing your personal writing style is key in having your short answer essay examples stand out. Start early and don’t be afraid to get creative!

It’s also important to consider how your essays will work together.Do they tell a cohesive narrative? Do they work to highlight different experiences but help connect your bigger picture message? Reading short essay examples with a focus on cohesion can help you map out your responses. 

The best way to have your short essays stand out is to plan them out carefully, and make sure they are authentic, demonstrating who you are and what you’re interested in. The best short essay examples feel genuine and convey a core aspect of the writer’s personality. Draft and edit your short essays until they feel right to you! 

Additional Short Essay Tips

In addition to outlining short essay examples for college, we’ve compiled some additional tips to help you get started with your college essay ideas:

1. Have a brain dumping session. 

When reading short essay examples for college, it can feel intimidating if you’re unsure of what to write about. Having a brain dumping session can be a great way to inspire the writing process and help you map out what you want to communicate. Don’t worry about structure or formatting; just free-write and let the words flow! 

2. Edit, edit, edit.

It’s likely that your first draft of short essays will go over the word limit, but don’t worry! The short essay examples included here were not first drafts – they were honed and edited down to their current versions. Keep this in mind as you read short essay examples for college, and be sure to plan enough time for the editing process when writing your own essays. 

3. Be truthful.

One thing all of our short answer essay examples have in common is that they are authentic to the writer. The best short essay examples make you feel closer to the writer. They should allow you to understand the writer on a deeper level. It can be tempting to embellish your short answer essay responses to match what you think a school wants to hear, but authenticity is hard to replicate. Therefore, be true to yourself when writing your short essay responses.

Other CollegeAdvisor Essay Resources to Explore

After you’ve explored the short answer essay examples outlined here, be sure to utilize the many other resources CollegeAdvisor has to offer. In addition to guidance on the overall admissions process , CollegeAdvisor has several other resources on writing essays. After reading these short answer essay examples, you can watch our webinars on essays: Writing About Extracurriculars in Your College Essays and Supplemental Essays . 

CollegeAdvisor also has ample resources on specific colleges. You can find additional short essay examples for Columbia , Barnard , and Stanford , as well as tips and tricks from former admissions officers. If you are looking for college admissions resources, CollegeAdvisor has you covered!

Short Essay Examples – Final Takeaways

While the short answer essays may seem like the easiest part of an application, using the limited word count in a smart, thoughtful way is challenging. The short essay examples for college highlight how impactful short essays can be in building out your overall candidate profile. As you start writing your short essay answers, be sure to remain authentic and truthful. And don’t be afraid to get creative! 

College essay writing can be stressful, but don’t let the short answer essay questions intimidate you– and definitely don’t leave them to the last minute! Take your time, plan thoughtfully, and be confident in your answers. The best short essay examples for college bring out your personality – be bold and rest assured that you’re putting your best foot forward. 

This article was written by senior advisor Jess Klein . Looking for more admissions support? Click here to schedule a free meeting with one of our Admissions Specialists. During your meeting, our team will discuss your profile and help you find targeted ways to increase your admissions odds at top schools. We’ll also answer any questions and discuss how CollegeAdvisor.com can support you in the college application process.

Personalized and effective college advising for high school students.

• Advisor Application
• Popular Colleges
• Privacy Policy and Cookie Notice
• Student Login
• California Privacy Notice
• Terms and Conditions
• Your Privacy Choices

By using the College Advisor site and/or working with College Advisor, you agree to our updated Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy , including an arbitration clause that covers any disputes relating to our policies and your use of our products and services.

