A Practical Weekly Study Routine: Recall, Check, Revisit

Give each session a specific job

Begin with a task you can observe yourself completing: explain a concept, solve a problem, or compare two arguments. “Study chapter four” describes material; “explain the three causes discussed in chapter four without notes” gives you something to check.

The Institute of Education Sciences’ study and instruction practice guide recommends spacing learning, using quizzes, asking explanatory questions, and alternating worked solutions with independent problems. The routine below translates those broad ideas into a sample week. Its timings are editorial suggestions, not a research-tested schedule.

Recall an answer before checking it

After studying a small amount of material, close the source and attempt an answer. Write a brief explanation, sketch a process, or solve a course-appropriate question. Then compare your work with the course material and identify what needs correction.

In two experiments using prose passages, Henry Roediger and Jeffrey Karpicke found that taking recall tests supported greater retention after a delay than repeated study, even though repeated study could feel more reassuring. Their 2006 research supports including retrieval in a study plan; it does not establish that a single technique will produce a particular course grade.

For example, a history student might explain a cause-and-effect relationship from memory, then mark the missing evidence. A chemistry student might attempt a familiar problem and compare each step with a worked solution. Choose a task that matches what the course asks you to do.

Schedule another encounter with the material

Return to important topics on another day, including some you have already answered correctly. Research by Nicholas Cepeda and colleagues tested factual learning over extended intervals and found that the useful gap between study sessions depended on how long the information needed to be retained. Longer gaps were not always better. The 2008 study supports planning review over time, rather than claiming one interval works for every subject and deadline.

Your course calendar can guide the practical choices. Put review sessions beside the relevant lectures and assessments. If you cannot yet explain a prerequisite, make that the next task instead of adding more unfamiliar material to the same session.

Try an adaptable four-session week

This is an example to adjust around classes, work, and the amount of material:

• Monday — understand: study one topic and write three questions that would reveal whether you understand it.
• Wednesday — retrieve: answer those questions without notes, check them, and record the specific gaps.
• Friday — apply: attempt a fresh example or problem. Explain why your answer follows, rather than recording only the final result.
• Sunday — review: revisit one difficult question and one earlier topic. Use the results to choose next week’s first task.

Keep the record short: topic, attempted task, error, next action. If a point remains unclear, take the specific attempted answer to an instructor, tutor, or study group. The record makes the question easier to discuss.

Check what you can do, then adjust

Judge a session partly by the work you can complete after closing your notes. That gives you more useful information than the number of pages you looked at. Continue using the assignments, feedback, and assessment expectations supplied by your course.

This is a general learning resource published on Curt Dewitz’s website. It is not a method developed by Curt Dewitz, and following it does not guarantee a 3.0 GPA or a scholarship award. Scholarship eligibility and selection are explained separately in the 2027 award guide.