Introduction
Preparing for major exams – be it professional certifications like the CFA or high-stakes academic tests – often involves absorbing large volumes of information under time pressure. Traditional study methods (e.g. reading textbooks or listening to lectures) can fall short in helping students retain complex concepts. This report presents a strong case for incorporating visual learning techniques into exam preparation. It defines visual learning and its cognitive basis, explains why visual methods can outperform other learning styles in terms of memory retention and understanding, compares visual learning with auditory, kinesthetic, and reading/writing approaches, and identifies which learners benefit most. Finally, it offers practical visual learning strategies (including examples relevant to the CFA exam) supported by studies, expert opinions, and real-world applications.
Defining Visual Learning and Its Cognitive Mechanisms
Visual learning is a style of learning where information is presented and processed primarily through sight. In practice, this means using graphs, diagrams, charts, maps, illustrations, and other visual aids to understand and remember material (Visual learning – Wikipedia) (Visual Learning Style Traits and Strategies). Visual learners “need to see information to learn it,” and this seeing can take many forms – spatial layouts, colors, icons, or imagery that represent concepts (Visual Learning Style Traits and Strategies). Rather than relying on words alone, visual learning engages the brain’s powerful image processing capabilities.
Cognitively, visual learning leverages how our brain encodes and recalls information. A large portion of the human brain is devoted to visual processing – over 50% of the cortex is involved in interpreting visual input (Visual learning statistics for online training | SC Training). Our minds can recognize images extraordinarily fast (in as little as 13 milliseconds according to MIT researchers (Visual learning statistics for online training | SC Training)), illustrating how we are hard-wired to digest visual information almost instantaneously. Moreover, visuals tend to be stored in long-term memory more readily than verbal data. This is related to the picture superiority effect – the well-established finding that people remember images better than words. Psychologist Allan Paivio’s Dual-Coding Theory provides a mechanism: the theory suggests we have two channels for memory – verbal and non-verbal (visual) – and information encoded in both forms creates double memory traces (Dual-coding theory – Wikipedia) (Dual-coding theory – Wikipedia). For example, if you learn a concept as a spoken/written explanation and as a picture, you have two ways to later retrieve that concept from memory. Dual coding research shows that using mental imagery alongside text improves recall, because the brain can latch onto either the word or the image (or both) when remembering (Dual-coding theory – Wikipedia). In essence, visual learning capitalizes on the brain’s spatial and image-based memory systems: it offloads some cognitive load from purely linguistic processing to our efficient visual system, often making learning more intuitive and memorable.
Why Visual Learning Is Superior for Retention and Understanding
Studies in cognitive science and education consistently indicate that blending visuals into learning leads to higher retention rates and deeper understanding compared to text-only or audio-only methods. One striking statistic comes from brain research: people generally recall only ~10% of information heard after three days, but if a relevant image is paired with that same information, recall can soar to 65% after three days (Visual learning statistics for online training | SC Training). This often-cited 65% vs 10% finding (attributed to cognitive psychologist John Medina) exemplifies how much more sticky visual input can be for our memory. In other words, adding a picture can multiply recall several-fold (Visual learning statistics for online training | SC Training). It’s no surprise then that visual learning methods are documented to be far more effective than text alone – one study found an 83% improvement with visual methods over text-based learning, and an overall potential learning improvement “by up to 400%” when visuals are used strategically (Using visuals improves learning by up to 400% – study | The Educator K/12). While such figures are dramatic, they underscore a real trend: visuals boost memory.
Empirical research backs the superiority of visual approaches. In an experimental study, students were divided to learn identical material either by reading (visual text) or by listening (auditory). Those who learned through the visual format outperformed the auditory group in memory tests, both immediately and after a delay (“Visual versus auditory learning and memory recall performance on short” by Katie Lindner, Greta Blosser et al.). The visual learners had better recall in both short-term and long-term assessments, leading the researchers to conclude that visual learning produced better memory retention than auditory learning overall (“Visual versus auditory learning and memory recall performance on short” by Katie Lindner, Greta Blosser et al.). This result aligns with many learners’ experiences – we often “see” pages or diagrams in our mind when trying to remember, because the act of reading or observing creates a visual memory, whereas hearing alone may leave a more fleeting trace.
