There’s something odd about exams. They don’t just test your memory. They test your nerves, your preparation style, your sleep, your belief in yourself—and in many cases, your ability to sit in a hard chair for three hours without spiraling.
If you’ve ever walked into an exam feeling strangely confident, only to find your brain blanking on the one thing you thought you had memorized? You’re not alone.
What trips most people up isn’t laziness or lack of effort. It’s the fact that we’re taught to prepare in ways that look productive but aren’t. Highlighting, re-reading, making neat notes—these feel like studying. But they’re often a waste of time.
So what works instead? Here are five strategies that aren’t particularly glamorous, but they work. And the research backs them up.
5 Evidence-Based Exam Tips and Why They Work
| Tip | What It Means | Why It Works |
| Use Retrieval Practice | Recall information from memory instead of rereading | Strengthens neural pathways; improves long-term memory |
| Add Desirable Difficulties | Make studying harder on purpose (spacing, interleaving, changing settings) | Increases cognitive effort, which improves retention |
| Practice Elaboration | Ask “why” and link new info to existing knowledge | Builds deeper understanding and stronger recall |
| Simulate Exam Conditions | Practice in settings that mimic real exams (timed, quiet, upright posture, etc.) | Reduces context-switch shock and improves retrieval under pressure |
| Track Your Thinking (Metacognition) | Monitor what you know vs. don’t, adjust strategy based on progress | Helps focus effort where it matters most; avoids inefficient repetition |
Let’s break them down
1. Stop reviewing. Start remembering.
Most of us confuse recognition with understanding. We read something for the second or third time, it looks familiar, and we take that as a win.
It’s not.
Your brain only gets better at remembering when you force it to work. That means retrieval practice—trying to recall information without looking at it. Not endlessly rereading. Not just making flashcards. Actually pulling the information from memory.
This is what psychologists call the “testing effect.” It’s been studied for decades. People who regularly quiz themselves—formally or informally—retain more and forget less.
You don’t need a fancy app. Just a piece of paper. Close the book. Write down everything you remember about the topic. Wait a few hours, and try again.
Even better: get something wrong. Every time you struggle and then remember (or correct yourself), you build a stronger connection in your brain. It’s uncomfortable. That’s the point.
2. Make studying harder on purpose
We’ve been conditioned to think learning should feel smooth. When it doesn’t, we assume we’re doing it wrong.
But ease is misleading.
There’s a concept in learning psychology called “desirable difficulties.” It means that introducing certain types of friction—on purpose—actually leads to deeper learning.
Like what?
- Spacing your study sessions out over several days, instead of cramming.
- Mixing subjects or problem types, rather than focusing on one thing for hours.
- Changing your study environment now and then.
These things make the experience more mentally demanding. And that’s why they work.
If your study session feels too easy or too efficient, there’s a good chance it’s not doing much for you.
3. Add meaning, or it won’t stick
Facts don’t tend to stay in our heads unless we give them something to latch onto.
That’s why elaboration works. It’s not about memorizing more—it’s about linking what you’re learning to what you already understand.
Instead of memorizing “mitochondria are the powerhouse of the cell,” try asking:
- Why do they matter?
- What would happen if they stopped working?
- How does that relate to other processes in the body?
This kind of questioning forces your brain to build a network of meaning around the concept. That’s how real learning happens.
A simple trick? Try teaching the concept to someone else. Or pretend to. You’ll quickly discover what you actually know versus what just felt familiar.
4. Match your practice to the real thing
Here’s a weirdly under-discussed truth: how you study affects how well you remember—not just what you study.
If your revision happens on your bed, in comfy clothes, with music playing and snacks nearby, you’re training your brain in that context.
Then exam day comes, and suddenly everything is different: silent room, hard chairs, time pressure, no headphones, and a ticking clock.
Your memory suffers in that mismatch.
Psychologists call this encoding specificity; we remember things more easily when the context matches the one we learned it in.
That doesn’t mean you have to rent out a school hall to practice. But it does mean you should occasionally:
- Work at a desk instead of your bed.
- Practice past papers under timed conditions.
- Eliminate distractions (yes, that means putting your phone in another room).
- If you know your exam is in the morning, do some study in the morning.
You’re training your brain for a performance. Make the rehearsal count.
5. Think about how you think
This one’s simple, but most people skip it.
If you never pause to ask yourself how you’re studying—or whether it’s actually working—you’re likely wasting time.
This is where metacognition comes in. It’s just a fancy term for stepping back and assessing your own learning.
Some questions worth asking:
- What do I understand well?
- What am I still confused about?
- What’s my plan to fill in the gaps?
It helps to build in regular check-ins. After you finish a topic, quiz yourself. Before looking up the answers, rate your confidence. Then see where you were right—and where you weren’t.
This isn’t about perfection. It’s about awareness.
The students who learn fastest aren’t the ones who do the most—they’re the ones who notice what’s working and what’s not, and adjust quickly.
Study Strategies That Work vs. Seem Like They Work
| Looks Productive (But Isn’t) | Actually Effective |
| Rereading notes | Retrieval practice (recall without looking) |
| Highlighting and underlining | Self-quizzing and active recall |
| Cramming the night before | Spaced repetition over multiple days |
| Studying one topic for hours | Interleaved practice (mixing subjects or problem types) |
| Reviewing in a comfortable setting | Contextual rehearsal (simulating exam conditions) |
A final thought
I know this whole piece is about exam tips, but let’s be honest: exams are flawed tools.
They don’t capture everything you know. They definitely don’t reflect your intelligence or worth. They test how well you perform in an artificial, high-stakes setting. That’s it.
That said, if you’re going to face them, you might as well go in equipped.
Not with gimmicks. Not with 15-hour study marathons or “focus hacks.” Just a clearer understanding of how your brain actually works.
Because once you learn how to learn, the pressure drops. You stop second-guessing yourself. And you realize the goal was never to do what everyone else is doing—it’s to find what works for you.
And that, in the end, is the real secret.
