This is a two-part article with the sections just related enough to be one article, yet separate enough to have different sections. I consider the The Avoiding Bad Habits section essential for anyone. It can be read independently of Emergency Studying. If you are interested in learning the Emergency Studying techniques, it is important to read both sections.
Emergency Studying: Multiplying the Power of SRS
The SRS is a powerful tool. If information is put in well, a strong memory will be built. SRS has been called a cramming tool because of its ability to memorize a great deal of information in a short time. However, the software is best used spaced out over time in increments as it is designed to do. The techniques explained here are literally for emergency use only. Every time I have to use them I end up exhausted and despising the SRS. Negative feelings towards the SRS make studying more difficult when it is necessary to use it everyday. Again, this is emergency only stuff. An example of when I had to use it was after taking the DAT I had all of my finals in the seven days following. This works well to learn, and feels like it takes part of the soul in the process. Use wisely.
Writing and speaking produce even stronger memories than using the SRS regularly. For every card, speak the entire fact without guessing the answer. This means to avoid speaking the ‘guess’ for whatever the cloze deletion is hiding. If the card is answered incorrectly, write out the entire fact and/or list of facts on the card. That is it. This seems like a small thing, though when done for hundreds (thousand or more in the case of emergency studying for finals) it is draining and creates negative feelings towards the SRS.
The studying should only be done in 5-20 minute sprints. Between the sprints take at least a half hour break, preferably longer. Read a book, watch a movie, play a video game, spend time with friends, etc. It will be exhausting, though still leave room in the day for doing things. Do as many sprints as necessary. Make sure to get a full amount (~8 hours) of sleep though. Studies have shown that strong memories are made while sleeping. It will all be for naught without good rest.
The review time in Anki can be cut artificially short by two methods. 1) In the Deck Properties screen click Tools > Cram. 2) After finishing the review for the day, click the “Review Early” button. I like the latter is better because it remembers which cards you already know well.
Again, these are emergency only. It is likely to develop a negative attitude towards the SRS after this. This can ruin the whole experience of having the SRS be fun and something to look forward to!
Cutting Bad Habits: How to Avoid Making Mistakes
This idea is founded entirely in the Input Hypothesis of language learning that Khatzumoto discusses at AJATT in this article: 10,000 Sentences: Input Before Output. The idea in languages is that mammoth exposure to the language being learned will eventually allow the learner to produce natural native-style sentences without effort. It says by forcing output too early, the language learner will develop bad habits that must be un-learned to achieve native level status. After using this in my own language learning, I have found a way to incorporate it into studying for classes.
Many people can recall a time when they have incorrectly said someone’s name at the first meeting. A bad habit of the incorrect name may develop and take forceful effort to un-learn. You may even remember a time when some information for a class was learned incorrectly “I keep making this mistake!” This is because a strong memory was built for the incorrect information. In order to avoid this we can cut the bad habits right at the source – by preventing mistakes.
There is a tendency when reviewing SRS cards to ‘speak’ the answer before clicking the button to view the answer. This is a source of bad habits. By speaking the answer a memory is being made with possibly incorrect information. Even if someone says the correct answer 20 times after the initial incorrect guess, the first memory may stick around. To combat this, silently guess the answer in the mind and then if desired speak the shown full correct answer out loud. This is a great way to prevent mistakes and cut bad habits.
If reviewing using emergency study techniques, only write the answer out when it is shown and you are 100% positive it is the correct as written. This means waiting until the “Back” of the card is shown and that when writing down every word is correct.
These simple techniques will help prevent the bad habits and ensure that only memories of correct information are made.