It really works, that was the thing I knew from the moment i start reading “make it stick” 300 hundred pages explaining the evidence. Its nice and I feel so good right now
José Javier Rivera Benítez I was really struggling in school, but I happened upon his videos and I just got straight As in all my classes applying his techniques
@@aliabdaal It's not about being the topper, it's all about sharing the knowledge. I love your works. Thank you for sharing with us. ❤️😊 Your fan from India
Guys honestly, it works. I used active recall for ONE of my exams last year, and by far, it was my BEST. RESULT. i'm telling you guys wallah. i got a 91% in EU LAW. and btw, i didn't go to a single lecture all year. i just read the lecture handout, created questions for myself, looked more in-depth into topics i did not know, but always went back to the q's and active recall! Wish I had had the time to start earlier and do it for all my courses. Thank you Ali! God Bless!
H you don’t have to worry about going to lectures if you stay on top of your homework and readings. Use teachers office hours to ask questions. You can skip ahead in lots o classes, don’t feel like you can’t have control over your learning.
1) Instead of summarizing just write down questions without their answers 2) Go through the questions one by one and mark unknown questions red 3) Mark questions u did not get the second time in blue 4) Step 3 with a 3rd colour 5) Revise all questions before the exam Variation: Write down the answers to questions u wouldn't get the answer to right away -> Minimize the amount of summarizing e.g. include pictures, graphs, add screenshits of the textbook Important: - Don't just memorize, try to understand - If it's hard to learn sth, it's more effective!
If you're an engineering student or similar, use this method when studying theory questions! For the calculation questions just practice practice practice with spaced repetition as Ali says!🙌 Helped me so much with my exams!
Thank you for this. I'm doing Chartered Accountancy and this active recall seems like it works better with theory modules and not numbers. I'm glad I ran into your comment.
-convert everything in questions -revising the question and highlighting red the question one can't remember. -highlighting questions blue one can't answer second time.
The hard part for me is revising the questions, I still have to study other topics the next day, so I don't know how I can make time to revisit the last questions?
I recently tried something similar to this, based on active recall where I stopped taking notes for one module and I got 100% in that module (Gastro). This 100% works
Thank you for this! I was able to improve my score significantly by using this method and spaced repetition. I scored a 98/100 on my biochemistry exam!
9:46 a solution for this drawback is to write the page number where the answer to the question is found in the textbook so that you can refer to it whenever you need to and/or make a table of contents for your notes and do the same thing write pg # from ntbk
@@tantanta___9 I don't think it will waste lot of time,since you'll be reading the powerpoint while making questions so you can easily write the slide number.
Hearing you say “I can’t remember that” made me feel a lot better about my current position in medical school. I’m about to start my clinical years and feel like there is so much I can’t remember from my preclinical years.
Relatable... it’s an information overload... and so fast paced. There’s no time to commit things to memory when you’re rushing to the next 100 concepts
This is literally what the science department did for our school. They created a whole booklet full of questions covering every single point of the specification with answers with the aim of getting us to recall the answers constantly until it stuck with us. It was extremely useful as in it saved me tons of time and effort as I didn’t have to waste time making notes etc. I ended up getting 9-9 in the combined science course which is the highest grade for those of you who don’t study in the UK. That booklet made studying for my science exams profoundly pleasurable as I was constantly seeing progress in the sense that I kept memorising with relative ease. And finally, thank you Ali for making yet another high quality video spreading your knowledge. Hopefully this will get more people to use this method and ultimately smash their exams!!
@@rrrvna when you do active recall always write down what you can remember even if it's in bullet points...and in exam season like 4 weeks before exams or 6 do practice full exam papers under exam condition..also before that from time to time practice some questions from past papers.. You should always practice at home what you will be doing in the exam room..
Active Recall and Spaced Repetition 1st : Go through the textbook and convert everything into questions (methods: dont write down answers, u can find the answers in the textbook.. if u have to write down difficult answers written under toggle bars, split screen.. ) 2nd : Revise the subject. Go through the questions one by one. If u dont know the answers, colorcode the question in red. Look in your textbook/article to revise the subject. 3rd : Only go through the questions you marked in red, this time mark the questions you dont know blue.. 4th : Now just go with the blue questions, colour others purple.. 5th : Before exam go through every single question again (spaced repetition!) „When learning feels difficult our brain is forming the connections and when we sleep those connections get solidifies. Reading and highlighting is very easy.. that why we love it, but we are not actually use our brains. But the more we use our brains.. the more effortful learning it is, the more its gonna stick.“
Okay so he writes down questions and what happens if you do not know/remember the answer? In the video he mentions you are not suppose to write down the answer, do you have to find the answer each time?
I’m really happy about how I was insecure about my grades, and being insecure led my curiosity to figure out how to actively study and recall. Be curious guys.
I feel sooooooooooooooooooooo relieved. I did this naturally, scribbling questions to myself on the edges of my pages to try to understand something or to find gaps in my understanding.
I swear by the question method. In my first term of law school I was averaging mid to low 60s using the “brute force make notes and rewrite them approach.” In the second term I went with the recall spreadsheet approach and averages 75s across the board in my exams that turn and finished with top marks in several subjects and a first overall. Literally just through changing my approach to study. Can’t thank Ali’s video on that enough (check it out if you haven’t- your grades will thank you)
@@tomquigley6323 for specific quotes, write out the first letter of each word and then try to recall from just that. Over time, you will not need the first letter cues anymore. Try it first with a song lyric or movie quote you like. You still need to practice active recall though.
@@tomquigley6323 Hi Tom- I would pick a case and its principle- something like R v Miller, which is a long winded criminal case about a homeless man who fell asleep on a mattress in a building whilst smoking. He ran away from said building after discovering it on fire and was held to be liable. This case was an exception to the rule that you aren't liable for not acting- aka, if you create a dangerous situation you have to do something to prevent/help or you'll be liable. (It's more complicated than that but for the sake of the comment). I started by writing R v Miller then remembering whatever I could from classes/readings etc w/o looking anything up. Once I'd exhausted my knowledge, I would look it u and read over what I'd miss. The next time, I'd condense it- so rather than right it all down I'd slowly condense it down to a couple of words less each time. E.g. R v Miller- Man, Cigarette, Mattress, Abandonment, Exception to rule- creation of dangerous situations. After a while you've mentally condensed a whole article down to just 4-5 trigger words that when remembered will unlock a whole article's worth of contents. I used this to learn around 1000 cases for my law school finals and got top marks at a good law school. (Not because I'm bright or anything- its just legitimately a good method) I also have quite bad ADHD so I can really only study for maybe 3-4 hours a day maximum during exam time so I truly swear by effective study techniques (like the ones Ali has recommended).
@@iamlethibe Exactly! I used Ali's Google Sheet Methods (see his video on that). So for something (albeit basic) like "The four elements of a contract are offer, acceptance, intention to create legal relations and consideration". Rather than jsut write it down, I would make a question like "what are the elements of a contract". If i got it all right first time, then I would colourcode it green. It can be hard to make some notes into questions but thats where understanding comes in- you have to understand/comprehend what you've read before you can make a question. Give it a try! It's really useful. Plus it made studying more into a game/quiz which I liked.
Some days ago I studied for an exam like this, writing and answering questions. I had never learnt so fast and easily. Now I’m even more convinced that it works, so thank you. Definitely gonna use that system for university entrance exams, plus I see it as a game to go over questions. I best learn by associating concepts.
Hey Ali, I still write answers for the questions because it saves a ton of time and frustration later for me. I tend to get super overwhelmed when the exam date is very close and the last thing I want to do is “research the answer”. I think it’s okay to be fully prepped with answers to the questions too if there’s enough time, as long as we keep testing ourselves like you preach :D Update : I just got my exam result and for the first time in my life I scored a 95% and topped my class !!! I could NOT believe how much changing my study strategy was needed. Another thing which was a first was that I actually ENJOYED giving the exam lol Thank you so much Ali for everything. By the way, I’m a dental student in Canada :)
Thats exactly what I also do! I fill a full notebook page with questions and then on the next page I've got the answers ranked with numbers! It saves tons of time
When seeking information the textbook provides material closest to what the exam will be like. Generally the professor uses the textbook as a guide (if they don't they'll specify otherwise). Something that had really allowed me to excel in particular subjects was using the search engine from a PDF e-book for my textbooks. If you're looking for something specific it will filter out everything in the book. Sometimes you can even put something verbatim covered from class and it will be the exactly what you're looking for. I was scoring the highest in one of my classes when I was following this method. Meanwhile, all the other students were googling questions to the study guide and no passing. E-textbooks are a powerful tool. It has saved me hours of researching and improves my accuracy as well.
