Does Writing Things Down Really Make It Easier To Remember Later?

• At least 6 test subjects
• Handouts of “things to remember”
• Timer
• Pen/paper

Procedure:

Initial Steps

1. First and foremost, come up with anything you want your subjects to remember.
2. You will have 2 groups of testers- one control group and one experimental group. Group them equally, randomly and accordingly.

The Control Group

1. Hand out one of the “thing to remember” handouts ask them to remember it to the best of their ability. You should give subjects 5 minutes to study the list.
2. After the 5 minutes have passed, retrieve the lists and ask your test subjects to resume to their normal tasks or whatever they want to do for 1 hour.
3. After 1 hour, test your first subject. Ask them to recall the handout to the best of their ability.
4. Time how long it takes for them to recall the list and how many they got correct.
5. Repeat steps 5-6 for the rest of your subjects in the control group.

The Experimental Group

1. Hand out one of the handouts to your experimental group and ask them to remember it to the best of their ability while rewriting what is on the handout. You should give them 5 minutes to study & rewrite the words on the paper.
2. After the 5 minutes have passed, retrieve the lists and ask your test subjects to resume to their normal tasks or whatever they want to do for 1 hour.
3. After 1 hour, test your first subject. Ask them to recall the list to the best of their ability.
4. Time how long it takes for them to recall the list and how many they got correct.
5. Repeat steps 5-6 for the rest of your subjects in the control group.

For Accuracy

• Repeat the above steps for a second trial with a different handout.

Calculations

1. Calculate the average time it took for both groups and both tests to remember the handout.
2. Calculate the average number of correct answers there were for both groups and both tests.