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| Memory and Concentration |  Along with note-taking, successful tutees learn ways to maximize their ability to remember. The following suggestions can help your tutee if he complains of not being able to remember what he have studied:
Study Environment
Examine the place where your tutee studies. Is he/she studying in the living room with the television on and two children? If this scenario sounds familiar to him/her, or you find that he/she is trying to study (maybe even thinking he/she is studying) while also interacting with friends (in the campus center, during a child's soccer game, etc.), remove all visual and auditory distractions from the unique study place. It is advisable this place contains all the necessary supplies at hand (dictionary, highlighter etc).
Duration
How often and how long is your tutee studying? Some tutees try to cram everything into a 3-hour study marathon. This is not effective. Normally, the mind forgets the middle and remembers the first and the last items covered. If the student studied 30 minutes over a period of 6 days, he/she would have remembered more with less repetition.
Try to take 10- minute breaks every 20 to 30 minutes if you study for longer periods. Soon you will learn your frustration level. Take a brief break when you are studying and feel frustrated. When you begin to study again, your mind will have cleared away those emotions.
Association
Combine new material with things you already know. You can also combine facts to images. This helps to make the information significant and helps to organize the material. The more organized the information, the more successful your brain will be in locating the information.
 Mnemonic Devices
Using mnemonics is one of the best ways to memorize information. Mnemonics are devices (usually rhymes or formulas) used to assist memory. For instance, to remember the names of the Great Lakes, students use the first letter of each lake to spell HOMES (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior). You make this association even stronger if you visualize summer homes on a lake. Modeling the use of mnemonic devices extremely increases the probability of your tutee using this technique.
Live a Healthy Life
To have a good memory and concentration it is also very important to exercise, eat a well balanced diet, and drink plenty of water. Along with this, you should avoid alcohol, smoking, and caffeine. Also, get plenty of sleep (did you know lack of sleep and/or lack of quality sleep is as detrimental as being drunk or on drugs?).
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