I specifically come back to this particular video half year later to tell you guys his technique ACTUALLY WORKS !!!!! I only have 1 day to study my business midterm last semester and I still aced it (90)
Not knowing this in 2002, our history teacher taught us JUST by dictating to us questions and their full answers. Told us to just write the questions and try to answer them again and again. I did so in writting (in high school still had time for this) then checked with the original the teacher gave us. I hate history and am bad at remembering the info by heart. However this way I scored 100% on the national test. It was by far the best way to study! So good, that I try to help my son learn the same way.
I tried this method for my GCSE triple science and wow! I know the text book like it’s saved on my brain ! I think the reason people don’t use methods like this is the psychological effect that when you make notes you feel like you’re learning and it feels natural to you, so people don’t try to go for methods like active recall, and they don’t know what they’re missing out on as a result of this. Amazing video and thanks!
I know this is an older comment but im doing gcse triple sxience and i was wondering how long it took you to convert the 3 textbooks into flashcards to study with? Ive already started but im worried i wont have enough time to do the entire textbook and other subjects.
@@nataliekalu2183 Flashcards are really time consuming. If you really want to do flashcards but, you're worried that you'll run out of time maybe copy and paste from an online textbook onto an online flashcards platform? 🧡🧡
@@nataliekalu2183 It's okay! 💛💛💛 Honestly, I will just recommend doing practice exam questions (I did mine from the book on Kerboodle and marked then using the online mark scheme and I also used the cgp exam practice book with spaced repetition) - that's how I got a 9 in Chemistry and 8 in Biology.
@@mrs.potatohead8471 those grades are insane! Well done :D perhaps ill put exam questions into anki flashcards and try doing that as well to get long term practice in. Thank you! Have a blessed life.
Ali, you've helped me tremendously. I've always been told, that "you need to find your own study technique, that works for you", but I have struggled a long time with finding that and I also think that it might not be totally true. I really think, active recall and spaced repetition is the way to go and since I've started using your techniques, my grades have skyrocketed. Thank you so, so much! I am actually talking to our faculty board about these methods and try to incorporate them into 1st year bachelor students curriculum, so they can learn effective study techniques.
Just done my A level exams, I remember watching this video in year 12, and honestly my life has been changed. I got A*A*A (Biology, Maths and Chemistry) it really does work and I’m grateful I saw this video. It worked mainly for Biology and I felt invisible when it came to exams - it’s genuinely satisfying to answer questions Thank you so much for sharing this.
hi there, i’m doing the same a levels as you are and i aspire to do as well as you do. did you still do notes with this method or did you just abandon your notes? at our sixth form, the teachers insist on doing notes so i just want your insight on this. i’d appreciate it if you gave up some of your time answer my questions. :)
@@spozzy1878 Hi, I actually have a RUclips channel where I show the methods I used. But I didn’t make any notes. I relied on active recall for every aspect of revision.
@@TshegoMalala it’s different from what we normally do, e.g summary notes and highlighting. But you know I guess we gotta get out our comfort zone in order for things to work.
I tried your style of studying using active recall in my previous Biostatistics exam! I studied way less and I got 50/50 points!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The exam before went well too but I wasted way too much studying!
This channel is probably one of the biggest treasure I found on my RUclips till the date. Please keep coming up with more videos that touch diverse aspects of study techniques. Thank you.
After watching your videos a year ago I started using this active recall method and I ended up receiving the best and highest grades I’ve ever had. Thank you for sharing this method!!!!
I just passed my nclex-rn exam on the 7th try. I used this method to study and passed. I wish I used this method during school. Just wanted to say thanks and great video Cheers!
@@EmergencyTop5 you try to memorise the answers while making questions or when you finish the task of question you try to revise the question and the answers too
@@mohammedhassoune4246 so you are going to rationalize every concept and agree with it. You will not agree with every principle in nursing. Too many topics to cover on nclex. Some of the nclex topics we didn’t even cover in nursing school. Peace. I love you and Happy Valentines Day bae! Muah
I used Active recall and spaced repetition for my grade twelve NATIONAL exams 3 years ago and I got the 3rd place among thousands of students 🎉(I literally learned and remembered anything by the end of the year and before the exams ,the only two questions that I got wrong out of 350 questions was not because I forgot the material rather it was just a destiny,I was meant to get those two questions wrong!! Thanks to Allah for everything Thank you Ali Abdaal ,your videos were a reason that made me smash my exams
Making question really works😊 I got highest in my final yr in my dental school with this question making method.I started making questions because i was lazy to write the entire notes initially but later found it was actually helping me & now for dental boards I did use the same strategy.so if any one is reading this ,making questions does wonders!
@@abdullahalnoman4500 just step back and find information that is revelaed to your test. You can decide this by past papers or revision guides. Make questions out of them and ask questions like, “why and how” even if it isn’t mentioned in the textbook.
Hello Ali, I'm a big fan of your channel. I'm writing this comment to express my appreciation towards you because I am already benefited from this way of studying after applying it to my study routine. I am a senior year high school student studying for 5 AP exams that are happening in one month. Before watching this video, I used the summarizing method to take notes from the Princeton Review prep book as I read along, and it was a painful process because I wasn't actually absorbing that much information. I wasn't questioning myself, as you have mentioned, trying to force things into my head. After every topic there is usually a unit drill, and when I was doing those drills I felt like I literally did not learn anything. Then I went on RUclips and found your video. At first I was skeptical, but it was a month ago I began implementing this active recall method, writing down questions but not the answers on my notebook as I read through the prep book. When I am writing down those questions I'm also actively learning because I'm also attempting to answer them. Studying is now so much more efficient and I CANNOT believe how much of an improvement I had when doing my unit drills. I just want to write this to tell everyone to not be afraid to try this method, it may seem like it's not gna work for you but it is definitely worth a try. And again, thank you so much Ali for sharing this because it definitely changed studying experience for the better.🙏🏽
I'm so happy for you ❤️❤️ I'm about to try this method for my subjects this upcoming semester! I'm currently skeptical about it, too, but I hope that it may work for me as much as it did for you. Good luck!
@@AlexRitcher364 about that... Our school's online so the administration of exams was limited. I must say I haven't used active recall that much yet. This is sad but I found myself going back to note-taking and highlighting bc the transition just requires so much energy which I did and do not have unfortunately
One thing though - the way he speaks is fantastic! There aren't a lot of cuts in the video, and I didn't have to rewind or pause at any part of the video at all. The flow is amazing... Nice video! I'm not in uni yet, but this is pretty helpful actually. Amazing video!
I'm here 1.5 years after watching this video. Since watching I revolutionised my study technique from frankly, no technique, to AR and spaced repetition - specifically using the format you demonstrated here with multiple documents of hundreds of questions and writing absolutely no notes, ever. Any writing I do goes in the bin afterwards. Now I am 3 days away from taking my medical school finals. The result will tell, but in general I wonder if I would have been able to have made so much progress if I had never watched and understood this video. Thank you for sharing
Just switched on this method recently, and it literally works like a magic! Before I used to scribble and highlight on my notes and then re-read after which is horrendously time-consuming. I had a hard time completely memorizing an abundant lessons as a med student. But this is life-changing, make the questions and answer and that's it! You'd know everything by heart! Very time efficient and memory effective.
Could i ask how you go about on a new topic that you haven't read do you have to read it all then write the questions or you use questions to read the topic??
@@JUNGU001 I do it side by side. As I read, I make a question out of it. So it means as soon as you finish reading a chapter, it means you've also finished making questions to it. I don't reread the whole chapter after, instead I'd go directly over the questions. If there's some questions I can't answer by then, that's when I'd go back to a particular passage abt that question from the chapter.
I have been using this method on and off since my first year of medicine. I'm in the fifth year now and i've tried basically every other study method and now i'm back to using this method. It's actually the best way to use active recall in my opinion.
I don't think so, as Ali said it's a difficult but very effective way to study. It still takes a ton of hard work and motivation to use active recall. Most students struggle with procrastination and not being able to keep their concentration up for longer periods of time which is something active recall can't fix. This is just an easier way for the already top students to use their time more effectively. Since they're the minority, the grade boundaries should stay pretty much the same with a possibility of a low increase for the top grade.
@@elvenmaiden7027 Very true. Active recall is very very very punishing because if you don't retest on time (with SRS) you will not remember much which will make the whole thing long and painful. People with backlogs of hundreds or thousands of cards in Anki will agree with me. Active recall and spaced repetition require a high level of organization and rigor, much higher than opening a book or notes and read.
@@elvenmaiden7027 I struggle with procrastination a lot (hello RUclips) but active recall is not that difficult really. Actually, it can keep me focused for as much as 15/20 minutes straight on anki and I would never got that time reading notes without distracting myself. I changed from a bad to a mediocre student just because of that.
