How to Study Quiz: What Does the Research Actually Say?

All 10 questions and answers

Try each question before you open the answer. Recalling first, then checking, is what makes a quiz stick (the testing effect).

1. Which two techniques did Dunlosky and colleagues (2013) rate as high utility in their review of study methods?

   Highlighting and rereading · Practice testing and distributed practice · Summarizing and highlighting · Rereading and mnemonic imagery

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   Practice testing and distributed practice. The review rated practice testing and distributed (spaced) practice as high utility. Highlighting, rereading and summarizing were rated low.

2. You have four hours to study for an exam. What usually gives the best long-term retention?

   One four-hour session the night before · Two hours now, two hours right after · Four one-hour sessions spread over several days · Studying until you feel you know it, all at once

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   Four one-hour sessions spread over several days. The spacing effect: the same total time spread across days beats one massed block. See our article on cramming vs. spacing.

3. What is retrieval practice?

   Rereading your notes until they feel familiar · Copying the textbook into your own notes · Bringing information back from memory, for example with a quiz · Listening to a lecture a second time

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   Bringing information back from memory, for example with a quiz. Retrieval practice means actively recalling, without looking. The effort of recalling is what strengthens the memory.

4. In Roediger and Karpicke's 2006 experiment, which students remembered more a week later?

   Those who reread the text several times · Both groups remembered the same · Those who practiced recalling the text · Those who highlighted the text

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   Those who practiced recalling the text. The restudy group felt more confident, but the group that practiced recall remembered substantially more after one week.

5. Why does rereading feel effective even though it is not?

   Rereading uses more brain energy · The text changes each time you read it · Rereading is effective, the research is mixed · Familiarity with the text is mistaken for being able to recall it

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   Familiarity with the text is mistaken for being able to recall it. This is the fluency illusion. Recognizing a page is much easier than producing the content from memory, which is what an exam asks for.

6. What is interleaving?

   Studying one topic until it is perfect before moving on · Taking a break every 25 minutes · Studying with a partner · Mixing different types of problems in one study session

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   Mixing different types of problems in one study session. Practicing A, B and C mixed forces you to pick the right method for each problem, which is exactly what exams demand. Blocked practice (AAA, BBB, CCC) feels easier but transfers worse.

7. What is the core step of the Feynman technique?

   Writing everything down twice · Studying in 25-minute blocks · Drawing a mind map first · Explaining the idea in simple words, as if teaching it

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   Explaining the idea in simple words, as if teaching it. Trying to explain simply exposes the gaps in your understanding. You then go back to the source to fill exactly those gaps.

8. What does the classic Pomodoro technique prescribe?

   50 minutes of work, then a 50-minute break · Studying only in the morning · One long break after every hour · 25 minutes of focused work, then a 5-minute break

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   25 minutes of focused work, then a 5-minute break. Francesco Cirillo's method: 25-minute focused blocks with short breaks, and a longer break after four blocks. It is a focus tool rather than a memory technique.

9. What is elaborative interrogation?

   Having a friend quiz you under time pressure · Asking yourself why a fact is true and answering it · Rewriting notes in a different color · Memorizing definitions word for word

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   Asking yourself why a fact is true and answering it. Explaining why a fact holds connects it to what you already know. Dunlosky and colleagues rated it moderate utility.

10. Is it bad to get answers wrong on a practice quiz?

    Yes, errors get stored and are hard to unlearn · No, as long as you see the correct answer afterward · Yes, you should only quiz yourself once you know everything · It makes no difference either way

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    No, as long as you see the correct answer afterward. Attempting an answer and then getting feedback improves learning, even when the attempt fails. That is why quizzing early beats waiting until you feel ready.