• PRO Courses Guides New Tech Help Pro Expert Videos About wikiHow Pro Upgrade Sign In
• EDIT Edit this Article
• EXPLORE Tech Help Pro About Us Random Article Quizzes Request a New Article Community Dashboard This Or That Game Popular Categories Arts and Entertainment Artwork Books Movies Computers and Electronics Computers Phone Skills Technology Hacks Health Men's Health Mental Health Women's Health Relationships Dating Love Relationship Issues Hobbies and Crafts Crafts Drawing Games Education & Communication Communication Skills Personal Development Studying Personal Care and Style Fashion Hair Care Personal Hygiene Youth Personal Care School Stuff Dating All Categories Arts and Entertainment Finance and Business Home and Garden Relationship Quizzes Cars & Other Vehicles Food and Entertaining Personal Care and Style Sports and Fitness Computers and Electronics Health Pets and Animals Travel Education & Communication Hobbies and Crafts Philosophy and Religion Work World Family Life Holidays and Traditions Relationships Youth
• Browse Articles
• Learn Something New
• Quizzes Hot
• This Or That Game
• Train Your Brain
• Explore More
• Support wikiHow
• About wikiHow
• Log in / Sign up
• Education and Communications
• Study Skills
• Memorization Skills

How to Memorise Paragraphs

Last Updated: June 24, 2024

This article was reviewed by Annaliese Dunne . Annaliese Dunne is a Middle School English Teacher. With over 10 years of teaching experience, her areas of expertise include writing and grammar instruction, as well as teaching reading comprehension. She is also an experienced freelance writer. She received her Bachelor's degree in English. This article has been viewed 165,627 times.

This is a simple way to learn long paragraphs for any occasion. It helps to learn speeches for presentations, lines for plays or answers to questions in language speaking exams.

Community Q&A

Reader Videos

• Once you know a phrase highlight it. Thanks Helpful 28 Not Helpful 9
• Try learning five phrases, go to do something completely different for twenty minutes, then come back and test your knowledge of the five phrases before learning the next few. Thanks Helpful 20 Not Helpful 11
• Hand-writing the paragraph can also help you remember it. Thanks Helpful 6 Not Helpful 2

Tips from our Readers

• Don't over work your brain! Spending all day trying to memorize will only make it more difficult. Split your day up so that you get to do activities that interest you in addition to learning your text. It's all about how your balance and manage your time!
• Depending on how long you have to memorize, try setting a goal each day and try to memorize at least 1-2 sentences.
• Try highlighting different sections in different colors. This may make it easier to remember.

• This technique won't work for everyone and it also depends on the size of the script. Thanks Helpful 69 Not Helpful 29

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://www.theclassroom.com/memorize-long-passages-12148758.html
• ↑ https://www.stevenaitchison.co.uk/how-to-memorise-an-entire-essay-or-speech/
• ↑ https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/backstage-experts-answer-ways-quickly-memorize-lines-6719/

About This Article

• Send fan mail to authors

Reader Success Stories

Mar 1, 2022

Did this article help you?

Sep 13, 2017

Apr 4, 2016

Oct 21, 2019

Jan 17, 2017

Featured Articles

Trending Articles

Watch Articles

• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Do Not Sell or Share My Info
• Not Selling Info

Don’t miss out! Sign up for

wikiHow’s newsletter

More From Forbes

College essays that worked and how yours can too.

• Share to Facebook
• Share to Twitter
• Share to Linkedin

CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS - JULY 08: A view of Harvard Yard on the campus of Harvard University on ... [+] July 08, 2020 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology have sued the Trump administration for its decision to strip international college students of their visas if all of their courses are held online. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

The college essay is a pivotal piece of the college application showcasing your individuality and differentiated outlook to admissions officers. What makes an essay truly shine? Let’s dive into the words behind three standout essays highlighted by university websites and a school newspaper's brand studio so you can get into the right mindset for crafting your own narrative.

Embracing Differences: Finding Strength In Uniqueness

Essay Excerpt: ‘Bra Shopping ’ (Harvard)

Featured by the Harvard Crimson Brand Studio , Orlee's essay recounts a student's humorous and insightful experience of bra shopping with her grandmother, weaving in her unique family dynamics and challenges at her prestigious school.