I discovered this video and method last year like couple of weeks before an occupational safety computerised exam. The module readily came with sample questions so all you had to do was memorize over 500 sample questions with answers. Around 2-3 hours a week and 2 hours cramming on the exam day practicing this method, I kid you not I walked out the first 15 minutes with a 100% score (50 is full, passing is 47 so some colleagues had to repeat multiple times, some cheated). The experience was phenomenal. For 15 minutes straight I was grinning with confidence and just had to make that cocky solo exit because I deserved it. Wished I can upload the result image here. So thank you, Ali.
1. Pass through the lecture and convert the information into questions. 2. When it's revision time, you go through each question and actively recall the answers. 3. Colour code red for the questions you don't know the answers to so that the next time around, if you're short on time, you only go through the questions in red. Colour code them a different colour the next time round that you revise.
I remember the first I saw a video on Active recall on this channel you had less than 50k subscribers. You have come a long way, Ali. I have been following active recall and spaced repetition (after watching your videos) and it is the single most efficient study technique I have ever practised. I now know my subject inside out. For those planning to follow this, it will not be easy in the beginning, but worth all your efforts. Thank you Ali, for introducing us to this study technique.
I'm an engineering student who's, well, not interested in ranking anymore (I'm freaking exhausted) so I really don't know why I clicked on this video. I'm so bloody glad I did.
This is an absolute life saver. I have been doing this for about a month. I am a post graduate medical intern and this has helped me a lot with memorization and making lessons "stick". Whenever resident doctors ask us questions, I can confidently answer anything they ask me I can easily recall lectures I learned 2-3weeks ago! It's insane! Thank you for this Ali, and also to your friend Asyd. God bless!
Ali! I have always wondered why I get good grades without studying and cramming for hours and hours like most of my friends do I thought what makes the difference . Now I have discovered that I have been using this active recall method for a long time without even knowing it. After studying a topic I always take a practice test by myself and when i want to repeat that topic some days later i don't read my notes or textbook rather i try to write the topic on a paper and if I have a doubt I check it from my textbook afterwards this has really helped me throughout. You definitely deserve more subscribers because you help a lot of students.
I never realized I've been passively learning up until now! The more I watch your videos, the more I feel enlightened! Gonna start actively learning and praying I can see my grades go up by the end of the semester! Thank you for making all these helpful videos!!!
Can't believe I'm only realising this technique now at the age of 29! But couldn't be more timely. I'm studying for a test and can't wait to give this a go!
I'm 4 weeks into medical school and I'm gonna start post reading this way TODAY. Thanks RUclips for the random suggestion and thank you Ali for the good advice.
been watching you for only a week or so, and you’ve already changed my whole outlook on learning! not only that, but i think it’s positively impacting my results at school. thanks a lot :)
I have a suggestion: I understand that it is more useful to not include the answer to the questions, but what you can do to solve that is to note down next to the questions the source where you can find the answers. For example if you have ‘What is the cell membrane?’ you’ll note down ‘(biology book, unit 3, page 54)’. In that way, you’ll be able to rapidly check the information related to the content you’re lacking in.
For those who have a problem with not taking any notes, understand through the Feynman technique,take a pen and paper and write out 1 page worth of a certain concept just the bigger picture in your own words,this will help you understand before you implement active recall which is mainly for the finer details and make everything concrete,optimize before you standardize.
Been doing this technique before I even knew it's called active recall 😅. It's the only study technique that works well with me. I don't really enjoy taking down a lot of notes like how my batch mates does (they invest a lot with bullet journals and cute stanionaries) and I'm really bad at memorizing stuff but I noticed that I tend to remember things when people ask me questions about it and I try to answer. I thought I needed a review buddy because it feels stupid to ask myself questions but the i discovered flashcard apps. I rely on them a lot. If not, I try to make answersheets before my final exams. It helped me a lot.
I use this method for some of my learnings and I can confirm that it actually works! It’s a great feeling to know that there’s people that do learn this way, I thought I was one of few that only do it this way. Your videos are amazing and has helped me get better at my studies, keep up the good work
One of my hidden hobbies is learning about several topics in depth. I don’t sleep at night so studying and taking notes on my computer about things that interest me help to make me less hyper throughout the night. It used to be more of a challenge before I found your video because of my issues with focusing (no matter how interested I may be) I came across your video a few months ago and I just wanted to thank you for showing us these methods!
I've realised I was using this method accidently. I couldn't study for the exams so I was just checking on the exams that my school did from the last years and even though I've actually barely studied, I've managed to pass my exams, just by trying to solve and memorize the questions. Thanks for the video, I will use this method while studying and write my own questions :D
This is so timely...I've been writing mountains of notes in preparation for my anatomy exam Friday and I'm honestly so tired and can't remember half of what I've written. Making questions is such a genius idea. Stopping notes right now and starting questions!!!! Thanks so much
do you still feel confident in your revision even without writing notes? i want to do this method but i worry that i’ll forget stuff if i don’t have notes to fall back on
ephemeral well I’m using it for anatomy. I make questions on each lecture (I also make a separate answer sheet to the questions) and try to review them every two days or as often as I can. I haven’t really forgotten much because it’s constant revision
Used this technique to get a first class degree at a far less prestigious institution than Cambridge. But it transformed me from a D student to an A student - it works. Get the timing right and it works even better.
Bismillahirrahmanirrahim, this is an amazing method I just discovered and I thought that it will improve my study quality. I was really confused about whether I should take notes from the textbooks or not, sometimes I made notes and sometimes I didn't because it took 4 hours just to take a note and I can't remember anything from that... I definitely will try this active-recall method so I will improve my quality of gaining information from the textbooks and keep it in my head for the rest of my life.. Thank you very much for sharing this, hope you and your friend will always be healthy. Wish me luck guys.. see you in Cambridge, Oxford, or Harvard in 2024, aamiin allahumma aamiin..
I like the outtake at the end 😂 So now only 2 weeks left before my masters exam, and I’ve felt quite confident using this technique. AR and SR helped me get through the interview to get 2 full government scholarships to study in Ireland and New Zealand. They gave me only a week to prep for the interview and I couldn’t believe that I spoke exactly as I wanted to for an hour. Currently staying in Ireland, if I pay a visit to Cambridge next year, I’ll definitely message you and hopefully I can say thanks in person.
WE DON'T DESERVE GOOD PEOPLE LIKE YOU. you're such a hardworking person. There were a lor of things that I didn't understand, and you always take your time to explain everything 😭😭 thank you for all of your hard work and for helping a lot of us
Tried this and I scored the best in class for biology, last year I was struggling to even pass the test😭 thank you so much Ali!! A good start for my last term in high school ٩(◕‿◕｡)۶
I’m almost done my first year of PT school and one of the second years sent me this before I started my first semester last year. I can’t tell you how happy I am to have watched this video, it has carried me throughout school, and I honestly think this is the most efficient way to study.
Thanks to this video, I went from an 84% on my first biology exam to a 98% on the exam I just took! Thank you so much!! This technique was extremely effective for me. Not only is my score obviously significantly improved, I also got through the test much quicker and felt much more confident!
@@munakira5001 Im from the US so I’m not completely sure what A level bio is, but Im taking a principles of biology course for bio majors at the undergrad level. I still had to dedicate a huge amount of time, but using the technique in this video of writing out questions based on the reading or powerpoints was really helpful. Basically just focus on active recall rather than passive studying. Good luck!! Bio classes are no joke!
I just started trying this method yesterday and today and boy, it’s freaking hard!! 😂 I now realize why I keep on being clueless in class whenever our professor is discussing the topic no matter how many times I re-read the same material! The information is not sticking to my brain. 😂🔨 Gotta make this work! I hope this method works for me tho. Thank you, Ali! I might now be able to at least get a decent grade in my subjects! You’re heaven-sent!
I've used this method and I can tell that it's really effective Thanks to this I've obtained A+ in 2 of my modules which was not the case before I use this method
I've been using this method for awhile now..I didn't even know it had a name and that people are already using this method..Feels good to know someome else can relate It works like magic..I'm a witness
I used active recall in terms of mind palace and I got 3 A* at A level. I did two of my A levels in a year through self study. Can't stress enough how important this is in exams :) hoping to get a 1st at Uni through continuing and adapting my active recall :) thanks for motivating me today Ali!
1:37 I used this method in my school days back in 2005-6 for all the subjects which were difficult. It's an amazing technique to master any subject but it requires lot of dedication along with the time. With this method I had scored 91/100 marks in the toughest subject( for me).
