Capacity for Remembering

This is what retention is – our capacity for remembering. Our capacity can be developed as can any other skill. One important aid to remembering or retaining is effective concentration – remembering is unlikely if you are not concentrating. As we mentioned earlier, concentration and retention are related. What else can we do to help us remember what we read?

1. Intend to Remember: Simple as this sounds, it's frequently overlooked. Very often we forget what we've read because we didn't plan to remember it. This is fine, of course, for much of what we read in the newspaper or detective novel, but a "here-today-gone-tomorrow" attitude just won't do if we expect to retain. Most young adults can easily recall the "Top Ten Recordings" but will falter on the names of the members of the President's Cabinet. Make up your mind before you read: This is important - This is information I want to remember.

2. Review in a Little While: Psychologists warn that our period of greatest forgetting comes shortly after we have learned. This, then, is your best time to review. Go over the subject before forgetting begins to occur. There are several ways to review: you may reread, recite, outline, summarize, and so on. The method you choose will depend on the complexity of the subject, how much you've got to remember and how long you have to remember it. Five minutes spent reviewing makes the two hours you spent reading worth while.

3. See the Big Picture: It's impossible to remember everything. So don't try. Do try to see the subject as a whole, in its totality. Trying to remember trivial facts and details only makes extra work and actually minimizes retention. On the other hand, a good grasp of the essentials will trigger recall of related information.

Superior concentration and retention are not inborn - they are skills we can all develop.

Comprehension questions

Exercise 1. The eight aids for concentrating and retaining are listed below. Put an X on the line in front of the five aids for concentration.

___ 1. See the Big Picture

___ 2. Organize the Material

___ 3. Review in Little While

___ 4. Motivate Yourself

___ 5. Time Yourself

___ 6. Intend to Remember

___ 7. Assume the Study Pose

___ 8. Spread the Learning

Exercise 2. Label the following statements True (T) or False (F).

___ 9. A good memory is something we are born with.

___ 10. In developing the skill of concentration, a good thing to do is practice concentrating.

___ 11. A comfortable position is best for concentrating.

___ 12. The best method of reviewing is to summarize.

___ 13. Remembering what we read is our second biggest problem.

Exercise 3. Check off the option which best completes each statement.

14. The main idea of this lesson is:

(   ) a. Concentration and Retention are skills which can be systematically improved and developed.

(   ) b. The nine out of ten people who are aware of faulty concentration can be helped.

( ) c. Intention is probably the key to remembering and concentrating.

( ) d. Remembering is easier if we don't try to remember everything.

15. "The only thing I can't resist is temptation" means:

( ) a. Most people can't resist a number of things.

(   ) b. This person has developed his will to resist almost to the point of perfection.

( ) c. This person has little effective will power.

( ) d. This person can resist most other things.

16. Which troubles us most in concentrating?

( ) a. Excluding all other things

( ) b. Avoiding trying to concentrate

( ) c. Inability to become motivated

( ) d. Realizing a definite and concrete goal

17. The author implies that

(   ) a. nothing can be done to help those who believe themselves unable to learn certain subjects

( ) b. many people believe themselves unable to learn certain subjects

( ) c. the more we learn, the more we believe we can learn

( ) d. erroneous notions can be quickly dispelled

18. The author believes that

( ) a. a too-relaxed position will make us sleep

( ) b. television and radio are hindrances to academic achievement

( ) c. a desk is preferable to a table for studying

( ) d. a slight tension encourages concentration

19. What conclusion should you draw about timing as an aid to concentration?

( ) a. We should time ourselves whenever we study.

( ) b. Without the time element, we cannot study effectively.

( ) c. Pressure, through timing, is part of the American way of life.

( ) d. This technique should be used along with the others when practical.

20. Spreading the learning is beneficial because

( ) a. we can employ peak concentration each time

( ) b. this method decreases our overall learning time

( ) c. greater retention can result

( ) d. all of the above