The It'sStudyTime Blog
Study science, exam tactics, and product guides — everything you need to study smarter, not harder.
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Active recall vs passive review: the 10-second test that tells you which you're doing
Most studying that feels like learning is actually passive review, and it barely works. Here is a ten-second test to tell the difference, and how to convert everything you do into the active kind that sticks.
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How sleep turns short-term memories into permanent ones
The most important part of a study session might happen while you are unconscious. Here is what your brain does with the day's learning overnight, and why the all-nighter is the worst trade a student can make.
The spacing effect: how far apart should your revision sessions really be?
Studying the same total hours produces wildly different results depending on how you space them out. Here is the maths behind optimal review gaps, and why 'a bit every day' is both exactly right and subtly wrong.
The testing effect: why practice questions beat re-reading every time
Re-reading your notes feels like studying. Testing yourself feels harder and often worse. Yet the research is overwhelming: the act of retrieving an answer is what builds lasting memory. Here is why, and how to use it.
Why cramming fails and what to do instead
The night before an exam, millions of students open their textbooks and read until midnight. It almost never works. Here's the science behind why, and what to do instead.
Interleaving: why mixing up topics leads to better exam results
Studying one topic until you master it, then moving on, feels like the sensible way to learn. The research says mixing topics together works better, even though it feels worse while you do it. Here is why.