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Seriously struggling to remember lecture content

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(edited 5 years ago)
Original post by badbodydouble
Hi all,
I'm in need of some advice. I'm in my second year at university studying English Language, and I'm really struggling to remember all the lecture content I've covered over the past year (plus additional reading) come exam time.

I felt this way last year and ended up getting Cs in my exams (coming from getting A and A* grades at A-level) but I just put my performance down to taking a gap year after my A-levels. Turns out I was wrong, however, as I'm in the exact same boat this year too and I'm scared I'm going to fail or come out with a grade I won't be proud of because I seem to have lost my ability to perform well in exams.

I understand that university level is completely different to A-level, however I didn't expect for my grades (and seemingly my memory) to take such a sharp downturn.

I'm revising as I was for A-level (making notes and re-writing notes throughout the year) and then come revision time, I'm condensing said notes, making flashcards, mind maps, making essay plans and using past paper questions as guides, etc, but barely anything is sticking. I feel so lost and stuck and I'm beginning to question whether doing a degree is right for me. I just can't explain my apparent inability to absorb content and it's really getting me down.

If anyone could help in any way, it would be massively appreciated. Thank you X


First of all remember that at university the percentages on offer in the humanities are generally lower than for A-Level- 80% is the effective ceiling unless you write something exceptional, and marks in the 60's are good. Not sure what you mean by getting C's at university I'm afraid.

If you still aren't happy, its worth consulting other students to see how they revise, your course tutors and also to see if your university has any classes on exam revision techniques- I know mine did.
If you found it difficult to retain the content given in lectures maybe you could have recorded them?

If i forget anything i do go back to lecture notes which are available on moodle.. i haven't had any exams this year, but if i did - i would have combined lecture notes and wider reading notes together and keep re-reading those and put them on flash cards to remember. And then eventually try practise exam questions.

If you're still struggling - tutors are there to help and you can get a 1-to-1 tutorial. Hope this helped xx
Original post by jelly1000
First of all remember that at university the percentages on offer in the humanities are generally lower than for A-Level- 80% is the effective ceiling unless you write something exceptional, and marks in the 60's are good. Not sure what you mean by getting C's at university I'm afraid.

If you still aren't happy, its worth consulting other students to see how they revise, your course tutors and also to see if your university has any classes on exam revision techniques- I know mine did.


Thank you for your help and sorry for my vagueness, my university uses A/B/C etc to grade work, so when I say I got Cs in my exams last year, I mean the equivalent of a 2:2.

All my friends revise in similar ways to me and they don't have any problems learning/remembering content. I spoke to a tutor in my department last term and she didn't seem overly worried and suggested that I talk through topics and discuss them with my friends as another method of revision which I've done but it hasn't made any difference to be honest. I'll see if I can speak to someone else or find a revision techniques class though, thank you.

Original post by samina_ay
If you found it difficult to retain the content given in lectures maybe you could have recorded them?

If i forget anything i do go back to lecture notes which are available on moodle.. i haven't had any exams this year, but if i did - i would have combined lecture notes and wider reading notes together and keep re-reading those and put them on flash cards to remember. And then eventually try practise exam questions.

If you're still struggling - tutors are there to help and you can get a 1-to-1 tutorial. Hope this helped xx


Thank you for your help. Recording lectures isn't something that's regularly done at my uni and I think I'd have to ask the lecturer's permission before every lecture, but I'll consider it, thank you.

I make notes in my lectures and I feel like I understand everything and I come away from each lecture feeling happy etc, and I always re-write my lecture notes up as soon as I can after that lecture, including doing any additional reading, so it's fresh in my mind. I try to look over past lectures throughout the year too as I relate other lectures to things covered in those etc, so it isn't as if I'm going 3/4s of a year without looking at anything we've covered earlier in the course...

I feel like I understand everything I'm covering, but it just doesn't stick, and when I come to revise I feel like I'm learning everything for the very first time, no matter how well I think I've understood it after the lecture/after re-writing my notes/after looking back over everything. I wish this was the case for just one module for example so then I could have a chat with a specific lecturer but this is happening across all of my course, so I know the problem lies with me and not the content. :frown:
Original post by badbodydouble
Thank you for your help and sorry for my vagueness, my university uses A/B/C etc to grade work, so when I say I got Cs in my exams last year, I mean the equivalent of a 2:2.

