The Art of Cramming

cram(verb)-to prepare hastily for an examination <cram the students for the test>

                                    -Webster’s Pocket Dictionary

            Ask anyone and they will probably tell you that cramming is never the best way to study. I believe they are right for many reasons. First of all, cramming totally drains the brain. Memorizing dates, names, facts and formulas is a kind of mental torture nobody would want to do very often. Second, knowledge gained through this method is very short-lived. Information will probably be stored in your head for only a few hours or less. So don’t expect anything to be stored infinitely in your long-term memory. Lastly, like some kind of addictive drug, once you get hooked on cramming, there’s no turning back. You will get used to it. You will try to cram your way through every test/exam/quiz life throws at you. And believe me, regular cramming does more bad than good.

            But still, there will be times when you will be forced to use cramming as your last line of defense. Like for a surprise quiz or when your schedule gets really jammed and studying becomes next to impossible. Cramming will be the only way out.

            Being a regular crammer myself, I would like to share some guidelines on how to cram properly. Here it goes.

1. Identify the main ideas.

                  Focus on the key concepts first. Skip all the small details and only come back to them when you already understood the main idea.

2. Look for keywords.

                  You don’t have to memorize the whole definition of anything. Just find a single word that you could relate with another word. For example;

      powerhouse – mitochondria

      database – MS Access

      spreadsheet – MS Excel

3. Use acronyms.

                  This is particularly useful for enumeration-type of tests. Remember the first letters of the things that will be enumerated and make a useful acronym out of it. For example: The kinds of PowerPoint views have an acronym of SONS; Slide sorter view, Outline view, Normal view, and Slide view.

4. Memorize formulas first.

                  This is for math, science and other subjects that require some kind of computation. Focus on formulas first before anything else. Problems that need solving usually score higher than normal questions.

5. Review the questions that the teacher has already asked before.

                  Chances are, many of our teachers are too lazy to formulate new questions every time there is a quiz/test/exam. So study the questions that have already been asked before and try to remember the answers.

      Remember that most of the time, cramming won’t guarantee you good grades. Heck, it sometimes can’t give you even a passing grade. Use cramming only as a last resort. So please do your brain a favor and develop good study habits. Your brain can’t handle too much torture.