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If your study routine involves using six different coloured highlighters or putting in marathon cram sessions right before your exams, you might want to reconsider your approach
Often, many of us also like to copy the latest study techniques and trends without knowing how or why they're effective.
Even worse, a lot of these popular hacks may feel productive, but don't actually improve your academic performance in the long run.
Here are five popular study techniques that are scientifically proven to be less effective, along with five better alternatives to try:
1. Cramming might save you at the last minute, but at the cost of long-term memory
An age-old study method, cramming involves pulling an all-nighter just to get you through tomorrow's paper, but for long-term learning, this is a terrible option.
A landmark review by learning expert John Dunlosky found that spaced practice consistently outperforms cramming for retention and understanding. Cramming overloads your brain and leads to rapid forgetting once the exam is over.
Try this instead: Spaced repetition
Spaced repetition involves consistently returning to a topic or subject over a longer duration of time instead of stuffing everything in your heard in just one night.
This method works by reinforcing memory just as it starts to fade, making it one of the most effective learning strategies identified in cognitive psychology
2. Highlighting notes feels helpful, but the benefits are minimal
We all love aesthetically-pleasing notes, but your brain doesn't care about your pastel or neon highlights.
Research shows highlighting is a low-utility strategy because it promotes passive engagement. In simple terms, you're only recognising information, but not actually processing it.
If you're going to highlight, do it as a complementary step with other effective study methods, and do it sparingly.
Try this instead: Active recall
Active recall forces your brain to do real work, and works in tandem with spaced repetition as highlighted above. You can do this by testing yourself without looking at your notes.
Whether it's flashcards, blurting, or practice questions, retrieval practice strengthens memory and improves exam performance significantly.
3. Rereading the same notes only tricks your brain into thinking that it understands
This is known as the "illusion of competence".
A study published in Science.org found that students who relied on rereading performed worse than those who used retrieval-based methods.
Try this instead: Elaboration
Elaboration means explaining concepts in your own words or teaching someone else, and helps you actually understand what you're learning.
By asking "why" and "how", you build deeper connections in your brain, which improves understanding and performance on complex questions.
4. Long study sessions might seem effective, but they tap out your brain quickly
Studying for hours straight sounds like peak discipline, but your focus starts dropping much earlier than that.
Research on learning and attention shows that shorter, spaced sessions are far more effective than prolonged cramming, especially when fatigue kicks in.
Try this instead: Spaced-out study sessions
Breaking your study into shorter sessions helps maintain attention and prevents burnout.
One popular way to do this is the Pomodoro Technique — 25 minutes of focused work followed by a short break. This method supports spaced practice by keeping your brain fresh and consistent.
Overall, shorter, spaced sessions have been proven to be significantly more effective than long, continuous study periods for retention.
5. Studying one topic at a time feels easier, but it can hurt exam performance
Focusing on a single topic repeatedly might feel smart and efficient, but it can create overconfidence: You get used to one type of problem, which doesn't reflect how exams (and real life) actually test you.
Try this instead: Interleaving
Interleaving means mixing different topics or problem types in one session, and trains your brain to tackle trickier exam questions as well as related problems in the real world.
So instead of doing 20 questions on just one chapter, you alternate between a few different topics, sometimes completely unrelated ones.
For example, you might solve an algebra question, then switch to graphs, then come back to a word problem. It feels messier and a bit annoying at first (because your brain has to constantly adjust), but over time, builds stronger problem-solving skills and makes it easier to handle unpredictable exam questions.
