How to Remember Things on a Test and Ace Your WAEC or JAMB
You know that sinking feeling.
You spent all night reading your textbook. You “crammed” the definitions until you could sing it like a Davido song. You walked into the exam hall feeling confident.
But the moment the invigilator dropped the question paper on your desk, your mind went blank.
Zero. Nothing.
It’s painful. It’s frustrating. And honestly, it happens to almost every Nigerian student at least once. But here is the good news: you don’t have a “bad brain.” You just have a bad strategy.
Memory isn’t magic; it’s a muscle. If you want to stop staring at the ceiling tiles praying for answers to fall down, you need to change how you prepare.
Here is exactly how to remember things on a test, avoid the dreaded “brain block,” and secure those distinctions.
1. Stop “Reading,” Start “Recalling”
Most students study by reading their notes over and over again. They highlight everything until the whole page is neon yellow.
Let me be honest with you: passive reading is a trap.
Your brain recognizes the words, so you feel like you know it. But recognizing information is different from being able to retrieve it. When you are in the exam hall, the book won’t be there to trigger your memory.
The Fix: Active Recall. Close your textbook. Look away. Now, try to explain the concept out loud in your own words. If you can’t say it without looking, you don’t know it yet. This forces your brain to work hard to find the information, which creates a much stronger memory pathway.
We discussed this deeper in our guide on 10 effective study habits every student should develop, but the summary is simple: if it feels easy, you probably aren’t learning.
2. Use “Naija” Mnemonics and Acronyms
Remember “MR NIGER D”?
Of course you do. You probably learned that in JSS1, and you still remember the characteristics of living things today. Why? Because acronyms work.
Your brain struggles to hold onto random lists of facts. But if you turn those facts into a catchy phrase, a funny sentence, or an acronym, it sticks like glue.
How to do it:
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Physics formulas: Turn variables into a sentence.
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Government dates: Attach them to something personal (e.g., “The year Nigeria became a republic is the same year my grandpa built his house”).
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Biology lists: Create a weird word using the first letter of every item in the list.
The weirder and funnier it is, the easier it is to remember. Don’t be afraid to use Pidgin or vernacular if it helps it stick.
3. The Feynman Technique (Teach it to a Wall)
Albert Einstein reportedly said, “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”
He was right.
Sometimes you blank out on a test because you memorized the words, but you didn’t understand the concept. This is the classic “La Cram, La Pour” mistake. If the exam question twists the wording slightly, you get confused.
Try this: Pretend you are teaching the topic to a Primary 6 pupil or your younger sibling. Simplify the language. Remove the big grammar. If you get stuck explaining a part, that is exactly where your gap in knowledge is. Go back to the textbook and fix that gap.
4. Spaced Repetition (Don’t Be a Fire Brigade)
We have all been there. The exam is tomorrow morning, and you are trying to shove three months of Syllabus into your head in six hours.
This is the fastest way to fail.
Your brain needs sleep to move information from short-term memory to long-term memory. When you pull an “all-nighter,” you are basically filling a leaking bucket. You might remember some things for the first hour, but halfway through the exam, fatigue will wipe your memory clean.
Instead of studying for 5 hours in one day, study for 30 minutes every day for 10 days. This is called Spaced Repetition.
For a detailed breakdown on managing your time when the exam is close, check out our article on how to prepare for an exam in a short time.
5. Simulate Exam Conditions
If you always study lying on your bed, listening to Burna Boy, and snacking on Gala, you are setting yourself up for shock.
The exam hall is quiet. The chair is hard. The atmosphere is tense.
This is called Context-Dependent Memory. Your brain links what you learn to where you learned it. If the environment is totally different, your brain struggles to find the file.
The Strategy:
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Sit at a desk or table.
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Turn off your phone.
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Get a past question paper (WAEC or JAMB).
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Set a timer.
Practice retrieving the information under pressure. This trains your brain to remain calm and focused when it matters most. According to research from Verywell Mind on State-Dependent Memory, matching your study environment to your test environment significantly boosts recall.
6. Managing the “Panic Button”
Sometimes, you know the answer. You really do. But anxiety shuts your brain down.
You look at Question 1, don’t know it, and panic. Your heart starts beating fast. Suddenly, you can’t even remember your own exam number.
When you stress, your body releases cortisol. High cortisol levels literally block your memory access.
What to do: If you feel the panic rising, stop. Put your pen down. Close your eyes for 10 seconds. Take a deep breath in, hold it, and breathe out slowly.
Skip the question that is confusing you. Go to the one you know. Writing an answer—any answer—builds confidence and lowers your anxiety, unlocking your brain for the harder questions later.
Summary
Learning how to remember things on a test isn’t about being a genius. It is about studying smarter, not harder.
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Use active recall (close the book!).
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Create funny acronyms.
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Teach the material to a friend.
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Don’t cram overnight.
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Practice with past questions in a quiet room.
If you apply these steps, you won’t just pass; you will excel. And for those looking ahead, getting high scores is the first step toward getting into your dream school. You can check the list of universities that accept 140 cut off mark to see your options for the next session.
Good luck. You’ve got this!
