Memorising quotes (1 Viewer)

ruby.d

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So, I have an english exam with an unseen question on Tuesday, which is only 6 days away, and i've only just started going through quotes etc.

We're studying Keats' poetry and Campion's film Bright Star, and in the exam they're going to specify which poems we have to talk about, but we're not gonna be told beforehand. my teacher recommended we memorise at least 4 quotes from each of the 7 poems we are doing, as well as an analysis on them and the themes the poems explore, which means at least 28 quotes to remember in the next few days.

I was just wondering if anyone has any tips on memorising 25+ quotes relatively quickly, as i still have other assessments i need to work on and can't dedicate all my time to english between now and then.

thank you! :)
 

Leadmen4y

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In short, active recall and spaced repetition. Basically, keep trying to recall your quotes without looking at them (obviously), but as soon as you start to get the hang of it, switch to the next one. This makes each retrieval of information from your brain difficult but doable (if you do it right), the point is to make sure it takes effort but not impossible to do, meaning you are interrupting the forgetting curve, making each subsequently recall easier and eventually moulding it into your long-term memory. Not sure if that was clear, plenty of explanations on youtube though.

I personally did this through mainly typing but I was memorising body paragraphs and chunks of analysis which was too arduous through handwriting, but writing is certainly better in strengthening retention. You could also just say the things you want to memorise out loud, also works. Whatever medium you do it through (mentally, verbally, typing or writing), I recommend using Anki which is a flashcard app kind of like Quizlet.

Also I highly recommend you to watch some of videos here which explains why this approach works as well as why other things like rereading and highlighting don't work:
 

ruby.d

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In short, active recall and spaced repetition. Basically, keep trying to recall your quotes without looking at them (obviously), but as soon as you start to get the hang of it, switch to the next one. This makes each retrieval of information from your brain difficult but doable (if you do it right), the point is to make sure it takes effort but not impossible to do, meaning you are interrupting the forgetting curve, making each subsequently recall easier and eventually moulding it into your long-term memory. Not sure if that was clear, plenty of explanations on youtube though.

I personally did this through mainly typing but I was memorising body paragraphs and chunks of analysis which was too arduous through handwriting, but writing is certainly better in strengthening retention. You could also just say the things you want to memorise out loud, also works. Whatever medium you do it through (mentally, verbally, typing or writing), I recommend using Anki which is a flashcard app kind of like Quizlet.

Also I highly recommend you to watch some of videos here which explains why this approach works as well as why other things like rereading and highlighting don't work:
ahh thank you so much!!!
 

idkkdi

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So, I have an english exam with an unseen question on Tuesday, which is only 6 days away, and i've only just started going through quotes etc.

We're studying Keats' poetry and Campion's film Bright Star, and in the exam they're going to specify which poems we have to talk about, but we're not gonna be told beforehand. my teacher recommended we memorise at least 4 quotes from each of the 7 poems we are doing, as well as an analysis on them and the themes the poems explore, which means at least 28 quotes to remember in the next few days.

I was just wondering if anyone has any tips on memorising 25+ quotes relatively quickly, as i still have other assessments i need to work on and can't dedicate all my time to english between now and then.

thank you! :)
organise your quotes in chronological order depending on story timeline, or maybe separate them into arguments where you remember the chain of concepts.

arguments/plotlines are more easy to remember than quotes, and doing so will allow quotes to come more naturally.

also make sure your quotes are easy to remember. No need to remember huge clunky quotes when a shorter one achieves the same effect.
 

ruby.d

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organise your quotes in chronological order depending on story timeline, or maybe separate them into arguments where you remember the chain of concepts.

arguments/plotlines are more easy to remember than quotes, and doing so will allow quotes to come more naturally.

also make sure your quotes are easy to remember. No need to remember huge clunky quotes when a shorter one achieves the same effect.
thank you!
 

hatterene

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I was in your situation for my Module A essay and we had to respond to a random two poems of John Donne. To be honest, you just have to play the game. Pick the most versatile 2-3 quotes from every poem, that are short and pack both formic and linguistic devices. Then, I would write them on my palm cards or phone reminders just so I can keep actively rote learn my quotes. I would recommend trying to write some body paragraphs in response to different poems too. Hope this helps. ;)
 

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