Before the quarantine i watched this video for my 2 semester exam in high school and i could see the magic he was talking about , my grades were almost perfect . Now after the quarantine and after not being studying for a long time , i feel like i forgot the method . That s why i re-watched this video again today . Thank you very much 💕
Guys this thing actually works This thing changed my medical grades for good , from 0 to 100 I made small tweaks that make it work even better, but general thing is the same in the video
I tried this technique immediately after I saw one of your videos. It is really effective. I reduce 1/4 of my study time. So I usually alot it instead for answering the questions I have written. I hope I can make it through first year in med school thru this technique...
I admire how passionate that you are ..and how desperate about delivering the exact concept behind this technique. .😍..literally you're the one who fresh med students need to guide them ..😍( getting old now lol)..Allah bless you 🤗 ..
Omg this is the method and it’s the first time I have come across with this idea… it will help so much for a student like who has long topic lists for every oral subject in dental schools
I usually use the method of “writing again and again” to memorize my biomedical science notes. Ali, why didn’t you post this video before 3 years? You wasted my 3 years just writing my notes to memorize. But still I got class in my degree!. Really really interesting video and I’m gonna spread this vdo in all whatss app group s
same and used the same technique with my board and failed it so i'm gonna use this active recall and spaced repetition and hoping for a better result :)
I couldn’t agree more tbh. After I review a topic I go over it and make sure I understand all the subheading questions or whatever questions i have myself, and when it comes to math I just do a bunch of practice exercises until I don’t make mistakes anymore, works wonders 👌🏻
So helpful! Watching this has made me realise that I've been doing this for ages without realising! Active recall really is the way forward and I'll definitely be basing my revision around it now 🙏🏾 thanks Ali!
Thank you so much Ali this video honestly was one of the most helpful videos that you’ve made to this day and I’ve applied it to my studys. It’s kind of overpowered because throughout my whole life I always used to study for my exams like a good boy, but I never used to get the results that I felt like I worked enough for. after applying this method i feel like i am going to pass and get high grades whet eass💚
I have an exam in a week and a half’s time and I’m going to start grinding with this new found, seemingly efficient method. These are the results of my previous examination and I will update my next exam’s results which will decide which courses I can take for high school. English B- Mother tongue A- Math B- Science A- Geography B- History B+ Literature in English A- Design and technology B+ Art A+ Food and consumer education F- Updated results : (finally here!) English A+ Mother Tongue A+ Math A+ Science B+ Geography B- History C+ Literature in English A+ Design and Technology A- Art B- Food and consumer education C+ Next, i will announce if i got into the course of my choice. Overall, i think my results has improved at certain subjects. However, some subjects i did worse than before. Do keep in mind that the difficulty of this paper is harder than before thus the decrease in results. I will keep working hard and strive to do better :)
1st one was actually nice We eventually remember more when we question And when we aren't able to answer something and when we check the answer ,the concept stays in out mind for a longer period . I still remember when I was in 7th grade or so ,teacher asked me about magnets and where was it first discovered ,i couldn't answer that but when i came home I searched up the answer ,and trust me still i remember that fact and the definition . its been 5 years now
I swear all I do is binge watch your videos during my study breaks!! Now I have rediscovered how interesting medicine is, even though I am a law student. (No wonder I was convinced of becoming a doctor from the age of 8, but then maths decided otherwise :(( ) But I am very happy with Law too :) thank you so much for all of your content!
Hey Ali. i don't know if you read this or not. but i wanna say thank you. I can't thank you enough I started this semester, i mean my first dental semester with watching your videos. And i came up to this one. This video exactly. then i sratred following your method It's the end of my semester. i'm up top at all my classes. My classmates call me Superman since i'm up top at all the lessons, answering all questions in the classes and what have you. and of course i'm the Answer agent during our Online Exams=))))))) I just can't thank you enough. God bless you Ali. I'm Ali too and u know, i'm proud that we share names :))) i mean like, Really proud.
This is the SIMPLE, most EFFECTIVE way to use Active Recall. I always wanted to incorporate active recall in my studies but Flashcards Weren't just working for me. But, boi this method blew me up ↑. I went from being top 25% of our 1000 Student class to top 3% just by writing questions and revising them. This 100% does work so please try
I like how he keeps posting active recall videos. It’s like he needs to give us spaced repetition reminders to us about the concept itself
omg thats actually really true
its funyn because its true
It really works, that was the thing I knew from the moment i start reading “make it stick” 300 hundred pages explaining the evidence. Its nice and I feel so good right now
José Javier Rivera Benítez I was really struggling in school, but I happened upon his videos and I just got straight As in all my classes applying his techniques
@@joshuamccue2062 I struggle in med school last year, from now on I'm gonna get good grades
Plot twist: The friend Ali's talking about is actually himself but he doesn't want to brag that he ranked 1st
really or myth?
@@iop151 it's a joke
Nah
@@aliabdaal It's not about being the topper, it's all about sharing the knowledge. I love your works. Thank you for sharing with us. ❤️😊 Your fan from India
😂😂😂
Guys honestly, it works. I used active recall for ONE of my exams last year, and by far, it was my BEST. RESULT. i'm telling you guys wallah. i got a 91% in EU LAW. and btw, i didn't go to a single lecture all year. i just read the lecture handout, created questions for myself, looked more in-depth into topics i did not know, but always went back to the q's and active recall! Wish I had had the time to start earlier and do it for all my courses. Thank you Ali! God Bless!
Barakallahu feek
How could you skip ALL your lectures?? Im nervous just thinking how much money that is in total.
H you don’t have to worry about going to lectures if you stay on top of your homework and readings. Use teachers office hours to ask questions. You can skip ahead in lots o classes, don’t feel like you can’t have control over your learning.
Using the method above?
Congrats friend 🎉
1) Instead of summarizing just write down questions without their answers
2) Go through the questions one by one and mark unknown questions red
3) Mark questions u did not get the second time in blue
4) Step 3 with a 3rd colour
5) Revise all questions before the exam
Variation: Write down the answers to questions u wouldn't get the answer to right away -> Minimize the amount of summarizing e.g. include pictures, graphs, add screenshits of the textbook
Important:
- Don't just memorize, try to understand
- If it's hard to learn sth, it's more effective!
Thanks
What does sth mean?
@@joshmeep1058something
@@joshmeep1058something
Sth is a abbreviation of something @@joshmeep1058
If you're an engineering student or similar, use this method when studying theory questions! For the calculation questions just practice practice practice with spaced repetition as Ali says!🙌 Helped me so much with my exams!
Thank you for this.
I'm doing Chartered Accountancy and this active recall seems like it works better with theory modules and not numbers. I'm glad I ran into your comment.
As a Math student
Thank u
I have topology in few weeks, I'll try using this and hopefully come back eith a good update
As a CS student tks so much 😀
ruclips.net/video/Y-UB2H3xzwI/видео.html
-convert everything in questions
-revising the question and highlighting red the question one can't remember.
-highlighting questions blue one can't answer second time.
Thank you for keep it simple
And mark as purple if u can't remember even for the third time!
For the ones u can’t remember do u write down there answer or do u just search it up and then next time see if you remember it
The hard part for me is revising the questions, I still have to study other topics the next day, so I don't know how I can make time to revisit the last questions?
Thanks a lot 🙏
Imagine having Ali abdaal as your teacher , you couldn’t be more blessed
We wish , haha
He is a gem..
Literally would cry in joy tbh
are you sure about that
Um nope, no need
I recently tried something similar to this, based on active recall where I stopped taking notes for one module and I got 100% in that module (Gastro). This 100% works
Just super happy i saw your comment @Nella 😃🤗
No shit
I’m definitely applying this
yah and you talked about this in one of your video as far as i remember
ruclips.net/video/Y-UB2H3xzwI/видео.html
Thank you for this! I was able to improve my score significantly by using this method and spaced repetition.
I scored a 98/100 on my biochemistry exam!
Thanks needed reassurance for this subject THIS
Did you convert literally everything into questions?
OH MY GOD
Bet your previous score was 90.
@@Ayobamishobowale well he still improved even if it was 90 but that just shows that it will take time to improve greatly
9:46 a solution for this drawback is to write the page number where the answer to the question is found in the textbook so that you can refer to it whenever you need to and/or make a table of contents for your notes and do the same thing write pg # from ntbk
omg so smart
Thanks, was just wondering how I could find the answers without making notes
thats prob gonna waste lots of time but works
@@tantanta___9 I don't think it will waste lot of time,since you'll be reading the powerpoint while making questions so you can easily write the slide number.
@@Pixelgamiing yea but what if you are writing it on a hard copy? thats going to be lots of work
Hearing you say “I can’t remember that” made me feel a lot better about my current position in medical school. I’m about to start my clinical years and feel like there is so much I can’t remember from my preclinical years.
