“I learn and understand the theory topics, but I forget them till the next morning! What should I even do???” Is this something you also complain about often?
What if we told you that it’s not your fault at all and it happens to everyone! Yes, there are many scientific theories and reasons as to why this happens. But the main point is not this. We have to find a solution on how to study theory subjects effectively.
Often it is believed that only conceptual clarity is needed in theory exams. But that’s not the case. Conceptual clarity is important but not enough. For example, you are giving class 12th board exams, you can write most of the theory in your own words, but you need to mention important keywords, like in Business Studies, or else you will lose marks.
Imagine giving professional exams like CA. Practical subjects can be easy if you know the concept, but the challenge comes in understanding how to study theory subjects in CA course, like Law, DT, IDT, Audit, EIS-SM. Because you are giving a professional exam, you are expected to present your answers well. You are expected to write complete answers, use proper words that describe the concepts.
So, are you curious to know what the toppers do that helps them score high marks in theory? What’s the best method to learn theory for you?
Here in this article, we have shared 19 study tips for you to remember the theory subjects for a long time. But, before that, you should know why these tips are important for you.
Study Tips on How to Study Theory Subjects
1. Learn Concepts
Learning keywords in theory subjects is important to score good marks, but first, you should focus on understanding concepts. Then, after you understand the concepts, you should focus on the main words.
2. Read Aloud
Whatever you are studying, read it aloud. This method is effective in theory because it uses multiple senses of our body. For example, when we read in our mind, only our visual senses are attentive. But reading theory aloud activates our visual and hearing senses, and we are also speaking simultaneously. So next time you study, try out this method.
3. Write to Learn
one of the oldest tricks in the books yet the effective one. After reading the text. Write down what you have learned either by solving questions or making notes. It brings us to our next smart study tip for exams – Summary notes.
4. Self Made Notes
A clever way to save time is to make notes for every chapter by yourself. Make notes during the class, and just after the class, quickly write any information that is still on your mind but you couldn’t write it earlier. Then, go over your notes quickly after it. Use these notes for your revisions. It helps in the first quick revision so that your mind can retain information for longer.
5. Revise, Revise, and Revise
There is nothing that beats the spaced revisions technique for learning theory subjects. As we said earlier, your mind tends to forget things quickly. So you must revise it repeatedly to reduce the forgetting effect. Now, most of you will have a valid question-how often should we revise? The recommended revisions are – the first time should be just after studying it. The second revision should be within 1-day Third revision should be in 1 week. After that, do the next revision in 1 month and finally revise once in 3 months. Your mind remembers when you go over a topic, again and again, that is why regular revisions are recommended.
6. Use Visualization
Relate things to visuals, be it real-life things or animated things. Like in Law, you can relate things to real case studies or make imaginative stories around it.
7. Take Breaks in Between
You must have heard of this popular technique before, but do you know why it’s so effective. Once you take a short 5-minute break after studying for 20-25 minutes, the Zeigarnik effect occurs. The 5-minute break every 25 minutes is called the Pomodoro technique. You must feel frustrated to leave a topic in between, but it is actually a good thing. The Zeigarnik effect is the tendency of your brain to remember unfinished tasks or information better than the complete tasks. So next time when you are taking a break, don’t panic and get yourself some healthy snacks or relax.
8. Study Multiple Subjects Instead of One
Studying just 1 subject for the whole day can be tedious for your brain. To keep it active and focussed, you need to change the subjects. Ideally, you should study 2-4 subjects in a day. We know for ca students, one subject is recommended during revisions, but you can take 2 subjects in a day without any problem. For example, if you study for 12 hours a day, give 2 hours to the main subject and 2 hours to another subject. You can choose a combination of theory and practical subjects to study for a day.
9. Set Milestones
Instead of doing a chapter at once, you can set in milestones. Your mind will not have the pressure to learn everything at once. After every milestone, you will feel motivated. You can even reward yourself after completing every or a few milestones.
10. Reward Yourself as Motivation
Often when you are studying theory, you will tend to get bored. Your mind is distracted and does not want to focus on theory because it is the least exciting thing. So to motivate and push yourself to concentrate, you can reward yourself. For example, you decide to watch the live cricket match once you complete a chapter. While studying, your mind will be motivated to complete the chapter so that you can get the chance to watch the game. You can reward an interesting thing and motivate yourself.
11. Take Tests
Another way to remember theory subjects is to test yourself. Check how much you remember by taking regular tests. Revise again if you fail to write complete and correct answers. Solving papers is a good study tip for exams, as you will practice writing scoring answers along with learning.
12. The Mind Palace Technique
It is one of the ancient techniques that have been in practice for so long. According to this method, you relate your memories to a specific place. For example, you have to learn a process. You can relate it to the route from your home to your classes. Link every step of the process with physical points in the route, like a shop or a large tree.
13. Add Fun to Theory
A smart memory technique on how to study theory subjects is to add funny things or interesting things. It’s a memory technique that will help you remember things easily by relating them to your added fun elements.
14. Feynman Technique
It is one of the amazing study tips and tricks, and probably you have been using it already since you were a kid. The Feynman method means seeing things like a teacher. When you do that, you start anticipating important topics. The only goal you want to achieve is to make others understand the topic in the simplest way possible. You can do this exercise of teaching others with anyone. If you are shy about it, imagine yourself in a classroom and do it for your imaginary audience. It may look weird to others around you, but don’t let it stop you from using this effective technique.
15. Play Quiz
A smart study tip for memorization is to play a quiz. After you have understood and learned a topic, ask any of your friends/family members to question you from that topic. The better and quicker you answer means the better you remember it.
16. Group Study
This method is a little similar to the play quiz method. When you listen to the theory topics again while discussing them with your friends, you can recall them by relating to your friends.
17. Comprehension Style
It is another of our study tips for students. Just like you solve comprehension by reading questions first and then passage, you have to apply the same method in your studies. First, review the chapter, find all the important questions related to the chapter from the previous year’s question papers. Now read the chapter to find answers to those questions.
18. Study When Your Mind is Fresh
We have often come across a popular question—when is the best time to study theory subjects? Our best recommendation is to study theory when your mind is fresh. For most people, it’s the morning time when the mind is relaxed. By morning we don’t mean 5 o’clock or earlier. You can start whenever you wake up; it could be 7 or 8 o’clock even.
19. Maintain a Good Sitting Posture
It is probably the last thing on your mind when you are stressed out about how to study theory subjects. But if you haven’t thought about this till now, trust us, you have been making a grave mistake. Answer these questions to yourself truthfully:
- Don’t you feel tired and sleepy when you are reading while lying on your bed?
- Do you even have pain/sore muscles for lying too long on one side of your body while reading?
Yes? Then you now know why you should not be lying or sitting on the bed while studying. That’s why we recommend maintaining a good posture and using proper table chairs when studying.
Excel in your Theory Exams, Start your Smart Studies Today!
These are some of the most popular, effective, and actionable study tips for students. If you wanted to know how to study theory subjects in one day, apply these tips but don’t forget the regular revisions. For students preparing for CA exams or any other exam, revisions are a must.
We hope one or more of these study tips will help you with your theory subjects. So, make a study plan and start preparing your theory subjects today.
Also Check: Courses after 12th