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Kimberly Arce
May 25, 2016
Editorial
Success is defined and measured in various different ways. Although it is different for
everyone the typical success that everyone thinks about is always associated with money, praise,
and even fame. Most of the people we as individuals look up to have at least two of the three
things associated with success. There are a million different things that go into making a person
successful. Some examples include how they measure success, what is needed to achieve success
and starting the path of success. The most important factors that go into success are being able to
form your own ideas and opinions while also retaining the important information that was taught.
As a college student I have learned the importance of success and how it has many
factors that play into how I can ultimately achieve the level of success I wanted to be in. One of
the factors is passing the classes with great grades instead of good or average grades. This extra
push helps show the dedication some students have and weed out the ones who are there because
they need to be and not be interest. If this is the case it is harder for anyone to learn let alone try
to retain the information that is not wanted there in the first place. A key factor that is needed is
motivation and the ability to retain information quickly and the ability to keep the information
stored in the brain for a long time and later are able to interpret the information. An important
factor of how the brain interprets information and how well it stores and remembers the material
the easier it is to succeed. The idea behind this statement is the more you remember the easier it
is to pass exams and other boundaries because the knowledge is there all that needs to be done is
tap into the place where the information is being stored. How much information can be stored is
equally as important as to how long it takes for the information to be stored.

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Success has always been a goal of mine at my age I have reached success that others take
for granted or that they cherish as much as I do. One achievement and success that I consider
valuable is the chance to say that I graduated high school without any problems and it is thanks
to the late night I stayed up studying or the times I had to go to school before my classes would
start in order to get that extra time for preparing for an exam. This achievement or success in my
book would have not been possible if it was not for the detainment of information I was being
taught. I also credit the studying techniques I developed over the years I have been in school.
One effective way to retain information was having some type of distraction in the background
as well as taking small breaks more frequently than needed like one every hour or so. Shorter
study times leads to more solid recall of the material as well as a solid foundation according to
Benedict Carey in his book How We Learn. I also have to thank the skills that I acquired and
keep working on everyday which is the ability to think critically. This is an important skill to
have because it helps deepen your understanding as well as give you a way to form ideas that are
unique to you because it is your interpretation of the ideas. This is also a skill that successful
people have because they can use this skill in any situation and help find solutions to problems
that are surrounding them.
Some skills and tricks for helping improve your memory that would have been helpful in
the past are self-explanation and self-assessment. Research suggests that self-explanation helps
because it gives you a chance to reflect what material was taught as well as test what you could
remember and what information your brain retained from that lecture or discussion (Selfexplanation). Self-explanation is very important because it helps you know what needs to be
studied and what you do not need to review as often. This skill can lead to success because most
people that are successful are leaders in some way and often have to introduce the material to

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others or need to give an overview of what the material is about and what better skill to have
than being able to retain information better as well as inform others and help give them an idea to
think of and elaborate when they are being taught the material. What I would have liked to know
as well is how overlearning can affect how you grasp and store information as you age. In a
recent study I read the scientist behind the experiment show how students that overlearned the
material lost most of it by the time the class would take the final exam. The way the brain is
effected shows how studying the right way and not stressing over the details and having to
memorize every single detail can lead to success such as passing the class.
The moral of the story about the best and worst techniques for studying is figuring out
what works for you as well as reading and researching different study techniques and trying to
find the one that is right for you. If you find that you are not seeing any results from the
techniques you are using right now then try and research small changes that you can incorporate
and see if they produce success the next time an exam comes around. This goes to show that it
takes time to know what helps your brain because every brain is different and what works for
some may not work for you and that is normal. What is equally as important is trying to come up
with our own ideas and questions about how the world works as well as challenge the ones that
are already out there. Overall success is mainly linked to forming ideas and how well your
memory skills are.

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Work Cited Page
Carey, Benedict. How We Learn: The Surprising Truth about When, Where, and Why It
Happens. New York: Random House, 2015. Print.
Gladwell, Malcolm. What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures. London: Penguin, 2010. Print.
Roediger, Henry L., Andrew C. Butler, and Douglas P. Larsen. "Comparative Effects of Test
enhanced Learning and Self-explanation on Long term Retention." N.A. (2013): n. page.
N.A. Medical Education, 2013. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.
Rohrer, Doug, Kelli Taylor, and Harold Pasher. "The Effect of Overlearning in Long Term
Retention." N.A. University of California, 14 Dec. 2004. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.