I feel u bruh.. Im entering that phase in a month and tbh im scared 😰
You are not alone... lol
im with u
Same here.
Relatable... it’s an information overload... and so fast paced. There’s no time to commit things to memory when you’re rushing to the next 100 concepts
This is literally what the science department did for our school. They created a whole booklet full of questions covering every single point of the specification with answers with the aim of getting us to recall the answers constantly until it stuck with us. It was extremely useful as in it saved me tons of time and effort as I didn’t have to waste time making notes etc. I ended up getting 9-9 in the combined science course which is the highest grade for those of you who don’t study in the UK. That booklet made studying for my science exams profoundly pleasurable as I was constantly seeing progress in the sense that I kept memorising with relative ease. And finally, thank you Ali for making yet another high quality video spreading your knowledge. Hopefully this will get more people to use this method and ultimately smash their exams!!
good
When you didn't know the answer to a question did you write the answer down and reread it or something? :)
@@rrrvna when you do active recall always write down what you can remember even if it's in bullet points...and in exam season like 4 weeks before exams or 6 do practice full exam papers under exam condition..also before that from time to time practice some questions from past papers..
You should always practice at home what you will be doing in the exam room..
Did they make a digital version? If so could you send it to me please?
is there anyway that you could send it to me or share where i can find it please! it will save my life, thank you.
Active Recall and Spaced Repetition
1st : Go through the textbook and convert everything into questions
(methods: dont write down answers, u can find the answers in the textbook.. if u have to write down difficult answers written under toggle bars, split screen.. )
2nd : Revise the subject. Go through the questions one by one.
If u dont know the answers, colorcode the question in red.
Look in your textbook/article to revise the subject.
3rd : Only go through the questions you marked in red, this time mark the questions you dont know blue..
4th : Now just go with the blue questions, colour others purple..
5th : Before exam go through every single question again (spaced repetition!)
„When learning feels difficult our brain is forming the connections and when we sleep those connections get solidifies. Reading and highlighting is very easy.. that why we love it, but we are not actually use our brains. But the more we use our brains.. the more effortful learning it is, the more its gonna stick.“
Is this the summary for ali video on active recall and space repitition on how to study for exam???......if yes then thanks...
Thanks man 👌
Okay so he writes down questions and what happens if you do not know/remember the answer? In the video he mentions you are not suppose to write down the answer, do you have to find the answer each time?
Avizion The answer to this is in the original comment
Do u write the questions with the book open?
I’m really happy about how I was insecure about my grades, and being insecure led my curiosity to figure out how to actively study and recall. Be curious guys.
ruclips.net/video/Y-UB2H3xzwI/видео.html
shut up
Well said. This is how I got through Engineering
Ay it's been 2 years how's your progress?
Just as the wise Einstein said he was curious not talented
I feel sooooooooooooooooooooo relieved. I did this naturally, scribbling questions to myself on the edges of my pages to try to understand something or to find gaps in my understanding.
You try to memorise the answers while making questions or when you finish the task of questions you try to revise the questions and answers too
I swear by the question method. In my first term of law school I was averaging mid to low 60s using the “brute force make notes and rewrite them approach.”
In the second term I went with the recall spreadsheet approach and averages 75s across the board in my exams that turn and finished with top marks in several subjects and a first overall.
Literally just through changing my approach to study. Can’t thank Ali’s video on that enough (check it out if you haven’t- your grades will thank you)
Hi, I study law too. Can I just ask how you made this method work for reading articles etc or specific quotes? Thank you very much
@@tomquigley6323 for specific quotes, write out the first letter of each word and then try to recall from just that.
Over time, you will not need the first letter cues anymore.
Try it first with a song lyric or movie quote you like.
You still need to practice active recall though.
So all you did was read your notes and translate them into questions and ask yourslef
@@tomquigley6323 Hi Tom- I would pick a case and its principle- something like R v Miller, which is a long winded criminal case about a homeless man who fell asleep on a mattress in a building whilst smoking. He ran away from said building after discovering it on fire and was held to be liable. This case was an exception to the rule that you aren't liable for not acting- aka, if you create a dangerous situation you have to do something to prevent/help or you'll be liable. (It's more complicated than that but for the sake of the comment). I started by writing R v Miller then remembering whatever I could from classes/readings etc w/o looking anything up. Once I'd exhausted my knowledge, I would look it u and read over what I'd miss. The next time, I'd condense it- so rather than right it all down I'd slowly condense it down to a couple of words less each time. E.g. R v Miller- Man, Cigarette, Mattress, Abandonment, Exception to rule- creation of dangerous situations.
After a while you've mentally condensed a whole article down to just 4-5 trigger words that when remembered will unlock a whole article's worth of contents. I used this to learn around 1000 cases for my law school finals and got top marks at a good law school. (Not because I'm bright or anything- its just legitimately a good method)
I also have quite bad ADHD so I can really only study for maybe 3-4 hours a day maximum during exam time so I truly swear by effective study techniques (like the ones Ali has recommended).
@@iamlethibe Exactly! I used Ali's Google Sheet Methods (see his video on that).
So for something (albeit basic) like "The four elements of a contract are offer, acceptance, intention to create legal relations and consideration". Rather than jsut write it down, I would make a question like "what are the elements of a contract". If i got it all right first time, then I would colourcode it green.
It can be hard to make some notes into questions but thats where understanding comes in- you have to understand/comprehend what you've read before you can make a question. Give it a try! It's really useful. Plus it made studying more into a game/quiz which I liked.
Some days ago I studied for an exam like this, writing and answering questions. I had never learnt so fast and easily. Now I’m even more convinced that it works, so thank you. Definitely gonna use that system for university entrance exams, plus I see it as a game to go over questions. I best learn by associating concepts.
Can u pls be mpre specific at what u did . Is this pure writeling questions?
Can you tell me in detail how you use it please tell me request from Pakistan
Hey Ali, I still write answers for the questions because it saves a ton of time and frustration later for me. I tend to get super overwhelmed when the exam date is very close and the last thing I want to do is “research the answer”. I think it’s okay to be fully prepped with answers to the questions too if there’s enough time, as long as we keep testing ourselves like you preach :D
Update : I just got my exam result and for the first time in my life I scored a 95% and topped my class !!! I could NOT believe how much changing my study strategy was needed. Another thing which was a first was that I actually ENJOYED giving the exam lol
Thank you so much Ali for everything. By the way, I’m a dental student in Canada :)
Yes that's a smart way !!
Maria Writes that’s basically like doing flashcards which is helpful
Thats exactly what I also do!
I fill a full notebook page with questions and then on the next page I've got the answers ranked with numbers!
It saves tons of time
When seeking information the textbook provides material closest to what the exam will be like. Generally the professor uses the textbook as a guide (if they don't they'll specify otherwise). Something that had really allowed me to excel in particular subjects was using the search engine from a PDF e-book for my textbooks. If you're looking for something specific it will filter out everything in the book. Sometimes you can even put something verbatim covered from class and it will be the exactly what you're looking for. I was scoring the highest in one of my classes when I was following this method. Meanwhile, all the other students were googling questions to the study guide and no passing. E-textbooks are a powerful tool. It has saved me hours of researching and improves my accuracy as well.
I was looking for this comment, i tought the same, but what i am doing is using an app called quizlet :)
I specifically come back to this particular video half year later to tell you guys his technique ACTUALLY WORKS !!!!! I only have 1 day to study my business midterm last semester and I still aced it (90)
Not knowing this in 2002, our history teacher taught us JUST by dictating to us questions and their full answers. Told us to just write the questions and try to answer them again and again. I did so in writting (in high school still had time for this) then checked with the original the teacher gave us. I hate history and am bad at remembering the info by heart. However this way I scored 100% on the national test. It was by far the best way to study! So good, that I try to help my son learn the same way.
may i ask what you do when you don’t know the answer to the questions?
@@iprefernottospeak1247lol find the answer?
that's great
I tried this method for my GCSE triple science and wow! I know the text book like it’s saved on my brain ! I think the reason people don’t use methods like this is the psychological effect that when you make notes you feel like you’re learning and it feels natural to you, so people don’t try to go for methods like active recall, and they don’t know what they’re missing out on as a result of this. Amazing video and thanks!
I know this is an older comment but im doing gcse triple sxience and i was wondering how long it took you to convert the 3 textbooks into flashcards to study with? Ive already started but im worried i wont have enough time to do the entire textbook and other subjects.
@@nataliekalu2183 Flashcards are really time consuming. If you really want to do flashcards but, you're worried that you'll run out of time maybe copy and paste from an online textbook onto an online flashcards platform? 🧡🧡
@@mrs.potatohead8471 thank you so much for the advice!