Not only do pictures aid memory, they also enhance comprehension of complex information. Visual representations can simplify complicated ideas by harnessing our ability to perceive patterns and relationships. A 2016 study titled “Creating visual explanations improves learning” found that when students learned a complex topic with the help of well-designed visuals, they understood it better than students who only received verbal explanations (Visual learning statistics for online training | SC Training). The visuals provided an overview and helped learners mentally organize how components fit together in a system (Visual learning statistics for online training | SC Training). For instance, a biology student might struggle to grasp an abstract process through text, but a diagram of that process (like the water cycle or cell division) makes the sequence and interconnections clear (How Visuals Help Student Retention – School Poster Makers). By seeing the structure, learners can more easily make sense of cause and effect, hierarchies, or logical flows. This ability to “chunk” information into a coherent picture is a huge advantage of visual learning. It’s supported by evidence that graphic organizers (like charts and concept maps) not only improve recall, but also improve reading comprehension and higher-order thinking skills (Visual learning – Wikipedia) (Visual learning – Wikipedia). Students who use visual organizers can better synthesize information and think critically about it (Visual learning – Wikipedia), suggesting that visual tools don’t just help you remember facts – they help you connect and apply those facts in meaningful ways.
Another reason visual learning can be superior is its impact on engagement and focus. In our digital era, attention spans are notoriously short. Visual content naturally draws attention through color, layout, and imagery. Research reported by MindShift found that students who used visual learning tools were 89% more likely to stay focused and engaged during a lesson than those learning without visuals (How Visuals Help Student Retention – School Poster Makers). Bright, well-organized visuals tap into the brain’s intrinsic interest – we are attracted to things that look interesting or relevant. By keeping learners engaged, visual methods prevent the mental drift that often happens during long textual study, thereby improving how much information actually gets processed. This is especially valuable when preparing for major exams, where maintaining focus over long study sessions is challenging. Educational psychologists often emphasize multi-modal learning for this reason: when we involve multiple senses or modes (visual, verbal, etc.), we create richer memory traces and sustain attention better (Using visuals improves learning by up to 400% – study | The Educator K/12). Dr. Penny Trayner, a neuropsychologist, notes that “richly encoded” memories (formed by seeing, discussing, experiencing material) are more likely to be retained (Using visuals improves learning by up to 400% – study | The Educator K/12). Visual learning is a key part of that richness.
Crucially, the benefits of visual learning are not limited to a small subset of students – it tends to help most learners due to how human cognition works. A comprehensive review of research on graphic organizers concluded that students remember information better when it’s learned both visually and verbally (Visual learning – Wikipedia). Presenting content in a dual format reinforces understanding for a broad range of students, not just those who might self-identify as “visual learners.” In fact, evidence suggests that even students who consider themselves auditory or kinesthetic learners profit from the inclusion of visuals. The brain’s visual memory capacity is available to all, so almost anyone can leverage images to improve learning. Experts like cognitive psychologist Richard Mayer have found that tailoring instruction exclusively to a supposed learning style (visual vs auditory learner, etc.) doesn’t significantly improve outcomes; what does improve learning is using sound design principles that combine words and pictures effectively for everyone (Visual Learner: Characteristics, Study Tips & Activities). In summary, visual learning techniques have a strong scientific rationale: they encode information in a format our brains naturally excel at processing – images – leading to better concentration, higher retention over time, and more robust understanding.
Comparison with Other Learning Styles (Auditory, Reading/Writing, Kinesthetic)
Human learners take in information through various modalities: by seeing, hearing, doing, or reading. The VARK model (Visual, Auditory, Reading/Writing, Kinesthetic) identifies these as distinct learning styles. In practice, most people learn through a mix of all modalities, but they may have preferences. Here’s a brief comparison of how each style works and how they stack up:
- Visual Learning: Relies on sight. Visual learners prefer to see information in forms like diagrams, charts, graphs, pictures, or demonstrations. They absorb content best when it’s laid out spatially or symbolically. For example, a visual learner in a history class might remember timelines and maps better than a spoken narrative. Visual style is very common – some estimates suggest roughly 65% of the population learns best through visual means (65% of People Prefer Visual Learning, Is Teaching Keeping Up?) (though this statistic is debated, it reflects that visual is a dominant mode for many). The strength of visual learning is in quick absorption and strong recall of material as a mental picture. Its downside is that it might require good visual resources; purely verbal input can bore a visual learner. However, as discussed, even those without a strong visual preference benefit when content is presented visually because of our brain’s architecture.
