ProfeQuino / How to Study for Exams (The System That Works)
How to Study for Exams (The System That Works)
The short answer. To study for exams effectively, stop re-reading and highlighting, and build every session around two things: testing yourself from memory (active recall) and coming back to each topic several times with growing gaps (spaced repetition). These are the only two techniques rated "high utility" in the biggest review of study methods (Dunlosky et al., 2013). In practice, that means one focused 75-minute block a day: review what's due, recall without notes, check, log your mistakes, and schedule the next review. Past papers take over as the main method once you've learned the content.
I've taught secondary school since 2016, and the students I worry about most are rarely the lazy ones. They're the hard workers with beautiful notes who re-read everything three times and still go blank in the exam. They're working hard, just with the wrong tools. This page shows you the right ones, and exactly how to use them.
What actually works: the Dunlosky ranking
In 2013, five psychologists (John Dunlosky and colleagues) reviewed hundreds of studies on ten popular study techniques. They asked one question: does the technique hold up across different students, materials, tests and delays? Then they gave each one a utility rating.
| Rating | Technique | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| High | Practice testing | Testing yourself: recall from memory, flashcards, past papers |
| High | Distributed practice | Spreading study over time instead of cramming |
| Moderate | Elaborative interrogation | Asking "why is this true?" |
| Moderate | Self-explanation | Explaining each step to yourself as you go |
| Moderate | Interleaved practice | Mixing different types of problem in one session |
| Low | Summarisation | Writing summaries of the material |
| Low | Highlighting / underlining | Marking key parts of a text |
| Low | Keyword mnemonic | Linking words to vivid keyword images |
| Low | Imagery for text | Forming mental pictures while reading |
| Low | Re-reading | Reading the material again |
Source: Dunlosky, Rawson, Marsh, Nathan & Willingham (2013), Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1), 4–58.
"Low" doesn't mean useless. It means the benefit was small, inconsistent or easily beaten by something else. Notice that the three techniques most students use (re-reading, highlighting and summarising) are all in the bottom half.
A later re-analysis of the same ten techniques across 242 studies (Donoghue & Hattie, 2021) found the same two at the top: distributed practice (d = 0.85) and practice testing (d = 0.74).
The full system that turns this ranking into a daily routine. The Study System is my 66-page interactive PDF: eight techniques built on this research, a protocol for each one, a day-by-day two-week plan, a chapter for parents and eight fillable templates (spaced tracker, error journal, past paper log and more). 29 €, with a 14-day money-back guarantee. See what's inside →
Why the bad techniques feel so good
If re-reading doesn't work, why does almost everyone do it? Because it feels better.
- Re-reading feels smooth and confident, because the page is familiar. A week later, you've forgotten far more than you think.
- Cramming feels intense and effective. In one flashcard study, spacing beat cramming for about 90 % of students, yet 72 % believed cramming had worked better (Kornell, 2009).
- Testing yourself feels frustrating and slow, because you keep hitting blanks. That struggle is exactly where the learning happens.
The rule I give my students: judge a study session by what you can do tomorrow without your notes, not by how it felt today.
The two high-utility techniques
1. Active recall (practice testing)
Close the book. Ask yourself a question. Answer it from memory, in writing or out loud. Then check, and fix what you missed in a different colour.
Every successful retrieval strengthens the memory; every failed one shows you what to study next. In Roediger and Karpicke (2006), students who practised recall remembered 61 % of a text a week later, against 40 % for students who re-read it.
Formats: question-and-answer from your notes, blurting (writing everything you know on a blank page), flashcards, past-paper questions, and explaining a topic out loud.
→ Full guide: Active Recall: What It Is and How to Use It
2. Spaced repetition (distributed practice)
Come back to each topic several times, with gaps that grow: roughly day 1, day 3–4, day 7–10 and day 21. Three short sessions on three different days beat one long session.
A little forgetting between reviews makes the next recall harder, and that effort is what makes the memory last. Cepeda et al. (2006) analysed 839 assessments from 317 experiments and found spacing beat massed practice across materials and delays.
→ Full guide: Spaced Repetition Explained
The rule that ties them together
Every review must be a recall attempt. Re-reading on day 3 is not a review; it's just re-reading at a better time.
Three rules that make up the whole system
- Pull it out, don't put it in. Every session involves producing answers from memory. Reading is for the first exposure only.
- Come back before you've forgotten it all. Revisit each topic several times, with growing gaps.
- Hunt your mistakes. The point of testing yourself isn't to score well. It's to find out what you don't know while there's still time to fix it.
The daily 75-minute block
The core unit of studying for exams is one focused 75-minute block. Most days, one or two blocks per day is plenty. Two real blocks beat five hours of half-studying with a phone on the desk.
| Time | What you do |
|---|---|
| 0–5 min | Reviews due + plan. Check which topics are due for review today and pick your targets |
| 5–35 min | Retrieval block 1. Reviews first (blurt, questions, flashcards), then any new learning using short recall loops |
| Short break | Stand up, drink water, no phone scrolling |
| 35–65 min | Retrieval block 2. Practice questions, explaining a concept out loud, or a mixed set of questions from different topics |
| 65–75 min | Close the loop. Log every mistake (topic, error, correct version, why it happened) and schedule the next reviews |
Block rules:
- Phone in another room. Not face down: another room.
- One block, one subject (except mixed practice sets).
- Start with recall, every time. The first five minutes are when you're most tempted to "just read through" your notes.
- Only 25 minutes today? Do steps 1, 2 and 5 in miniature. Some recall beats none.
