Miscellaneous

I?m reading Brain Rules by John Medina, and just finished watching the DVD that comes with the book. It occurs to me that, when I studied for the Louisiana bar exam, I unwittingly followed several of the rules. Result: I passed all nine sections. These were the same techniques I applied successfully in studying for law-school exams.

Rule # 1: Exercise boosts brain power. We think better on our feet?literally. When studying, I wasn?t sitting down. I was pacing around the room, outline in hand.

Rule # 5: Repeat to remember. Rule # 6: Remember to repeat. The principle is simple: repetition aids memory. So say it to yourself, then say it again, then say it one more time. Do it again later in the day.

Rule # 9: Stimulate more of the senses. Even though my bar-review course provided an outline, I still made my own outline. Making the outline involved vision and motor activity?typing the outline on my computer. When reviewing the outline, I was pacing around the room (Rule # 1) and reading the outline aloud to myself (sight, speech, hearing).

To pull together Rule ## 1, 5, 6, and 9: Make your own outline, and when reviewing, pace around the room (or walk on a treadmill if you have one), read a section of the outline aloud to yourself, then read it aloud again. Then turn your eyes away from the paper, and recite the material aloud from your short-term memory.

It worked for me. Maybe it will work for you too. Good luck.