All my friends revise in similar ways to me and they don't have any problems learning/remembering content. I spoke to a tutor in my department last term and she didn't seem overly worried and suggested that I talk through topics and discuss them with my friends as another method of revision which I've done but it hasn't made any difference to be honest. I'll see if I can speak to someone else or find a revision techniques class though, thank you.



Thank you for your help. Recording lectures isn't something that's regularly done at my uni and I think I'd have to ask the lecturer's permission before every lecture, but I'll consider it, thank you.

I make notes in my lectures and I feel like I understand everything and I come away from each lecture feeling happy etc, and I always re-write my lecture notes up as soon as I can after that lecture, including doing any additional reading, so it's fresh in my mind. I try to look over past lectures throughout the year too as I relate other lectures to things covered in those etc, so it isn't as if I'm going 3/4s of a year without looking at anything we've covered earlier in the course...

I feel like I understand everything I'm covering, but it just doesn't stick, and when I come to revise I feel like I'm learning everything for the very first time, no matter how well I think I've understood it after the lecture/after re-writing my notes/after looking back over everything. I wish this was the case for just one module for example so then I could have a chat with a specific lecturer but this is happening across all of my course, so I know the problem lies with me and not the content. :frown:


Hmmm - that is strange - you have done more work than me. I don't even look back at lecture notes till I'm doing the assignment lol

But i know what you mean by knowing nothing when coming up to the exam. Maybe its a mental block? Nerves? Repetition is key - try revising with course friends. Discussing a topic usually sticks in your head better. And it doesn't matter if you're struggling with all the modules - just go and see your tutors :smile: I'm sure they will be happy to help.
Reply 5
Original post by badbodydouble
Thank you for your help and sorry for my vagueness, my university uses A/B/C etc to grade work, so when I say I got Cs in my exams last year, I mean the equivalent of a 2:2.

All my friends revise in similar ways to me and they don't have any problems learning/remembering content. I spoke to a tutor in my department last term and she didn't seem overly worried and suggested that I talk through topics and discuss them with my friends as another method of revision which I've done but it hasn't made any difference to be honest. I'll see if I can speak to someone else or find a revision techniques class though, thank you.



Thank you for your help. Recording lectures isn't something that's regularly done at my uni and I think I'd have to ask the lecturer's permission before every lecture, but I'll consider it, thank you.

I make notes in my lectures and I feel like I understand everything and I come away from each lecture feeling happy etc, and I always re-write my lecture notes up as soon as I can after that lecture, including doing any additional reading, so it's fresh in my mind. I try to look over past lectures throughout the year too as I relate other lectures to things covered in those etc, so it isn't as if I'm going 3/4s of a year without looking at anything we've covered earlier in the course...

I feel like I understand everything I'm covering, but it just doesn't stick, and when I come to revise I feel like I'm learning everything for the very first time, no matter how well I think I've understood it after the lecture/after re-writing my notes/after looking back over everything. I wish this was the case for just one module for example so then I could have a chat with a specific lecturer but this is happening across all of my course, so I know the problem lies with me and not the content. :frown:


Different people learn in different ways, so don't be alarmed that what works for others, doesn't work for you.

I had the same problem and what worked for me, was using the information I was hearing and reading. Find some past exam papers and think through how you'd answer the questions. Use the questions to go and look up your responses in your lecture notes and some likely books/journals. If I just read or heard something, it never stuck. Once I'd applied it in a practical way, it seemed to stay with me more effectively.
University is a big step up from A level, it's possible if you've gone from being a straight A student and used to being at the top you're just finding it hard to adjust to going to a (presumably) high level university where all the students there were capable of A's at A level and now you're essentially competing against them.

Is there anything you can think of which could be affecting your performance, health issues, revising in a distracting environment (TV/other students/messy etc), not sleeping enough, over working. Stress could also be affecting your ability to retain and recall facts if you're putting yourself under a lot of pressure.

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