@@nataliekalu2183 It's okay! 💛💛💛 Honestly, I will just recommend doing practice exam questions (I did mine from the book on Kerboodle and marked then using the online mark scheme and I also used the cgp exam practice book with spaced repetition) - that's how I got a 9 in Chemistry and 8 in Biology.
@@mrs.potatohead8471 those grades are insane! Well done :D perhaps ill put exam questions into anki flashcards and try doing that as well to get long term practice in. Thank you! Have a blessed life.
Ali, you've helped me tremendously. I've always been told, that "you need to find your own study technique, that works for you", but I have struggled a long time with finding that and I also think that it might not be totally true. I really think, active recall and spaced repetition is the way to go and since I've started using your techniques, my grades have skyrocketed. Thank you so, so much! I am actually talking to our faculty board about these methods and try to incorporate them into 1st year bachelor students curriculum, so they can learn effective study techniques.
yessir! loads of wishes to u my g,stay positive!!
I love it that you are eager to share it with others. 💜
Imagine being the guy or woman that has the highest grades in your year at Harvard or Oxford or Cambridge.
Must be cool
Lol
Ppl would start worshiping me ,from my country
takes divine powers
Damnnn must feel really good!
Yes, imagine 😅
Just done my A level exams, I remember watching this video in year 12, and honestly my life has been changed. I got A*A*A (Biology, Maths and Chemistry) it really does work and I’m grateful I saw this video. It worked mainly for Biology and I felt invisible when it came to exams - it’s genuinely satisfying to answer questions
Thank you so much for sharing this.
hi there, i’m doing the same a levels as you are and i aspire to do as well as you do. did you still do notes with this method or did you just abandon your notes? at our sixth form, the teachers insist on doing notes so i just want your insight on this. i’d appreciate it if you gave up some of your time answer my questions. :)
@@spozzy1878 Hi, I actually have a RUclips channel where I show the methods I used.
But I didn’t make any notes. I relied on active recall for every aspect of revision.
@@raph_n4 hi again, i was just going to ask, u also did exam questions along with these yes? so just this method and exam practice?
@@spozzy1878 yeah
Hi
How did you do with mathematics?
I feel like active recall is just scary cos we're so used to other feeeedingg methods, but I think it's definitely the most effective
how is it scary?
@@TshegoMalala it’s different from what we normally do, e.g summary notes and highlighting. But you know I guess we gotta get out our comfort zone in order for things to work.
@@TshegoMalala it's scary for me to find out exactly how much i dont know .. then it gets overwhelming 😭
I tried your style of studying using active recall in my previous Biostatistics exam! I studied way less and I got 50/50 points!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The exam before went well too but I wasted way too much studying!
This channel is probably one of the biggest treasure I found on my RUclips till the date. Please keep coming up with more videos that touch diverse aspects of study techniques.
Thank you.
After watching your videos a year ago I started using this active recall method and I ended up receiving the best and highest grades I’ve ever had. Thank you for sharing this method!!!!
I just passed my nclex-rn exam on the 7th try. I used this method to study and passed. I wish I used this method during school. Just wanted to say thanks and great video Cheers!
I’m so happy for you!
@@BonqweshiaJenkins Thank you
How you know which questions to ask. ?
@@EmergencyTop5 you try to memorise the answers while making questions or when you finish the task of question you try to revise the question and the answers too
@@mohammedhassoune4246 so you are going to rationalize every concept and agree with it. You will not agree with every principle in nursing. Too many topics to cover on nclex. Some of the nclex topics we didn’t even cover in nursing school. Peace. I love you and Happy Valentines Day bae! Muah
I used Active recall and spaced repetition for my grade twelve NATIONAL exams 3 years ago and I got the 3rd place among thousands of students 🎉(I literally learned and remembered anything by the end of the year and before the exams ,the only two questions that I got wrong out of 350 questions was not because I forgot the material rather it was just a destiny,I was meant to get those two questions wrong!!
Thanks to Allah for everything
Thank you Ali Abdaal ,your videos were a reason that made me smash my exams
is the method as effective if I just use my flashcards?
Making question really works😊 I got highest in my final yr in my dental school with this question making method.I started making questions because i was lazy to write the entire notes initially but later found it was actually helping me & now for dental boards I did use the same strategy.so if any one is reading this ,making questions does wonders!
Hey!!!! Would love to know you personally😭. Just started dentistry too. I love learning from people ahead if you don't mind😁
If i start make questions. It will never end. Like in the first chapter of my history book, i could make thousands of questions. What do i d
@@abdullahalnoman4500 😂😭 same
@@abdullahalnoman4500 just step back and find information that is revelaed to your test. You can decide this by past papers or revision guides. Make questions out of them and ask questions like, “why and how” even if it isn’t mentioned in the textbook.
@@adamalmir5214 should I memorise question or anewrs of questions?
Hello Ali, I'm a big fan of your channel. I'm writing this comment to express my appreciation towards you because I am already benefited from this way of studying after applying it to my study routine. I am a senior year high school student studying for 5 AP exams that are happening in one month. Before watching this video, I used the summarizing method to take notes from the Princeton Review prep book as I read along, and it was a painful process because I wasn't actually absorbing that much information. I wasn't questioning myself, as you have mentioned, trying to force things into my head. After every topic there is usually a unit drill, and when I was doing those drills I felt like I literally did not learn anything. Then I went on RUclips and found your video. At first I was skeptical, but it was a month ago I began implementing this active recall method, writing down questions but not the answers on my notebook as I read through the prep book. When I am writing down those questions I'm also actively learning because I'm also attempting to answer them. Studying is now so much more efficient and I CANNOT believe how much of an improvement I had when doing my unit drills. I just want to write this to tell everyone to not be afraid to try this method, it may seem like it's not gna work for you but it is definitely worth a try. And again, thank you so much Ali for sharing this because it definitely changed studying experience for the better.🙏🏽
I'm so happy for you ❤️❤️ I'm about to try this method for my subjects this upcoming semester! I'm currently skeptical about it, too, but I hope that it may work for me as much as it did for you. Good luck!
@@annaceciliaolgado365 how it going?
@@AlexRitcher364 about that... Our school's online so the administration of exams was limited. I must say I haven't used active recall that much yet. This is sad but I found myself going back to note-taking and highlighting bc the transition just requires so much energy which I did and do not have unfortunately
One thing though - the way he speaks is fantastic! There aren't a lot of cuts in the video, and I didn't have to rewind or pause at any part of the video at all. The flow is amazing...
Nice video! I'm not in uni yet, but this is pretty helpful actually. Amazing video!
I'm here 1.5 years after watching this video. Since watching I revolutionised my study technique from frankly, no technique, to AR and spaced repetition - specifically using the format you demonstrated here with multiple documents of hundreds of questions and writing absolutely no notes, ever. Any writing I do goes in the bin afterwards. Now I am 3 days away from taking my medical school finals. The result will tell, but in general I wonder if I would have been able to have made so much progress if I had never watched and understood this video. Thank you for sharing
please update
we need an update!
update?
Just switched on this method recently, and it literally works like a magic! Before I used to scribble and highlight on my notes and then re-read after which is horrendously time-consuming. I had a hard time completely memorizing an abundant lessons as a med student. But this is life-changing, make the questions and answer and that's it! You'd know everything by heart! Very time efficient and memory effective.
Could i ask how you go about on a new topic that you haven't read do you have to read it all then write the questions or you use questions to read the topic??
@@JUNGU001 I do it side by side. As I read, I make a question out of it. So it means as soon as you finish reading a chapter, it means you've also finished making questions to it. I don't reread the whole chapter after, instead I'd go directly over the questions. If there's some questions I can't answer by then, that's when I'd go back to a particular passage abt that question from the chapter.
@@Arc1Yuni thanks really helpful👍👍👍
when did u answer the questions? like as u were writing them or after you wrote them all, and did you use ur book or no book?
" Oh God I can't remember at all"
That's literally ME everytime I recall something I studied.
😂😂
I have been using this method on and off since my first year of medicine. I'm in the fifth year now and i've tried basically every other study method and now i'm back to using this method. It's actually the best way to use active recall in my opinion.
The more people that hear about active recall, the higher the grade boundaries would be.
Shueb Khan some selfish shit lmao
I don't think so, as Ali said it's a difficult but very effective way to study. It still takes a ton of hard work and motivation to use active recall. Most students struggle with procrastination and not being able to keep their concentration up for longer periods of time which is something active recall can't fix. This is just an easier way for the already top students to use their time more effectively. Since they're the minority, the grade boundaries should stay pretty much the same with a possibility of a low increase for the top grade.