- Auditory Learning: Involves learning by listening. Auditory learners prefer lectures, discussions, podcasts, or reading out loud to themselves. They remember spoken explanations and may learn well from class discussions or oral repetition. About 30% of people are thought to learn effectively through auditory input (“65 percent of people are visual learners” is lazy journalism – Lightbulb Moment).
The advantage of auditory learning is that it can convey tone and emphasis – for instance, a teacher’s storytelling or vocal inflection can make content memorable. Auditory methods are also accessible (you can listen anywhere). However, without reinforcement, auditory memory fades fast – as noted earlier, we tend to retain only about 10% of what we hear after a few days if we don’t have visuals or notes (Visual learning statistics for online training | SC Training).
Thus, solely auditory learning may be less effective for detailed retention unless combined with note-taking or visual cues. Many learners considered “auditory” still benefit from visual aids to cement what they hear. - Reading/Writing Learning: Involves interaction with text. This style is characterized by learning through reading textbooks, articles, and writing notes or essays. People strong in this mode (sometimes folded under “visual” in VARK, but often separated as an additional category) prefer information in words – they may love to read instructions and write summaries. The modern education system has traditionally favored this style (e.g. reading chapters, writing answers), so many students train themselves to learn this way. Reading/writing learners benefit from the abundance of written resources and often have good recall of definitions and written details. Yet, reading is fundamentally a visual activity (seeing text) – it engages the visual cortex to recognize letters. The difference is that it’s abstract (symbols representing ideas) compared to pictorial visuals (images). Reading can be slower for processing than images, and large text blocks can overwhelm learners. Many students find it hard to retain purely textual information unless they transform it into another form (notes, outlines, or diagrams). In comparison, adding pictures or charts to written notes can boost a text learner’s recall significantly.
So while reading/writing is effective for those who enjoy language, it too is strengthened by visual elements like highlighting, margin notes, or doodles that create mental imagery. - Kinesthetic Learning: Learning by doing and moving. Kinesthetic (or tactile) learners prefer a hands-on approach – experiments, simulations, role-play, or any physical activity that allows them to experience the concept. They remember what they enact or physically handle. Only roughly 5% of people might be true kinesthetic-dominant learners (“65 percent of people are visual learners” is lazy journalism – Lightbulb Moment), but this mode is important for certain subjects (e.g. laboratory sciences, learning to use tools, sports skills). The strength of kinesthetic learning is active engagement – it turns abstract ideas into concrete action, which can lead to deep understanding and muscle memory. For example, a kinesthetic approach to learning geometry might involve building shapes, not just looking at diagrams. The challenge is that hands-on learning can be time-consuming and not always feasible for all exam content (you can’t “touch” historical events or financial concepts directly). However, incorporating kinesthetic elements like practice problems (learning by actively solving) or moving around while reviewing flashcards can help. Kinesthetic learners often still rely on visual cues (e.g. watching demonstrations) as a prelude to doing.
It’s important to note that learning styles are not mutually exclusive. Many experts now emphasize that we shouldn’t pigeonhole individuals as strictly one type of learner. In fact, research has found that teaching exclusively in a student’s preferred style doesn’t necessarily boost performance beyond good teaching in general (Visual Learner: Characteristics, Study Tips & Activities). The best approach is usually multimodal – combining visual, auditory, reading, and kinesthetic techniques. This way, you engage more brain pathways. Visual learning plays a central role in this mix: for instance, a well-designed video lesson uses auditory narration and visual animation, catering to multiple styles. (Notably, students are more likely to remember information from video than from text alone, showing the power of audiovisual synergy (How Visuals Help Student Retention – School Poster Makers).) In summary, each learning style has its merits: auditory appeals to language and listening skills, reading/writing leverages literacy, kinesthetic engages experiential learning. But visual learning stands out because it can complement all others – you can add visuals to spoken or written content to enhance it – and because the human brain is fundamentally an image processor. Most learners will find that introducing visual methods into their study routine, alongside other methods, yields better engagement and retention than any single-style approach.
