Learn by heart quickly: method and examples

What should you learn by heart, and what should you understand?

Word for word is justified when the exact form matters: a definition asked for as is, a formula, a date, a vocabulary word, the content of an article of law. Reasoning, proofs and arguments are things you understand and redo. Reciting an essay outline learned in advance can take you away from the question actually asked.

If in doubt, ask yourself one question: would a synonym cost me points? If so, learn it word for word. Answer keys and your teacher's instructions settle this better than any general rule.

Even for learning by heart, understanding helps. A definition where you can explain every term is easier to rebuild on the day a word escapes you.

• Course definition: word for word if it is asked for as is
• Formula: by heart, with its units and conditions of use
• Date: by heart, tied to a specific event
• Vocabulary: by heart, in both directions
• Article of law: number and exact content if the exam requires it, otherwise the right idea
• Proof or reasoning: to understand and redo, not to recite

How do you memorize a text or a definition word for word?

Break the text into segments of meaning, of about five to ten words. Read the first segment, hide it, recite it out loud or write it down. Add the next segment and start again from the beginning each time, until you can recite the whole text.

Check word by word, without settling for “more or less”. Underline the word you forgot or replaced: that is the one you work on again. Writing forces you to reproduce every word; in your head, it is easy to skip one without noticing.

Then use progressive hints: write only the first letter of each word, then the first word of each segment, then nothing. At each stage, you put in a little more effort to recall the text.

How do you use flashcards to learn by heart?

One card matches one item to reproduce: on the front, a precise question; on the back, the exact answer. For vocabulary, dates and definitions, do both directions, from the word to the definition and from the definition to the word. Knowing one does not guarantee the other.

Say your answer before turning the card over, then grade yourself honestly, and do not remove a card after the first success. In an experiment on foreign-language vocabulary, Karpicke and Roediger (2008) observed that continuing to test yourself on words already recalled clearly improved recall on a later test, whereas continuing to study them had no effect. The students, for their part, could not predict their own results.

In Fichea, the flashcards created from your course notes, from 1 to 24 per generation, are reviewed according to the FSRS spaced repetition algorithm, and the schedule shows the cards planned over the next 14 days. Check each back against your course notes, especially for a definition you need to know word for word.

• Front “to achieve”, back “atteindre, réussir à”, plus the reverse card
• Front “Prise de la Bastille ?”, back “14 juillet 1789”, plus the reverse card
• Front “Aire d’un disque ?”, back “π × r², en m² si r est en mètres”
• Front “Article 1240 du Code civil ?”, back the exact text of the article

Do mnemonics work?

They help with ordered lists and items with no logical link. The French sentence “Me Voici Toute Mouillée, J’ai Suivi Un Nuage” gives the order of the planets of the solar system: Mercure, Vénus, Terre, Mars, Jupiter, Saturne, Uranus, Neptune. An acronym or an image linked to a vocabulary word works on the same principle.

Their reach remains limited. The review by Dunlosky and colleagues (2013) ranks the keyword method, which links a new word to a familiar word through an image, among the techniques of low utility: hard to apply to some content, it mostly helps with limited material and over short periods. Use it as a hook for a stubborn list, then consolidate with tests and spaced reviews.

Make up your own sentences if the ones going around do not speak to you, then test them: if you have to think for a long time to decode the sentence, it is not helping you.

How many times should you review to remember for a long time?

There is no universal number. A simple rhythm, to adjust: the same evening, the next day, three days later, a week later, then before the exam. At each review, test yourself instead of rereading; a missed item comes back sooner.

The ideal gap depends on the time until the exam. The review by Cepeda and colleagues (2006) shows that the most effective interval between two sessions grows with how long you need to remember. For a competitive exam in two months, you can space things out more than for a quiz on Friday.

As a guide, a twenty-five-minute session can be organized like this:

• 5 minutes: recite the items from the day before, notes closed
• 10 minutes: learn a new batch of five to ten items by segments
• 5 minutes: flashcards in both directions on this new batch
• 5 minutes: note the mistakes and put them at the start of the next session

Frequently asked questions