How to Learn Fast for Exams: 15 Proven Ways

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It’s a truth universally acknowledged that if you want to know how to learn fast for exams, you need to work hard. But as with everything else in life, there are different ways of working hard and different methods for achieving success.

Taking a class and studying for exams is a great way to learn. But it can also be overwhelming. You might have heard that cramming is the best way to learn, but that’s not always true.

For example, when you get into an exam environment and are under pressure (especially if it’s your first time), all of those facts and figures tend to fly out of your head like they never existed! So how do you learn fast? I’ve got 15 proven ways that will work for you!

The Right Way to Learn for Exam

The right way to learn for an exam is to go into it with a plan. You have to know what you are going to study, and how much time you need to spend studying.

If you have time, break up your study session into chunks of 15 minutes each. This will allow your brain enough time to process and retain the information.

The day before an exam should be spent reviewing notes and trying out practice questions in order to assess strengths and weaknesses.

How To Study For Exam In 4 Steps

Below are 4 steps on how to study for an exam:

  • Avoid Procrastination: Stop putting off studying and start doing it. The longer you wait, the more material you’ll have to cram in. Start with an hour a day and work your way up. It’ll feel overwhelming at first, but soon it’ll be second nature.

The best time to study is right before bed because you’re tired enough that it’ll help you fall asleep, but not so tired that your mind won’t be active enough to process what you’re learning.

  • Rehearse Practice: Do this by taking practice exams, teaching someone else what you learned or reciting back facts aloud to yourself. As you do these things, pay attention to how well you know each part of the material.

Figure out which parts of the subject matter are strongest and weakest for you. Use that information when planning your next session of review or practice exam-taking.

  • Space Out Material For Reviewing: Take one week to focus on just one topic (or chapter) from your textbook. That week’s worth of work should cover three main points: identifying the main idea, talking about examples and assigning words or phrases with specific meanings (i.e., vocabulary). Then take two weeks to focus on two topics (or chapters) per week.
  • Revise: After you’ve spent some time really mastering a particular topic, go back and revise the notes that you took during those sessions. Make them more detailed or clear up anything confusing. Writing down all of your thoughts can also help keep you focused while studying.

List of the Proven Ways to Learn Fast for Exams

Below is the list of the 15 proven ways to learn fast for exams:

How to Learn Fast for Exams: 15 Proven Ways

1. Understand why You Forget

Forgetting is a natural part of learning. It happens to everyone, and it’s not necessarily bad. In fact, forgetting helps us retain information better than if we remembered everything perfectly right away.

But how do you know when your forgetfulness is actually helping? When you learn something new or are trying to memorize something important like an exam question.

You may experience some temporary lapses in memory that occur when the brain is processing information on its own and then consolidating it later on in order to store it permanently in long-term memory as well as short-term working memory.

2. Start with the Basics

The first step to learning fast is understanding the basics. You need to know what the exam will be like and how it’s structured, so you can prepare yourself accordingly.

The second thing you should do is learn about the format of your exam—what kind of questions are asked, how many there’ll be and how long they take, etc…

It’s important that you understand this information so that later on in your studying process when things get hard or confusing (which they will), having a good sense of what’s expected from us helps us stay on track.

3. Repeat, Repeat, Repeat

Learning is a process of repetition. Repeating an activity over and over again will help you learn it better, faster, and more thoroughly.

Repetition makes things easier to remember. If you’re trying to remember something for an exam but find yourself forgetting it after a few days or weeks of studying, then repeating the information may be enough for the brain to keep its hold on that information for longer than if you hadn’t done so at all!

Repetition helps people understand what they have learned thoroughly so that they can apply their knowledge in real-life situations (like knowing how long one minute is).

This also applies when studying outside of class time too, if someone has been practicing an instrument every day since November then there’s probably no need for them to attend another lesson before Christmas break ends instead, they’d just want some extra practice time in between classes because otherwise their progress wouldn’t be reflected properly during those periods when lessons weren’t scheduled.

