Active recall
Close the book and retrieve the answer from memory. Retrieval practice beats re-reading in nearly every controlled comparison.
Learning, done deliberately
Study less by studying honestly.
Most study advice is folklore. This is a small, opinionated guide to the handful of techniques cognitive psychology keeps confirming — and how to fit them into a week that already feels full.
50%
Higher long-term retention from testing vs. re-reading (Roediger & Karpicke, 2006)
3×
Typical spacing intervals used in effective review schedules
25–50
Minutes of focused work before most students need a real break
Four pillars
Everything else is a variation on these four ideas.
Spaced repetition
Revisit material at widening intervals — a day, three days, a week. Forgetting a little before you review is the point.
Interleaving
Mix problem types in one session instead of blocking them. It feels harder and produces better transfer on exams.
Honest planning
Plan in real hours you actually have, not idealised ones. A 12-hour Sunday plan fails; four focused blocks don't.
Why this exists
Written by people who failed first.
Study Method started as a shared document between four postgraduate tutors who kept answering the same question: why does re-reading feel productive and change nothing? Every page here is something we've used with real students, in real terms, with real deadlines.
See the research we lean on