Two Ways to Use the 'Blurting' Method to Study

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For a while there, the “blurting” method of note revision was all over TikTok, making it somewhat of a studying trend. Whether or not it's still popular on social media is irrelevant; it's still a solid retention technique that can help you entrench information in your long-term memory.

There are actually two ways to blurt when you’re studying, and both are helpful for retrieval practice and overall retention—but only if you’re doing them instead of scrolling, so read this, put your phone down, and get at it.

How to blurt some study notes

One way to blurt when you study is by reading through your notes and materials, then putting them away and grabbing a blank sheet of paper. From there, you write down everything you can remember about the subject, which enhances your use of active recall to retrieve the information from your memory.

Don’t worry about how long it takes you the first time. Instead, focus on getting every detail you can remember onto the page. When you’re done, go through your notes and materials again to identify anything you forgot to include, then write that information on the blurting page, using a different colored pen. (The colors you use when note-taking are more important than you might realize.) Don’t be discouraged by anything you forgot to include; this is helpful for identifying the concepts you grasp and the ones you need some extra practice with.

You can repeat this process every time you review your notes or add to them, strengthening your memory’s grip on the new information and training yourself to retrieve it when you need it. This will make test-taking a breeze when the time comes.

How to blurt out loud

The second way to go about blurting actually involves, well, blurting. Instead of writing down everything you can remember, try saying it out loud. Make a voice note instead of written ones, tapping into the production effect to entrench the information in your brain. When you’ve exhausted everything you can say on the topic, go back and give it another listen while you go through your notes, paying attention for anything you might have missed.

Re-record yourself sharing all the information you could remember and whatever you forgot to say. Eventually, you’ll create a complete “personal podcast” that will be helpful for your studies. You can listen to the full voice note wherever you are, reaping the memory benefits of not only speaking out loud, but hearing the information over and over again.

When to mix in some blurting

This is a solid approach on its own, as it allows you to check, in real time, how much you're retaining. But you can mix it in with other study methods, packing more of a punch.

• Blurting is a helpful component of dual-coding, or combining verbal and visual cues while you study. Try blurting with visuals instead of written explanations, creating a timeline or diagram from memory before checking your recall against your notes or text. Just make sure you leave spaces in your visuals so you can easily fill in anything you forgot during the blurt.

• During a SQ3R studying session—where you write down ideas and questions to look for as you read, then review them—you can use blurting as part of the recitation section (the "R" in SQ3R).

• If you're committing to an overlearning model, which is when you review something until it's absolutely second nature, try adding blurting into your weekly review.

The best part of this is it can be combined with other approaches or just whipped out on its own for a quick brain refresh. TikTok trends come and go, but a quality study method is forever.

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