Who Benefits Most from Visual Learning Techniques
Visual learning techniques can be broadly beneficial, but certain kinds of people may find them especially effective. Given our species’ predisposition for sight, virtually everyone can gain from well-crafted visuals (Visual Learner: Characteristics, Study Tips & Activities). Even so, individuals do vary. Here are profiles of people who tend to benefit most from using visual learning in their exam prep:
- “Visual learners” by preference: These are students who naturally gravitate towards images, charts, and spatial layouts to understand information. They often say they need to “see it to believe it.” Such learners remember faces or places more easily than names, and they might sketch or use mind maps when studying. For them, visual learning isn’t just helpful – it’s essential for grasping new material. In fact, a commonly cited (if somewhat over-generalized) statistic is that about 65% of people are visual learners in terms of preferred style (65% of People Prefer Visual Learning, Is Teaching Keeping Up?). While the exact percentage can be debated, it’s clear that a majority of learners report that they comprehend and recall information better with visual aids. These individuals will benefit enormously from incorporating diagrams, color-coding, and imagery into their study routines. They’ll likely find that lectures or pure text study are insufficient without an accompanying visual component to cement knowledge.
- People with high visual-spatial intelligence: Some individuals have a knack for spatial reasoning – they can visualize objects in their mind and have a good sense of patterns and geometry. Psychologist Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences describes visual-spatial intelligence as the ability to imagine the world in 3D and to perceive patterns (How Visuals Help Student Retention – School Poster Makers).
Learners with this strength (for example, artists, engineers, or gamers) will find visual learning techniques very natural. They excel when material can be turned into charts, maps, or symbolic diagrams. They often enjoy concept mapping or drawing out ideas. For these people, visual learning not only helps memory, it leverages an area where they are inherently talented – making study more efficient. Conversely, they may struggle with rote memorization of verbal lists, so transforming those lists into charts or annotated visuals can be a game-changer. - The digital generation (Gen-Z and Millennials): Younger learners who grew up with smartphones, YouTube, and social media are accustomed to information coming in visual forms (images, videos, emojis, infographics) in rapid succession. Their brains have been trained to process visual stimuli quickly, and they often have shorter attention spans for plain text (65% of People Prefer Visual Learning, Is Teaching Keeping Up?).
As a result, they expect learning content to be engaging and visual. Educators note that Gen Z students “learn best with the use of diagrams, infographics, pictures, mind maps, and other visual tools,” and that clinging to old text-heavy methods loses their attention (Using visuals improves learning by up to 400% – study | The Educator K/12).
These learners benefit from visual learning because it aligns with their media consumption habits – it keeps them interested and prevents study sessions from feeling stale. Even for major exams, these students might prefer watching a tutorial video or reviewing a colorful summary sheet over reading a long chapter. Incorporating visual elements (interactive graphs, illustrative examples, etc.) into exam prep can significantly boost their engagement and recall. - Learners with attention or concentration difficulties: Individuals with ADHD or similar attentional challenges often find it hard to slog through dense readings or lengthy lectures. Visual stimuli can capture their focus more effectively. As mentioned, adding visuals increases student engagement by a large margin (How Visuals Help Student Retention – School Poster Makers).
For a learner who tends to daydream or lose track during studying, a page of text might not hold them, but a well-designed diagram or flashcard set with images can sustain their attention longer. Visual learning techniques like breaking content into graphic organizers, or studying with educational videos, help chunk material into digestible, interesting pieces. This not only makes studying less frustrating for them but also improves how much they retain (since they focus better). The interactive nature of some visual methods (like creating one’s own mind map) can also channel restless energy into productive learning. - People with reading or language-based learning difficulties: Those who struggle with reading large amounts of text (due to dyslexia or other learning disorders) often lean on their visual thinking skills to compensate. For example, many individuals with dyslexia have exceptionally strong visual-spatial abilities and creativity (The Upside of Dyslexia: Exploring 5 Hidden Strengths – Neurodivergent Insights).
They might find traditional text-heavy studying painful, but they can absorb information through images and diagrams more easily. Visual learning allows them to bypass some of the bottlenecks of text decoding and leverage their strengths in pattern recognition and holistic thinking. A dyslexic student might benefit from watching concept videos, using color-coded notes, or memorizing via mind maps rather than straight reading. The visual approach can level the playing field by presenting the content in a form that doesn’t play to their weaknesses. Essentially, if reading speed or comprehension is an issue, translating material into visual formats (charts, symbols, storyboards) makes learning far more accessible. This doesn’t just apply to diagnosed conditions – even non-native language speakers or those less comfortable with the language of instruction can find relief in visual aids, which are more universal and less tied to linguistic skill. - Broadly, all students aiming for long-term retention: Even highly literate or auditory-oriented individuals will find that when it comes to remembering a large body of knowledge (like for a major exam), adding visual elements can reinforce memory. Visual learning benefits most students by offering an alternate pathway to encode information (Visual Learner: Characteristics, Study Tips & Activities).
