How to study for exams - Evidence-based revision tips - Ali Abdaal
Ineffective Popular Revision Techniques
Rereading
Highlighting and Underlining
Summarising and Note-making
Active Recall: The Most Effective Study Technique
What it is: Active recall, also known as active retrieval or practice testing, involves the deliberate effort to retrieve facts and information from your brain.
How it works: The very act of retrieving information actively strengthens the neural connections in the brain, which is a counterintuitive but highly effective learning mechanism.
High Utility: Professor Dunlosky's review paper rated practice testing as having "high utility", noting it is not time-intensive, requires minimal training, and has proven efficacy in educational contexts. They recommend that everyone should engage in more self-testing.
Intuition vs. Evidence: A 2011 study also revealed that students incorrectly rated repeated study as the most effective technique and active recall as the least effective, highlighting a significant disconnect between student perception and actual effectiveness.
Practical Strategies for Implementing Active Recall
Any activity that requires cognitive effort to retrieve previously learned information will be effective. Specific strategies include:
1. Anki (Flashcard App):
Anki is a free flashcard app (with a paid iOS version) widely used by medical students.
It uses a sophisticated spaced repetition algorithm, showing flashcards based on how well a user recalls them (e.g., easy facts are shown less frequently, harder ones more often).
It's highly effective for memorising specific facts (like anatomy or pharmacology) and "chunks" of information for essays. Some students even create flashcards directly from lectures instead of traditional note-taking.
2. Making Notes with the Book Closed:
Instead of copying directly from a textbook, learn a topic, then close the book and write down everything you can remember about it.
Afterward, open the book to identify and fill in any missing information.
This method, combined with spaced repetition, significantly improved the video creator's exam performance, particularly for essay plans using spider diagrams. Evidence for this method is also found in Professor Dunlosky's paper and the book "Make It Stick".
3. Writing Questions for Oneself (Cornell Note-taking Alternative):
Instead of traditional note-taking during lectures or from textbooks, create questions based on the material as you learn it.
During revision, actively attempt to answer these questions (mentally, on paper, or verbally).
This technique forces cognitive engagement and retrieval, strengthening information connections and improving memory and understanding.
A friend of the video creator used this method for an entire medical syllabus, leading to a top ranking in his year, demonstrating its powerful effectiveness. The greater the brainpower required for recall, the stronger the connection formed.