What Works:

• Humor and Honesty: The student's humor makes the essay enjoyable to read, while her honesty about her challenges adds depth.
• Self-Awareness: She demonstrates a strong sense of self-awareness, embracing her uniqueness rather than trying to fit in.
• Resilience: Her narrative highlights resilience and the ability to find strength in differences.

For Your Essay : To write an essay that embraces your uniqueness, start by identifying a quirky or challenging experience that reflects who a key insight into your experience. Think about how this experience has shaped your perspective and character. Use humor and honesty to bring your story to life, and focus on how you have embraced your differences to become stronger and more resilient.

Best High-Yield Savings Accounts Of 2024

Best 5% interest savings accounts of 2024, finding connections: humor and self-reflection.

Essay: ‘Brood X Cicadas ’ (Hamilton College)

As an example on Hamilton's admissions website, Nicholas writes about the cicadas swarming his hometown every 17 years and draws a parallel between their emergence and his own transition to college life. He uses humor and self-reflection to create a relatable and engaging narrative.

• Humor: Nicholas uses humor to make his essay entertaining and memorable. His witty comparisons between himself and cicadas add a unique twist.
• Self-Reflection: By comparing his life to the cicadas’, he reflects on his own growth and readiness for change.
• Relatability: His narrative about facing new experiences and challenges resonates with readers who have undergone similar transitions.

For Your Essay: To infuse humor and self-reflection into your essay, start by identifying an ordinary experience or object and think about how it relates to your life. Write down funny or insightful observations about this connection. Use humor to make your essay more engaging, but ensure it still conveys meaningful self-reflection. This balance can make your essay both entertaining and profound.

Persistence and Multicultural Identity: Life Lessons From Tortilla Making

Essay: ‘ Facing The Hot Griddle ’ (Johns Hopkins University)

In this essay published by Hopkins Insider, Rocio uses the process of making tortillas to explore her multicultural identity and the challenges she has faced. Her story beautifully weaves together her Guatemalan heritage and her experiences growing up in the United States.

• Metaphor and Symbolism: The process of making tortillas becomes a powerful metaphor for the student’s journey and struggles. The symbolism of the masa harina and water mixing parallels her blending of cultural identities.
• Personal Growth: The essay highlights her perseverance and adaptability, qualities that are crucial for success in college.
• Cultural Insight: She provides a rich, personal insight into her multicultural background, making her story unique and compelling.

For Your Essay: To write an essay that explores your identity through a metaphor, start by thinking about an activity or tradition that holds significant meaning for you. Consider how this activity relates to your life experiences and personal growth. Use detailed descriptions to bring the activity to life and draw connections between the process and your own journey. Reflect on the lessons you've learned and how they've shaped your identity.

A winning college essay isn’t simply about parading your best accomplishment or dramatizing your challenges. It’s not a contest for which student is the most original or entertaining. Rather, the essay is a chance for you to showcase your authenticity, passion, resilience, social awareness, and intellectual vitality . By sharing genuine stories and insights, you can create an essay that resonates with admissions committees and highlights your unique qualities.

For you to have the best possible essay, mindset is key. Here’s how to get into the zone:

• Reflect Deeply: Spend time thinking about your experiences, challenges, and passions. Journaling can help you uncover deep insights.
• Discuss and Share: Talking about your stories with friends, family, or mentors can provide new perspectives and emotional clarity.
• Immerse Yourself: Engage in activities that you are passionate about to reignite the feelings and memories associated with them.
• Draft Freely: Don’t worry about perfection on the first try. Write freely and honestly, then refine your narrative.

The secret to a standout college essay lies in its authenticity, depth, and emotional resonance. By learning from these successful examples and getting into the right mindset, you can craft an essay that not only stands out but also provides a meaningful insight into who you are. Remember, your essay is your story—make it a piece of writing that you will always be proud of.

• Editorial Standards
• Reprints & Permissions