4. Organize Information using Mnemonics

Mnemonics are another handy way to learn quickly and retain information. A mnemonic is a memory aid that helps you remember something by associating it with another thing you already know.

There are lots of ways to create mnemonics, but here are a few examples:

  • A rhyming mnemonic uses words that rhyme or have similar meanings; for example, “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.” This one’s easy enough for anyone who knows how fun it is to make up silly rhymes!
  • Visual mnemonics help you remember important facts through pictures, for example when I was learning about electricity in high school science class (which was at least ten years ago), we used these cards.

5. Connect New Information To What You Already Know

The next step in learning fast is to connect new information with what you already know. This will make it easier for you to remember, and the more connections the better!

There are several ways that you can do this:

  • Use an acronym method: If a word has multiple meanings, think of each meaning as an individual letter in your word. For example, “crisis” could be seen as either crisis (an event) or CIR (a period).
  • Use a keyword method: When we think of something like “exam” or “test”, we often use different words depending on whether they refer specifically to exams or tests.

For example exam vs test; exam paper vs test question, etc… Now think about how easy it would be if those things had one common root word instead. You guessed right! That’s right, it’s called an acronym!

If this doesn’t seem like much fun yet then try using them yourself by writing down all these possible uses for each term together and then rearranging them into sentences that make sense one way or another.

6. Try Different Methods of Studying

You can try different methods of studying. This is a good idea because it will make your studying time more efficient, and you may find the method that works best for you.

The following are some examples:

  • Try doing your homework first thing in the morning, then take a walk around campus or go to class in your pajamas.
  • Do an hour’s worth of work each night before bedtime, then spend another hour on it after waking up (for example: set aside an hour after lunchtime every day).
  • Do one major topic per week rather than trying to cram everything into one day or week, this way you’ll have time between topics so they don’t seem overwhelming.

7. Get Plenty of Rest

Rest is important for learning.

How much rest you need depends on the type of information you are learning, but it’s generally recommended that you take a break for at least two hours every day, and sometimes even more if possible.

You can’t learn if you’re tired or stressed out in fact, studies have shown that stress actually blocks our ability to retain new information.

The same goes for hunger, if your body is not fed properly, then it won’t be able to focus on the task at hand, and besides being hungry itself (which could impair concentration), there may also be other factors affecting your ability to absorb new facts like lack of sleep or poor health conditions such as diabetes which may require immediate attention from medical professionals should they arise during exams season.

8. Exercise

Exercise is one of the best ways to learn. The reason for this is simple: exercise helps you to remember things better, so when you need to memorize a new concept or fact, you’ll be able to do so much faster than someone who doesn’t exercise regularly.

Exercising also makes your brain more alert and focused, which means that when it comes time for exam day, your brain will be ready for whatever comes up on test day instead of being tired or lazy because it’s been going through all this other stuff at home all day long (like homework).

So how do I get started? There are lots of different kinds of exercises, it depends on what kind works best for me! My favorite types include running around outside in my neighborhood with my friends and playing video games.

9. Limit Distractions

The first step to learning fast is to limit distractions. The most common way people get distracted is by turning on the TV or radio, but you should also try and avoid using your phone while you’re studying.

If you have trouble focusing, consider using headphones to block out any noise around you.

You can also turn off all notifications on your phone so that it doesn’t buzz every time someone sends a text or calls, which will help keep your attention focused on what’s going on in front of you instead of constantly checking social media sites for updates about what other people are doing.

And if all else fails? Use airplane mode! This will ensure that no texts come through until after exams start this way, there won’t be any interruptions during class time either.

10. Take Practice Quizzes

There are many ways to practice for exams, but one of the most important is taking small quizzes.

Create your own practice quizzes by asking yourself questions about what you know and don’t know. This will help you figure out where you need more studying in order to pass an exam or get better at a subject.