Your first two weeks
Knowing the techniques changes very little on its own; using them for fourteen days in a row changes a great deal.
Week 1: build the habit
- Day 1: pick one small topic you studied recently and do one recall loop (study 10–15 min, close the book, recall 5 min, check 3 min, re-test the gaps). Start a mistake log.
- Day 2: recall yesterday's topic before opening anything. Then one new topic.
- Day 3: your first full 75-minute block. Turn one set of notes into recall questions.
- Day 4: include a 10-minute blurt of Day 1's topic (it's due).
- Day 5: explain one tricky concept out loud in plain words, without notes.
- Day 6: 30 minutes of exam questions on this week's topics, notes closed, marked strictly.
- Day 7: light review only (30–45 min). Read your mistake log: which kind of error comes up most?
Week 2: make it sustainable
- Day 8: spaced review day. Day 1 and 2 topics are due again.
- Day 9: error day. Re-test every logged mistake with new questions of the same type.
- Day 10: first mixed set: 6–10 questions from at least three topics.
- Day 11: normal block.
- Day 12: one timed past-paper section under exam conditions. Mark it, log it.
- Day 13: normal block, plus explain your most repeated misconception.
- Day 14: count your error types, find your three most repeated gaps, and schedule them for this week.
When a day fails (and it will): never try to catch up with a marathon session. Do the next day normally, starting with the overdue reviews of your weakest items.
Past papers: when they take over
Once you've learned most of the content, past papers become your main study method. They're active recall, mixed practice and exam rehearsal in one.
| Mode | When | How |
|---|---|---|
| Topic questions | While learning | Questions on one topic, notes closed, mark immediately |
| Mixed sets | Middle stage | 5–10 questions from different topics |
| Full timed papers | Last 3–6 weeks | Exam conditions, full time, official mark scheme |
Where to find real papers: your exam board's website for GCSE and A-level (AQA, OCR, Pearson Edexcel, WJEC/Eduqas, CCEA, Cambridge International), AP Central for released AP free-response questions, and the official Bluebook app for full-length SAT practice tests.
The step most students skip: after every paper, log every lost mark with why you lost it (missing knowledge, misconception, wrong method, exam technique, or misreading), and fix those before the next paper. One paper fully reviewed beats three papers just scored.
Different timelines
| Time until the exam | What to do |
|---|---|
| 3+ months | Within 24 hours of each lesson, do one recall loop on it and schedule its reviews. One block on school days, two at weekends. Full papers start about 6 weeks out |
| 4–12 weeks | 1–2 blocks a day. Every examinable topic on your review schedule. Two mixed sets a week; full timed papers from about 6 weeks out |
| Under 10 days | Stop making notes. Days 1–3: blurt each major topic once. Days 4–8: one timed paper or section per subject per day, fix the errors the same day. Last days: error log, light recall, sleep |
| 3 days or less | Go for the most marks per hour: the most frequently examined topics, the most recent official paper, fix the top errors, and sleep |
Exam week
- Stop new learning (mostly).
- Your mistake log is your textbook: re-test your most repeated errors daily.
- One timed paper or section per subject per day, not five.
- Protect your sleep. Sleep supports memory consolidation (Diekelmann & Born, 2010).
- The night before: 20–30 minutes of light recall, then stop.
FAQ
What is the best way to study for exams?
Test yourself from memory and space your reviews over several days. These are the two techniques rated high utility by Dunlosky et al. (2013). Build them into a daily 75-minute block and switch to past papers once you've covered the content.
How many hours a day should I study for exams?
Quality matters more than hours. One or two focused 75-minute blocks a day, with your phone in another room, beat long unfocused sessions. In exam season, add timed papers but protect sleep.
Is it better to study a little every day or cram?
A little every day. Spaced study beats cramming across hundreds of experiments (Cepeda et al., 2006). Cramming can get you through tomorrow's test, but most of it is gone within weeks.
Does highlighting help you study?
Not much. Highlighting was rated low utility by Dunlosky et al. (2013). It feels productive, but it doesn't make you produce the information, which is what the exam asks you to do.
How do I study for exams when I have very little time?
Stop making notes, blurt each major topic once to find your gaps, then do timed past-paper sections and fix the errors the same day. Prioritise the most frequently examined topics and sleep properly.
When should I start doing past papers?
Use topic questions while you're learning, mixed sets in the middle, and full timed papers in the last 3–6 weeks before the exam. Always mark strictly with the official mark scheme.
How do I stop forgetting what I studied?
Review each topic several times with growing gaps (around day 1, 3–4, 7–10 and 21), and make every review a recall attempt, not a re-read. See the guide to spaced repetition.
About the author
Quino (ProfeQuino) has taught in Spanish secondary schools since 2016, mainly at Colegio Cristo Crucificado in Mula and before that at Colegio Sagrado Corazón in San Javier, working with students aged 12 to 18. He writes about evidence-based study methods and exam preparation at quino.pro. More about Quino →
Related: Active Recall · Spaced Repetition · Best Study Techniques Ranked · For Parents · The Study System (PDF)
References: Cepeda et al. (2006), Psychological Bulletin 132(3) · Diekelmann & Born (2010), Nature Reviews Neuroscience 11 · Donoghue & Hattie (2021), Frontiers in Education 6 · Dunlosky et al. (2013), Psychological Science in the Public Interest 14(1) · Kornell (2009), Applied Cognitive Psychology 23(9) · Roediger & Karpicke (2006), Psychological Science 17(3).