Study techniques with evidence: what works – and what only feels good
Highlighting, rereading, summarising: the most popular study techniques are not the most effective. They feel productive because the material becomes familiar. But exams don’t ask whether something looks familiar – they ask whether you can retrieve and apply it.
Study with UniApp24The overview
A widely cited review rated ten techniques by the strength of the evidence (Dunlosky et al., 2013). High utility: testing yourself and spacing your practice. Moderate utility: self-explanation, asking why, interleaving problem types. Low utility: highlighting, rereading, summarising and some mnemonics.
1. Retrieve instead of reread
Every time you pull an answer from memory it becomes more stable – more so than by reading it again (Roediger & Karpicke, 2006). Even wrong answers help if you see the correct one afterwards. That’s why every unit in UniApp24 consists mainly of exercises.
2. Space instead of cram
The same study time spread over several days achieves much more than one long block (Cepeda et al., 2006). Short daily sessions beat the weekend before the exam. The app plans a daily schedule and the review of every single card for you.
3. Mix instead of block
If you mix problems of different types instead of doing the same type ten times, you learn to recognise which method is needed – exactly what’s hard in the exam. In a maths study, learners with mixed practice did much better on a later test (Rohrer & Taylor, 2007). UniApp24’s review deliberately mixes courses and topics.
4. Watch first, then do it yourself: worked examples
Especially at the start of a topic, people learn more from fully worked examples than from their own attempts (the worked-example effect, Sweller). Ideally the steps then fade out one by one until you solve problems alone (fading, Renkl). You can request this for any unit in the fine-tuning.
5. Guess first
Answering a question before you know the material improves later retention – even when the answer was wrong (Richland, Kornell & Kao, 2009). That’s why every unit starts with a pre-question.
6. Explain it to yourself
Asking “why is this so?” at every step links new knowledge to what you already know. Open explain-questions with key points to tick off do exactly that: phrase it yourself first, then compare.
What this means for your study day
A simple frame that ties it together:
- Short and daily instead of long and rare – better 30 minutes on five days than one afternoon.
- Turn new material into exercises straight away, not into summaries.
- Due reviews first, then new material.
- Sleep is part of learning: what you studied is consolidated during sleep (Diekelmann & Born, 2010).
Frequently asked questions
Is highlighting useless?
On its own it does little. It can help structure material – but the learning happens when you retrieve.
How much should I study per day?
Regularity matters more than amount. Several shorter sessions across the week work better than one long block with the same total time.
Does this apply to every subject?
The findings come from many subjects and age groups. Retrieval practice and spacing are considered especially robust.
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Updated: October 2026