This memory trick will help you ace your CIMA exams…

When revising for CIMA exams, memory power is very important. In many ways, exams are like sophisticated memory tests – if you can remember all the material from the CIMA syllabus and apply it correctly in your CIMA exams, you are on the path to success! 

The following technique will help you to unleash your full memory potential, including the power to remember everything you need for your CIMA exams! 

To master memory, we must first understand how it works. There are three different kinds of memory: sensory, long-term and short-term. Sensory memory is when things are stored for less than a second in our brains and then discarded because we don’t need them – this is what happens to the majority of information we intake every day. 

Short-term memory stores information for a little longer than sensory memory – it is also known as ‘working memory’ because it holds thoughts while you’re using them, like a notepad. From here memories are either dismissed, or transferred to long-term memory.

The goal of revising for CIMA exams is to transfer information from your short-term memory to your long-term memory!

There are many different techniques for remembering information, which help this long-term storage become more solidified. Common revision methods, which I’m sure you’ve come across in your CIMA studies, include re-writing notes, highlighting text or even watching tuition videos. These are all successful methods, particularly when combined with products such as our mock exams!

However, one of the oldest and most respected methods of comprehensive remembering is referred to as the method of loci, or the ‘memory palace’ technique. This trick, practiced by the Greeks and Romans, involves envisioning a building and ‘hiding’ the things you wish to remember in different parts of that building.

How does it work? Well, let’s say you need to remember the names of the different subsidiary bodies of the IFRS Foundation – the Interpretations Committee, The Advisory Council and the IASB – for one of your CIMA exams. 

To use the technique, imagine your house or another building you know well. Then ‘walk’ through this place in your head and assign the names of the different IFRS bodies to different areas in the building. When you imagine yourself walking through this location next time, you will remember the bodies of the IFRS Foundation as you pass the different areas of the building.

The method works best if you can envision some sort of interaction between the location and what you are remembering. If you were trying to remember the name ‘Interpretations Committee’ by thinking of a bookcase, for example, you might imagine yourself picking up a dictionary to ‘interpret’ a word as you pass the bookcase.

Believe it or not, this memory technique produces incredible results. It is regularly cited as the method used by memory champions, including the current memory world champion, Alex Mullen, who earned his title after becoming the first person to memorize the order of a pack of cards in under 20 seconds! 

Extraordinary feats like that might seem impossible to you or I, but actually the human memory is a fascinating phenomenon and we all have the ability to recall vast amounts of information. Combining the memory palace technique with Astranti revision materials, you have the memory power to pass your CIMA exams several times over! All the information that you need to remember to pass your exams can be found in our free study texts.

For more revision tips and advice, like my page on Facebook and follow Astranti on Twitter. Until next time, good luck with your revision!

By Sapphire Plant