What Do Researchers Say Are the Best Study Techniques?
The two study techniques with the strongest research support are practice testing and spaced practice. Practice testing means quizzing yourself instead of rereading. Spaced practice means spreading your study over several days instead of cramming. Both work across age groups, subjects and exam types.
This finding comes from a major 2013 review led by Professor John Dunlosky of Kent State University, published in Psychological Science in the Public Interest. The team examined ten common learning techniques. According to the review, practice testing and distributed practice received the highest utility rating, while highlighting, rereading and summarisation were rated low.
“By just replacing rereading with delayed retrieval practice, students would benefit.” John Dunlosky, Kent State University
Technique | Research Rating | Why |
Practice testing | High | Pulling information from memory strengthens it |
Spaced (distributed) practice | High | Revisiting over days fights forgetting |
Self-explanation | Moderate | Explaining steps deepens understanding |
Interleaved practice | Moderate | Mixing problem types builds flexible thinking |
Rereading | Low | Feels familiar but builds little memory |
Highlighting | Low | Marks text without processing it |
Table: Study techniques rated by Dunlosky and colleagues, 2013
8 Student Study Techniques That Actually Work
The most effective student study techniques make your brain work to retrieve, connect and explain information. Passive methods only make information look familiar. Use the eight techniques below in combination. Most students get the best results by pairing one memory technique with one understanding technique.
1. Active Recall
Close your book and try to write down everything you remember about a topic. Then open the book and check what you missed. This small act of pulling information from memory is what makes it stick. Flashcards, chapter-end questions and blank-page summaries are all forms of active recall.
2. Spaced Repetition
Revise a topic one day after learning it, then three days later, then a week later. Each review comes just as you start to forget, which locks the memory in deeper. A simple revision calendar in your notebook is enough to start.
3. The Feynman Technique
Pick a topic and explain it in simple words, as if teaching a younger student. Wherever you get stuck or use vague words, you have found a gap. Go back to the book, fill the gap, and try again. This works very well for concepts in Physics, Economics and Business Studies.
4. Interleaving
Instead of solving 20 problems of the same type, mix different types together. In Maths, alternate between integration, probability and matrices. It feels harder, but it trains you to recognise which method a question needs, which is exactly what exams test.
5. Practice With Past Papers
Solving previous years’ question papers under timed conditions is practice testing at its best. It also shows you the exam pattern, the important chapters and how to manage time in the hall.
6. Mind Maps for Big Picture Subjects
Draw the main topic in the centre and branch out into subtopics, facts and examples. Mind maps help in subjects with many connected ideas, like Biology, History and Marketing.
7. Timed Study Blocks
Study in focused blocks with planned breaks. The Pomodoro study technique is the most popular version: 25 minutes of work and a 5 minute break, repeated four times.
8. Teach a Friend
Form a small study group and take turns teaching topics. Teaching forces you to organise your knowledge and exposes gaps quickly. Keep groups small and focused, or they turn into chat sessions.
Study Techniques for Memorization
The best study techniques for memorization combine active recall with spaced repetition. Recall strengthens the memory, and spacing keeps it from fading. For lists, formulas and definitions, add memory aids like mnemonics and visual associations to give your brain extra hooks.
Try these memorisation methods:
- Mnemonics: Create a phrase from first letters. “VIBGYOR” for the colours of the rainbow is a classic example.
- Chunking: Break long information into small groups. A 10 digit number is easier as three chunks.
- Visual association: Link a fact to a vivid image in your mind.
- Write by hand: Writing formulas by hand a few times helps more than reading them.
- Revise before sleep: A short review at night, followed by good sleep, helps memories settle.
The German psychologist Hermann Ebbinghaus showed back in 1885 that we forget new information quickly unless we review it. His “forgetting curve” is the reason spaced revision works so well.
Study Habits That Waste Your Time
Some of the most popular student study techniques are really habits that give a feeling of progress without real learning. If you spend most of your time on these, you may study for hours and still struggle in exams.
- Rereading the same chapter: It makes the text feel familiar, which tricks you into thinking you know it.
- Highlighting everything: If the whole page is yellow, nothing stands out.
- Copying notes neatly: Beautiful notes are not the same as understanding.
- Cramming the night before: You may pass, but you will forget most of it within days.
- Studying with your phone nearby: It quietly drains your focus. Learn more about how to concentrate on studies without these distractions.
How to Choose the Right Study Technique for Each Subject
The right student study techniques depend on what the subject demands. Problem-solving subjects need practice and interleaving. Theory subjects need recall and explanation. Memory-heavy subjects need spacing and mnemonics. Most subjects need a mix.
Subject Type | Examples | Best Techniques |
Problem solving | Maths, Physics, Accountancy, Statistics | Practice problems, interleaving, past papers |
Concept heavy | Economics, Business Studies, Computer Science | Feynman technique, mind maps, active recall |
Memory heavy | Biology, Chemistry reactions, Languages | Spaced repetition, mnemonics, flashcards |
Writing based | English, History, Management theory | Practice answers, outlines, teaching others |
Students in our PU Commerce course, for example, often mix practice problems for Accountancy with the Feynman technique for Business Studies. The same student can use two very different methods on the same day.
If you enjoy trying new approaches, you may also like these Japanese study methods that focus on small daily improvement and discipline.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most effective study technique for students?
Practice testing, also called active recall, is one of the most effective. Instead of rereading, you quiz yourself and check your answers. Combined with spaced repetition, it gives the strongest results according to a major 2013 research review.
Which student study techniques work best for PU exams?
For PU board exams and entrance tests, combine past paper practice, active recall and spaced revision. Use interleaving for Maths, Physics and Accountancy, and the Feynman technique for theory subjects like Economics and Business Studies.
How can I study smarter, not harder?
Replace passive habits like rereading and highlighting with active ones like self-testing and teaching. Study in focused, timed blocks, revise on a schedule, and solve past papers. You will learn more in fewer hours.
Which study technique is best for memorisation?
Spaced repetition combined with active recall works best. Review material at increasing gaps, such as one day, three days and one week, and test yourself each time. Mnemonics help with lists and formulas.
Is highlighting a good way to study?
Not on its own. Research rates highlighting as low utility because it does not make your brain process the information. If you highlight, keep it minimal and follow up by testing yourself on the marked points.
How long should I study each day?
Most PU and degree students do well with three to five hours of focused self-study on college days. What matters most is the quality of those hours, so use active techniques and avoid distractions.
Final Thoughts
The best student study techniques are not secret. They are simply less comfortable than rereading and highlighting. Active recall, spaced repetition, practice papers and teaching others all make your brain work harder in the moment, and that effort is exactly what makes learning last.
Start with one change this week: close your book and test yourself after every chapter. Once that feels normal, add spaced revision. At Trinity College, our faculty build these methods into regular classes and tests so they become second nature. Explore Trinity College Mysore to learn more about our PU and degree programmes.
About the Author
Dr Shama E Milton is the Principal of Trinity Institutions, Mysuru. Trinity offers PU programmes in Science and Commerce and degree programmes in BCA, BBA and BCom affiliated to the University of Mysore. She writes for students and parents on study habits, life skills and the choices that shape a student’s future.
Sources
- Dunlosky, J. et al. (2013), “Improving Students’ Learning With Effective Learning Techniques,” Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1), via ScienceDaily
- Ebbinghaus, H. (1885), Memory: A Contribution to Experimental Psychology