Finding time to study can add stress to a heavy workload. During testing weeks, the balance between class, work, social and family life can be difficult.Though the temptation to cram the night before a big test is there, professionals and students agree memory recall is something that must be practiced for studying to matter.Sarah Baird, assistant director and senior learning strategies consultant for the Center for Academic Success, emphasized the “study cycle” and the different levels of learned information, with basic knowledge at the bottom and evaluation at the top. The cycle is a three-step process that includes preview, attendance and review, Baird said. The preview step includes skimming reading material and looking over bold and italicized words. Attendance is going to and participating in class, and review entails rereading and clarifying notes shortly after the class and for longer times later in the day.Students are amazed when the cycle works, Baird said. Baird said one student’s grade went from a 42 on the first exam to 100s on the last three after using the system, but it’s sometimes hard to get people to try it because it requires a change in lifestyle, Baird said.CAS has six online tutorials for students interested in learning about study techniques, Baird said.Sean Lane, memory researcher and associate psychology professor, said practicing retrieval helps to strengthen connections. Retrieval is the recall of learned information.Another problem students face when studying is how to tell when they “know,” or when they’ve learned the information.Reading notes for the third time may induce a feeling of familiarity, which is sometimes confused with knowledge, Lane said.To test if the material has been processed, Lane suggests to turn the material into questions, and then take an hour or a day break before answering them. If students find that they can answer their own question, there’s a good chance they’ve learned the material, Lane said. Brandi Ducote, social work graduate student, said she underlines and circles her notes rather than highlighting because it’s more selective.”People get highlighter happy,” she said.Some students simply read their notes and highlight key phrases in the text to review. Daniel Twardzik, biology sophomore, starts reviewing his notes three days before a test.Mitchel Haydel, biology sophomore, said he’s learned to begin studying early after being unprepared for past tests.”I have a chemistry test Thursday, and started studying [Monday],” Haydel said.—-Contact Olga Kourilova at [email protected]