When Mind Hacks Won’t Work: Brute Force Memorization

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I’m always on the lookout for new ways to make my studying and learning more effective and efficient. I’m a big fan of the peg system, image linking, and mindmaps. Unfortunately, I’ve found these techniques useless for memorizing 40 page law school outlines filled with abstract legal doctrine.

The Brute Force Memorization Process

While reading aloud the sentence of the thing I want to memorize, I’ll type it in my computer. I’ll repeat this process five times with each line of data I want to memorize.

I’m getting visual stimulation by reading and auditory stimulation be reading aloud. Writing things down is one of the best ways to remember things. These three done simultaneously produce a trifecta of memorizing power. Repetition crams the info into your brain. If I’m having trouble memorizing a particular piece of information, I’ll keep repeating the process until I’ve got it down.

It’s not pretty and it’s not efficient, but it gets the job done. I’ve been doing this for years and it has always helped me remember those pesky details I’ve needed to know on exams. I make sure I leave myself plenty of time before the test to do this.

Caveat: I don’t completely abandon memorizing techniques while doing this. I often incorporate them in the process when I see they would work. For example, I include mnemonics to help memorize a list of elements to a crime. But when I have to remember the definition of “connivance” or “proximate causation”, my brute force technique steps in.

I use text editor for writing the information. I have a friend who uses a similar technique but prefers writing it by hand.

Bottom line: This technique works for me. But do what works for you.

What are your memorization techniques? Drop a line in the comment box and add to the conversation!

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25 Comments

1. Outdoorgrrl on 06.12.2007 at 10:17 (Reply)

   I use a similar typing technique, but favor flashcards when possible. (They’re so much more portable than a laptop.) The Leitner system works really well for flashcards.

   1. Brett McKay on 06.12.2007 at 16:46 (Reply)

      That’s the first time I’ve ever heard of the Leitner system before. Although, I’ve used it before not knowing it had a name. For those of you who don’t know what the Leitner system is, Wikipedia has a description of how the system works: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flashcard

      1. Pasky on 13.12.2007 at 07:18 (Reply)

         memorization is such a very easy to do thing once you know how the mind memorizes, you can memorize a whole book. you law students could memorize whole books in a sitting,but you need to learn how to, takes time but it will be the best investment in your lives. google this online: GMS School of Phenomenal Memory. indulge!
         drop me a line too if you need some resources.

2. Matt Wolfe on 06.12.2007 at 10:54 (Reply)

   I developed a good system in college. I’d take a digital recorder, read out loud all my notes and key points in to the recorder, I’d burn the contents of my recorded to a CD and then for about a week before the exam I would drive around listening to my notes over and over again. I first started that method about 3 years ago and, to this day, I still know all the information from those CDs. It’s like that show Chuck, people will talk about something and I will get flashes on the information that I ingrained in my head.

   You should try it. It works amazing.

   1. Brett McKay on 06.12.2007 at 16:41 (Reply)

      Great idea, Matt. I’ll have to give that a try sometime. There’s law lecture CDs that I listen to and while they do a good job of covering the basics, they miss the details that my professors cover in their own clases.

3. nicole on 06.12.2007 at 11:00 (Reply)

   I use a similar method as you mentioned for about 2 years now in pharmacy school. I have noticed a huge improvement in my grades since using it. Heres what I do: Read through notes once, then make notecards for all my notes, read through all my notecards, then answer the questions on my notecards by typing on the computer. I then remove the notecards from the pile that I “know” and continue to practice the ones I dont know.

   1. Brett McKay on 06.12.2007 at 16:43 (Reply)

      I’ll have to give your system a try, Nicole. There was a freeware program that I used in Undergrad that did something very similar to what you do, but it’s completely on the computer. I’ll have to see if I can find it again.

4. Joe Vela on 06.12.2007 at 11:17 (Reply)

   I’m a curious non-lawyer. Once you’ve memorized the list of elements to a crime and the definition of “proximate cause”, and you pass your exams and the law boards, and become a practicing lawyer, how much of what you’ve memorized do you expect to have to recall without reference?

   1. Brett McKay on 06.12.2007 at 12:53 (Reply)

      Joe,
      Not much. Personally, that’s why I think law school exams, especially closed book exams, don’t do a good job to prepare law students for the real world.

      In the real world, a client comes to you with a problem and you have a few days to research and work through the issues. In law school, they expect you to do that in three hours. If I tried to solve a client’s problem in three hours without referencing what the law is, I would be slapped with a malpractice suit.

      One of the things I hear over and over again from my professors is that the point of law school isn’t really about learning what the law is, rather it’s about learning how to think and analyze like a lawyer. I’m still trying to figure out what exactly it means to “think” like a lawyer.

5. Mrs. FLS on 06.12.2007 at 13:08 (Reply)

   Matt-that is a super great idea. Thanks for sharing.