Use different sources for your practice quizzes, if one source is giving too many easy questions, try another one instead! Be sure to use multiple sources so that you don’t get bored with any particular set of questions or answers, you’ll learn more when there are different types of questions being asked (and answered).

Also, remember that different question styles work better than others, some students prefer longer answer choices over short ones while others prefer fewer words at their disposal on each page than those who like longer answers because they feel like they’re getting less information per minute spent reading them.

11. Reward Yourself

Reward yourself for progress. When you make progress, it’s natural to feel like you deserve something. Whether it’s a candy bar or an extra hour with your kids, reward yourself for each small step forward that helps you get where you want to be.

Reward yourself for meeting goals. If milestones are important to achieving success in your life, then they should also be important when learning fast! Set small but realistic goals that give you some excitement and motivation along the way (e.g., “I will read 1 chapter per day until I finish reading this book”).

12. Set a Goal

Setting a goal is the best way to help you learn fast. It can be as simple as setting a timer for 20 minutes and doing something that you’re interested in, like reading an article on your phone or watching a video on YouTube.

But if you don’t have anything specific in mind, it’s also OK to choose an abstract topic like “How do I become more organized?”

Set aside time every day to study. You’ll find that after just one week of daily homework sessions, your brain will start working differently than before.

This means that when the big day arrives (or weeks later), there won’t be any surprises about what needs reviewing or rehashing from previous classes/courses/years spent training at university/etc…

13. Create a Study Schedule

When you are trying to learn fast for exams, it’s important to create a study schedule that fits your needs.

You should make sure that you have enough time in each day and at least one full hour of sleep before going into the next day’s work.

Make sure you have plenty of time on your calendar for studying and other activities. If possible, block out hours during which nothing else can be done (like cleaning or cooking).

This will help ensure that all of your studying takes place at certain times throughout the day—not just when things are quiet or convenient (e.g., right before bed).

Make sure that whatever else is being done doesn’t interfere with studying if necessary, and break up tasks into smaller chunks so they don’t take up too much space in your schedule.

For example, maybe first thing in the morning is best, after lunchtime would be okay if needed but not ideal since there won’t be any opportunity afterward until evening comes around again.

14. Join a Study Group

You can also join a study group. The best way to learn is by helping each other, and this can help you remember information better.

Also, it’s fun! You won’t feel as stressed out when you are with others who are trying to study for their exams too.

You may even learn something new from someone else’s mistakes or successes in the subject matter being studied by all of the members of your group.

15. Get a Tutor

Tutors can help you learn fast for exams. They can also give you the structure and organization that will help you reach your goals.

Tutors are good at helping students focus on the material, which is essential when it comes to studying for exams.

This can be done in one-on-one sessions or through group tutoring sessions with other students who have the same goal as yours.

Frequently Asked Questions:

How many hours should I study per day?

Ideally, about one hour per subject per day. That's less time than you might think and it is also consistent with recommendations made by cognitive psychologists who believe cramming isn't as effective as spacing out your studying over several days.

Should I take practice exams before my real test?

Yes! The more practice exams, the better. If you've never taken an exam before, try taking a few practice tests under different conditions (i.e., at home or school). For future exams, start taking them early on so you know what to expect come test day.

Should I take notes during lectures or read from my textbook instead?

It depends on what the professor wants you to do. In some cases, they will want you to take notes while they lecture. In other cases, they will want you to read from their textbook. Try both methods to see which works best for you and your professor.

What's the best way to learn new information?

There are plenty of techniques and tricks to get information into your brain quickly, including imagery association and chunking. Experiment with these techniques until you find the ones that work best for you.

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Conclusion:

Studying is a lot of work. But it doesn’t have to be a burden. With these tips, you can learn how to study smarter and faster.

And if you want more help, there are plenty of great courses out there that will help you memorize information in no time! Some of them even offer free trial periods so you can try before buying, so don’t hesitate to give them a go.