That’s why we gotta keep this quiet
@@elvenmaiden7027 Very true. Active recall is very very very punishing because if you don't retest on time (with SRS) you will not remember much which will make the whole thing long and painful. People with backlogs of hundreds or thousands of cards in Anki will agree with me.
Active recall and spaced repetition require a high level of organization and rigor, much higher than opening a book or notes and read.
@@elvenmaiden7027 I struggle with procrastination a lot (hello RUclips) but active recall is not that difficult really. Actually, it can keep me focused for as much as 15/20 minutes straight on anki and I would never got that time reading notes without distracting myself.
I changed from a bad to a mediocre student just because of that.
I discovered this video and method last year like couple of weeks before an occupational safety computerised exam. The module readily came with sample questions so all you had to do was memorize over 500 sample questions with answers. Around 2-3 hours a week and 2 hours cramming on the exam day practicing this method, I kid you not I walked out the first 15 minutes with a 100% score (50 is full, passing is 47 so some colleagues had to repeat multiple times, some cheated). The experience was phenomenal. For 15 minutes straight I was grinning with confidence and just had to make that cocky solo exit because I deserved it. Wished I can upload the result image here. So thank you, Ali.
1. Pass through the lecture and convert the information into questions.
2. When it's revision time, you go through each question and actively recall the answers.
3. Colour code red for the questions you don't know the answers to so that the next time around, if you're short on time, you only go through the questions in red. Colour code them a different colour the next time round that you revise.
How I study for exams ?
Watching how to study for exams vidéos on RUclips.
Doing exactly this today. I have a pharmacology test tomorrow and here i am watching this
coz ur brain thinks its easier to watch it,rather than that why dont u watch some videos related to u r chapter
Sana Ng good luck!
@@lightmaze7738 already gave the test but still thanks
Ah, I see I am not alone. Cellbiology test coming up, but I’ll just watch videos about studying instead
I remember the first I saw a video on Active recall on this channel you had less than 50k subscribers. You have come a long way, Ali.
I have been following active recall and spaced repetition (after watching your videos) and it is the single most efficient study technique I have ever practised. I now know my subject inside out.
For those planning to follow this, it will not be easy in the beginning, but worth all your efforts.
Thank you Ali, for introducing us to this study technique.
I'm an engineering student who's, well, not interested in ranking anymore (I'm freaking exhausted) so I really don't know why I clicked on this video. I'm so bloody glad I did.
Maybe you are destined to take interest in ranking for the rest of your life
This is an absolute life saver. I have been doing this for about a month. I am a post graduate medical intern and this has helped me a lot with memorization and making lessons "stick". Whenever resident doctors ask us questions, I can confidently answer anything they ask me I can easily recall lectures I learned 2-3weeks ago! It's insane! Thank you for this Ali, and also to your friend Asyd. God bless!
You try to memorise the answers while making questions or when you finish the task of questions you try to revise the questions and answers too
This could be the single best video which will change someone's career.
Ali! I have always wondered why I get good grades without studying and cramming for hours and hours like most of my friends do I thought what makes the difference . Now I have discovered that I have been using this active recall method for a long time without even knowing it. After studying a topic I always take a practice test by myself and when i want to repeat that topic some days later i don't read my notes or textbook rather i try to write the topic on a paper and if I have a doubt I check it from my textbook afterwards this has really helped me throughout.
You definitely deserve more subscribers because you help a lot of students.
I never realized I've been passively learning up until now! The more I watch your videos, the more I feel enlightened! Gonna start actively learning and praying I can see my grades go up by the end of the semester! Thank you for making all these helpful videos!!!
"The way to make it stick is by retrieving it and not putting it in."
-Ali 2019
yessir, that some God level thinking
Amazing👍
Can't believe I'm only realising this technique now at the age of 29! But couldn't be more timely. I'm studying for a test and can't wait to give this a go!
I'm 4 weeks into medical school and I'm gonna start post reading this way TODAY. Thanks RUclips for the random suggestion and thank you Ali for the good advice.
been watching you for only a week or so, and you’ve already changed my whole outlook on learning! not only that, but i think it’s positively impacting my results at school. thanks a lot :)
I have a suggestion: I understand that it is more useful to not include the answer to the questions, but what you can do to solve that is to note down next to the questions the source where you can find the answers. For example if you have ‘What is the cell membrane?’ you’ll note down ‘(biology book, unit 3, page 54)’. In that way, you’ll be able to rapidly check the information related to the content you’re lacking in.
Thanks! Good idea
That's really super good idea
Great thanks 🙏🏾
Ali "Active Recall" Abdaal
For those who have a problem with not taking any notes, understand through the Feynman technique,take a pen and paper and write out 1 page worth of a certain concept just the bigger picture in your own words,this will help you understand before you implement active recall which is mainly for the finer details and make everything concrete,optimize before you standardize.
This is what I've been doing for years, so glad to hear it's what Ali recommends too!
From algeria just started watching u after i find it randomly i love every thing u say and how u say it
Dz 💚✌✊
Dz too 😁
@@soumiayousfi9968 ohh hey from which wilaya u r??
YETNEHAW GA3 HHH AKOUM HNA YA SUBHAN ALLAH WE R THE BEST
Aqlagh dda
Asking questions always digs deeper into your understanding and memorization 👌
Yea... duh
@@DomainAspect That was rude. What is obvious to you may not be obvious to others. Avoid using the word "duh" to strangers.
Been doing this technique before I even knew it's called active recall 😅. It's the only study technique that works well with me. I don't really enjoy taking down a lot of notes like how my batch mates does (they invest a lot with bullet journals and cute stanionaries) and I'm really bad at memorizing stuff but I noticed that I tend to remember things when people ask me questions about it and I try to answer. I thought I needed a review buddy because it feels stupid to ask myself questions but the i discovered flashcard apps. I rely on them a lot. If not, I try to make answersheets before my final exams. It helped me a lot.
Same😅
😆
I use this method for some of my learnings and I can confirm that it actually works! It’s a great feeling to know that there’s people that do learn this way, I thought I was one of few that only do it this way. Your videos are amazing and has helped me get better at my studies, keep up the good work
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One of my hidden hobbies is learning about several topics in depth. I don’t sleep at night so studying and taking notes on my computer about things that interest me help to make me less hyper throughout the night.
It used to be more of a challenge before I found your video because of my issues with focusing (no matter how interested I may be)
I came across your video a few months ago and I just wanted to thank you for showing us these methods!
I've realised I was using this method accidently. I couldn't study for the exams so I was just checking on the exams that my school did from the last years and even though I've actually barely studied, I've managed to pass my exams, just by trying to solve and memorize the questions. Thanks for the video, I will use this method while studying and write my own questions :D
“No idea. I didn’t even know those were a thing.” RELATABLE.
This is so timely...I've been writing mountains of notes in preparation for my anatomy exam Friday and I'm honestly so tired and can't remember half of what I've written. Making questions is such a genius idea. Stopping notes right now and starting questions!!!! Thanks so much
How did it go with the questions method? :)
Diana Costantin I got an 80% in my anatomy exam so I consider it a 👍🏽
do you still feel confident in your revision even without writing notes? i want to do this method but i worry that i’ll forget stuff if i don’t have notes to fall back on
ephemeral well I’m using it for anatomy. I make questions on each lecture (I also make a separate answer sheet to the questions) and try to review them every two days or as often as I can. I haven’t really forgotten much because it’s constant revision
@@Peacefullily89 wow this is sooo good
Used this technique to get a first class degree at a far less prestigious institution than Cambridge. But it transformed me from a D student to an A student - it works. Get the timing right and it works even better.
Bismillahirrahmanirrahim, this is an amazing method I just discovered and I thought that it will improve my study quality. I was really confused about whether I should take notes from the textbooks or not, sometimes I made notes and sometimes I didn't because it took 4 hours just to take a note and I can't remember anything from that... I definitely will try this active-recall method so I will improve my quality of gaining information from the textbooks and keep it in my head for the rest of my life.. Thank you very much for sharing this, hope you and your friend will always be healthy. Wish me luck guys.. see you in Cambridge, Oxford, or Harvard in 2024, aamiin allahumma aamiin..
I like the outtake at the end 😂
So now only 2 weeks left before my masters exam, and I’ve felt quite confident using this technique.
AR and SR helped me get through the interview to get 2 full government scholarships to study in Ireland and New Zealand. They gave me only a week to prep for the interview and I couldn’t believe that I spoke exactly as I wanted to for an hour.
Currently staying in Ireland, if I pay a visit to Cambridge next year, I’ll definitely message you and hopefully I can say thanks in person.
