I am not too good at retaining lots of information. Anyone who is good at writing multiple choice tests, and memorizing have any tips?

thanks!

I find that when I am studying and there are a lot of processes to remember, I make up an acronym. Even if the acronym is all I end up remembering during the test I can usually deduce whether or not one of my acronym letters refers to that.

If you have one particular course that is bad, write your notes out twice. But dont just copy it: try to reformat differently each time. This forces you to make connections.

ALSO remember on a multiple choice test, the key isnt to know the information it is to RECOGNIZE it. I found this method worked well for anatomy..which is basically pure memorization.

I find that when it comes to memorizing its best to start with an outline of all the terms and motifs and then trace their applications to the subject. Getting an understanding of how everything taught in a course applies to it's concentration can really make the process of learning and remembering seamless.

Another piece of advice would be to not look at the content in fear, but rather with a plan and confidence. You should take what looks like a large amount of material, split it, and learn it part by part. If you have a study partner, you can make this easier by attempting to teach one another a certain set of terms that you've decided to focus on. This will gauge how well you know the content, as well as how you you fair at communicating it. Of course, it will also introduce your friend to the section you've studied, and you to the section she/he has.

Read, Read, Read, ...... Continue until you feel confident

Originally Posted by qwerty91

...
ALSO remember on a multiple choice test, the key isnt to know the information it is to RECOGNIZE it. I found this method worked well for anatomy..which is basically pure memorization.

Anatomy isn't best handled by memorization, urdoinitwrong

I'll just keep reading it, as actively as possible

Originally Posted by RyanC

Anatomy isn't best handled by memorization, urdoinitwrong

Anatomy has a lot of understanding in it. You could even say its mostly understanding. BUT there is a ton of memorizing in that there are certain muscles, areas, nerves, arteries etc that hold no visible pattern or real understanding. For example the "E" in IgE doesnt tell you its related to allergies or asthma. You just have to know it.

Originally Posted by qwerty91

Anatomy has a lot of understanding in it. You could even say its mostly understanding. BUT there is a ton of memorizing in that there are certain muscles, areas, nerves, arteries etc that hold no visible pattern or real understanding. For example the "E" in IgE doesnt tell you its related to allergies or asthma. You just have to know it.

I'd classify example that as biochemistry, I found the chemical stuff in that course very out of place (albeit, relevant)

I was the complete opposite for structural anatomy.. I found the naming of muscles bones nerves etc all very logical and methodical..

I make my own practice tests. I'll write out a set of notes and then re-write the parts that I feel I need practice with but I'll blank out certain sections and then answer the practice test right before the assessment. Works like a charm.

make cue cards, and keep testing yourself.. put it on your wall so you can stare it all the time

Start early.

When i memorize vocabularies and kanji for my Japanese class, I have a flash card app in on my ipod and i enter all the terms there. Afterwards, i look through them once and then write down the answers for each one, without looking through the answers and redo the ones that i didn't get an make a note of it. This is what i call "forced memorization" I keep doing this over and over until i have completely memorize it

Make a sporcle.com quiz out of the information that's covered. I've never actually tried this approach but it really helped me memorize world countries and other random stuff. It might be worth a try.

depends on the subject. categorize, chunk, mnemonics as people have mentioned above, and one i don't hear people talking about a lot would be the method of loci