6. Matt Wolfe on 06.12.2007 at 16:50 (Reply)

   Thank you. That technique has worked for me for countless classes. I highly recommend giving it a try.

7. Chief Family Officer on 06.12.2007 at 23:12 (Reply)

   Flashcards. Lots of them. I also re-wrote my outlines until I had them memorized. I also did as many practice tests as I could get my hands on, since issue-spotting is so important. But the flashcards were my favorite because they were so portable. I used to take them everywhere during finals!

   1. Brett McKay on 07.12.2007 at 08:02 (Reply)

      I love the flashcards. I go through them multiple times a day.

8. Jamie @ Surviving College Life on 07.12.2007 at 12:03 (Reply)

   Two things that have worked really well for me over the years:

   1. Color: This works especially well with diagrams and flow charts. I outline each phase in a different color, and it helps me visualize my notes later, when I’m taking the test.

   2. Notes on Notes: This might sound silly, but I have actually made outlines of my outlines. It forced me not only to reread my notes, but to really think about them so I could make a functioning outline. (It also gave me something a bit less detailed to review from before the test).

   1. Brett McKay on 07.12.2007 at 22:15 (Reply)

      Jamie-
      I’m a big fan of the “notes on notes” technique. With a beastly 40 page outline, condensing into a smaller out line is a necessity.

9. chitown on 07.12.2007 at 22:06 (Reply)

   Typing really helps me memorize things. I retyped all of my barbri outlines when I was studying for the bar and it helped a lot. For things with multiple elements like crimes, torts and evidence, I would do flashcards.

   1. Brett McKay on 07.12.2007 at 22:17 (Reply)

      The bar! I don’t even want to have to think about studying for that. Sounds like what I’m doing right now. Since you’re out of law school, how does it feel to not have to study anymore? I can’t wait until that day.

10. Cee on 08.12.2007 at 02:27 (Reply)

    that is really intense. I just read my outline while eating icecream and pray. then i eat more icecream.

    1. Brett McKay on 08.12.2007 at 13:11 (Reply)

       I like your idea better, Cee. I think I’m going to go buy Chunky Monkey on the way home.

11. Pamy on 08.12.2007 at 12:04 (Reply)

    hi brett, i just wanted announce my readership because otherwise i feel mildly voyeuristic reading blogs. your blog is terrific andit is a delight to get to know you a bit this way even though i feel like we’ve already been friends for years!

    your charming and wit-laden wife is featured on my (very humble) blog today, and i thought i would let you know in case you wanted to check out some of her teenaged creativity. it is quite spectacular.

    1. Brett McKay on 08.12.2007 at 13:24 (Reply)

       Hey Pamy,
       Thanks for reading! I love Kate’s “teenaged creativity.” Every birthday I can always expect a one of her hand made cards. I love it! Hope to see you comment around here more!

12. paulette on 10.12.2007 at 09:03 (Reply)

    In memorizing a poem, i first memorize the first word of every paragraph.It serves as a cue for me to know the preceding lines.If it doesnt works, im going back to it again and again.

13. vh on 10.12.2007 at 17:46 (Reply)

    Wow! Does this exchange ever bring back the memories. Oh, thank heaven I’ll never have to go to graduate school again!!!!!

    Love the idea of burning a CD of yourself reading your notes aloud: wish we’d had that when I wuz a young pup.

    Here’s how I used to do it:

    1. Actually go to class during the semester (extreme, but force yourself)
    2. Take careful notes in DYI shorthand. Listen. Pay attention. Use a separate notebook for each course.
    3. Read the assignments. In the course notebook, take careful notes of the high points of each chapter; or (shortcut) underscore or highlight the textbook intelligently (i.e., highlight the important stuff, not every second word)
    4. Beginning approximately 12 hours before the exam, sit down and read all the notes aloud, concentrating hard. Pay attention.
    5. During this process, use no other drugs but caffeine. Do not do not do not use bennies or any other semilegal or illegal stimulant. Never consume alcohol during this period.
    6. Review the material once more as fast as you can before you walk into the exam.
    7. Ace the exam.

    In those days, I had a near-photographic memory. In response to a question, I could conjure up the page (complete with page number and graphics) and “read” the copy in my mind to find the answer.

    Now that I’m long in the tooth, I’m a lot shorter in the memory department. On the other hand, some time ago I figured out that in the real world you can (and should) look stuff up, not rely on brute memory to get things right.

    1. Brett McKay on 11.12.2007 at 09:45 (Reply)

       vh-
       Thanks for sharing those great tips!

14. San Francisco Lawyer on 08.09.2008 at 10:48 (Reply)

    i always went for conceptualization first. Grasping the concepts first I was then able to fill in the details later at a leisurely pace. I did many of things that VH mentions but I only read through my notes once the night before the exam. For me at least sleep was the most important ingredient for doing well on exams.

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