WE DON'T DESERVE GOOD PEOPLE LIKE YOU. you're such a hardworking person. There were a lor of things that I didn't understand, and you always take your time to explain everything 😭😭 thank you for all of your hard work and for helping a lot of us
Tried this and I scored the best in class for biology, last year I was struggling to even pass the test😭 thank you so much Ali!! A good start for my last term in high school ٩(◕‿◕｡)۶
Yay good job 🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳
@@kurapika5314 thank you🥰
@@a.zzahrah I don't understand should I memorise questions or answers? And why don't write answers for question to memorise? Why I should find it
I’m almost done my first year of PT school and one of the second years sent me this before I started my first semester last year. I can’t tell you how happy I am to have watched this video, it has carried me throughout school, and I honestly think this is the most efficient way to study.
You try to memorise the answers while making questions or when you finish the task of questions you try to revise the questions and answers too
Thanks to this video, I went from an 84% on my first biology exam to a 98% on the exam I just took! Thank you so much!! This technique was extremely effective for me. Not only is my score obviously significantly improved, I also got through the test much quicker and felt much more confident!
@@munakira5001 Im from the US so I’m not completely sure what A level bio is, but Im taking a principles of biology course for bio majors at the undergrad level. I still had to dedicate a huge amount of time, but using the technique in this video of writing out questions based on the reading or powerpoints was really helpful. Basically just focus on active recall rather than passive studying. Good luck!! Bio classes are no joke!
I just started trying this method yesterday and today and boy, it’s freaking hard!! 😂 I now realize why I keep on being clueless in class whenever our professor is discussing the topic no matter how many times I re-read the same material! The information is not sticking to my brain. 😂🔨 Gotta make this work! I hope this method works for me tho.
Thank you, Ali! I might now be able to at least get a decent grade in my subjects! You’re heaven-sent!
Did it work out for you?
Did you get a good grade?
"this is anatomy, which is anatomy" idk why but j cracked up lol 😂
HAHAHAHAHAHA
I know this was uploaded 3 years ago but holy crap you saved my life
sameee
I was wondering how should i study or make questions for my college exam i have to write 4 page answer?
@@AshishKumar-ok4uy don't write answer just write the questions
I've used this method and I can tell that it's really effective
Thanks to this I've obtained A+ in 2 of my modules which was not the case before I use this method
I've been using this method for awhile now..I didn't even know it had a name and that people are already using this method..Feels good to know someome else can relate
It works like magic..I'm a witness
I used active recall in terms of mind palace and I got 3 A* at A level. I did two of my A levels in a year through self study. Can't stress enough how important this is in exams :) hoping to get a 1st at Uni through continuing and adapting my active recall :) thanks for motivating me today Ali!
Paddy do you mind sharing what a-levels you did? and how did you use active recall? through flash cards or any type of app?
1:37 I used this method in my school days back in 2005-6 for all the subjects which were difficult. It's an amazing technique to master any subject but it requires lot of dedication along with the time. With this method I had scored 91/100 marks in the toughest subject( for me).
Before the quarantine i watched this video for my 2 semester exam in high school and i could see the magic he was talking about , my grades were almost perfect . Now after the quarantine and after not being studying for a long time , i feel like i forgot the method . That s why i re-watched this video again today . Thank you very much 💕
You try to memorise the answers while making questions or when you finish the task of questions you try to revise the questions and answers too
Guys this thing actually works
This thing changed my medical grades for good , from 0 to 100
I made small tweaks that make it work even better, but general thing is the same in the video
I tried this technique immediately after I saw one of your videos. It is really effective. I reduce 1/4 of my study time. So I usually alot it instead for answering the questions I have written. I hope I can make it through first year in med school thru this technique...
Did u make it?
Initially i was skeptical. Now its so engrained in my head i get so baffled when people dont do this technique.
I admire how passionate that you are ..and how desperate about delivering the exact concept behind this technique. .😍..literally you're the one who fresh med students need to guide them ..😍( getting old now lol)..Allah bless you 🤗 ..
me, sees an ali abdaal video once: im gonna top now, ive learnt the secret
le me, 2 days after: why im so stupid?
So true lol
haha story of every laymen after watching "how to study videos"
No don't say that, I'm genuinely trying to focus
@@vennyhearts2064 watch it in full screen , no distractions :)
Step 1 : self realisation
You're going great buddy..
Omg this is the method and it’s the first time I have come across with this idea… it will help so much for a student like who has long topic lists for every oral subject in dental schools
I tried this style of study for my first semester and it worked!! Thank you!!
I usually use the method of “writing again and again” to memorize my biomedical science notes. Ali, why didn’t you post this video before 3 years? You wasted my 3 years just writing my notes to memorize. But still I got class in my degree!. Really really interesting video and I’m gonna spread this vdo in all whatss app group s
same bruh
same
Same... 3 yrs wasted... Got 1 yr to redeem myself
same and used the same technique with my board and failed it so i'm gonna use this active recall and spaced repetition and hoping for a better result :)
I couldn’t agree more tbh. After I review a topic I go over it and make sure I understand all the subheading questions or whatever questions i have myself, and when it comes to math I just do a bunch of practice exercises until I don’t make mistakes anymore, works wonders 👌🏻
Ssssshhhhhhh
So helpful! Watching this has made me realise that I've been doing this for ages without realising! Active recall really is the way forward and I'll definitely be basing my revision around it now 🙏🏾 thanks Ali!
What is active recall?
Thank you so much Ali this video honestly was one of the most helpful videos that you’ve made to this day and I’ve applied it to my studys. It’s kind of overpowered because throughout my whole life I always used to study for my exams like a good boy, but I never used to get the results that I felt like I worked enough for. after applying this method i feel like i am going to pass and get high grades whet eass💚
love how he smiles in videos. what a clarity
I have an exam in a week and a half’s time and I’m going to start grinding with this new found, seemingly efficient method.
These are the results of my previous examination and I will update my next exam’s results which will decide which courses I can take for high school.
English B-
Mother tongue A-
Math B-
Science A-
Geography B-
History B+
Literature in English A-
Design and technology B+
Art A+
Food and consumer education F-
Updated results : (finally here!)
English A+
Mother Tongue A+
Math A+
Science B+
Geography B-
History C+
Literature in English A+
Design and Technology A-
Art B-
Food and consumer education C+
Next, i will announce if i got into the course of my choice. Overall, i think my results has improved at certain subjects. However, some subjects i did worse than before. Do keep in mind that the difficulty of this paper is harder than before thus the decrease in results. I will keep working hard and strive to do better :)
waiting
update?
@@zenical4358 i have completed my exams however the test results are not out yet😁😁
sus
@@mzheteo8734 not out yet?
1st one was actually nice
We eventually remember more when we question
And when we aren't able to answer something and when we check the answer ,the concept stays in out mind for a longer period .
I still remember when I was in 7th grade or so ,teacher asked me about magnets and where was it first discovered ,i couldn't answer that but when i came home I searched up the answer ,and trust me still i remember that fact and the definition . its been 5 years now
Well, where were they discovered?
@@danielsandelin6689 turkey
I don't know why it's taken me so long to subscribe because I think I've watched almost all of your videos on learning and studying. I've subscribed.
THANK YOUUUU NOW I FINALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT AND HOW ACTIVE RECALL WORKS
This works amazing, it is like my subconscious mind attracts all the information automatically by doing this
I'm so happy to find this two weeks before my exam :)
I swear all I do is binge watch your videos during my study breaks!! Now I have rediscovered how interesting medicine is, even though I am a law student. (No wonder I was convinced of becoming a doctor from the age of 8, but then maths decided otherwise :(( ) But I am very happy with Law too :) thank you so much for all of your content!
Hey Ali. i don't know if you read this or not. but i wanna say thank you. I can't thank you enough
I started this semester, i mean my first dental semester with watching your videos. And i came up to this one. This video exactly. then i sratred following your method
It's the end of my semester. i'm up top at all my classes. My classmates call me Superman since i'm up top at all the lessons, answering all questions in the classes and what have you. and of course i'm the Answer agent during our Online Exams=))))))) I just can't thank you enough. God bless you Ali. I'm Ali too and u know, i'm proud that we share names :))) i mean like, Really proud.
This made me happy 😃
It worked!!!!! I used active recall and got 7A*s in my IGCSE exams. If u ever see this comment...thank you.
This is the SIMPLE, most EFFECTIVE way to use Active Recall.
I always wanted to incorporate active recall in my studies but Flashcards Weren't just working for me. But, boi this method blew me up ↑.
I went from being top 25% of our 1000 Student class to top 3% just by writing questions and revising them. This 100% does work so please try
One questions please.
Did you make the questions after reading and memorising the subjects?
Or did u just make the questions and go to study
You try to memorise the answers while making questions or when you finish the task of questions you try to revise the questions and answers too