If a student has learned something by reading, revisiting the same material through a visual summary will store it more robustly. For example, a law student who reads case after case may create a visual timeline of landmark cases to solidify dates and links. Or a medical student might use an anatomical diagram to summarize physiology learned from a textbook. These practices aren’t limited to “visual learners” – they’re good study hygiene for anyone who wants to retain and understand deeply. Indeed, evidence shows that multi-sensory approaches (combining visual with auditory or kinesthetic) benefit most learners and even help children learn outside of what they thought was their preferred style (Visual Learner: Characteristics, Study Tips & Activities).
Visual learning is a cornerstone of such multi-sensory education.
In short, visual learning techniques tend to help a wide range of people, but they are particularly invaluable for those who think in pictures, those who might otherwise lose interest or struggle with text, and those facing the challenge of memorizing complex, voluminous information. It taps into strengths that many learners (knowingly or not) possess. The beauty of visual learning is that it meets learners where their brains are naturally adept – almost everyone has a “visual learner” within, since our brains have evolved to interpret the world visually. By unlocking that capability, students can study more efficiently and effectively.
Visual Learning Strategies for Major Exam Preparation
Having established the benefits of visual learning, how can students preparing for major exams actually apply it? Below are practical strategies and methods to infuse visual learning into exam prep. These techniques are useful for any intensive test (bar exams, medical boards, university finals, etc.), and we’ll include references to the CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) exam to demonstrate real-world applicability in a finance context. The CFA curriculum is notoriously dense and text-heavy, so it’s an area where visual learning can provide an edge in mastering and retaining the material. (File:Onlinewiki.jpg – Wikimedia Commons) A student-generated mind map on a whiteboard, organizing topics related to online learning. Mind maps like this visually lay out a central topic and its branches, helping learners see relationships at a glance.
- Create Mind Maps and Concept Maps:
One of the most powerful visual study tools is the mind map – a diagram where a central idea branches into related subtopics, which in turn branch into finer details. This technique turns linear notes into a web of ideas, mirroring how our brains actually connect information. By arranging information spatially, you can literally see the structure of a subject. Mind maps encourage active learning: when you build a mind map, you must engage with the material, categorize it, and depict links, which leads to better understanding and memory than passive reading (Simple but fantastic way of learning financial concepts is by using Mind maps – Examary).For example, if you’re studying Economics for an exam, you might put “Market Structures” in the center and branch out to “Perfect Competition,” “Monopoly,” etc., each with its own key characteristics and formulas. This one-page visual overview helps you recall the entire framework during the exam. Research shows that students who use graphic concept maps perform better in retention and achievement across subjects (Visual learning – Wikipedia).In the context of the CFA exam, which spans topics from ethics to portfolio management, mind maps can be incredibly useful. A CFA candidate can create a mind map for each major topic – say, a map of Financial Reporting standards or a map linking all the valuation models in Equity Analysis. By doing so, they organize the vast amount of information and see the “big picture” of how concepts interrelate (Simple but fantastic way of learning financial concepts is by using Mind maps – Examary).
The act of drawing the map itself reinforces memory, and the finished product serves as an excellent visual summary for review. Software tools or just pen-and-paper both work for mind mapping. Similarly, concept maps (which are like flowcharts connecting concepts with labeled arrows) achieve the same goal of visualizing relationships. The key is to personalize the map – use colors, symbols, and layouts that make sense to you, so that studying it later feels like navigating a familiar landscape of knowledge. - Use Diagrams, Charts, and Flowcharts:
Many processes or systems can be turned into a diagram or flowchart, which often makes them much easier to understand. Instead of reading a paragraph about how something works, drawing a picture of it can clarify the steps or components. For instance, a biology student might draw the Krebs cycle from memory, or a history student might sketch a timeline of events. For exam prep, identify any processes, sequences, or hierarchies in your syllabus and create a visual representation. Flowcharts are great for things like decision processes (e.g., an ethics decision tree, which is very relevant for CFA Ethics cases), or for algorithmic problem solving. Graphs and charts can illustrate numerical relationships – for example, rather than memorizing the effect of interest rate changes on bond prices in words, a CFA Level I candidate could plot it on a graph and see the inverse relationship. This ties into the idea of dual coding: the graph complements the formula.
Diagrams also help simplify complex information into digestible pieces, as educators often observe (How Visuals Help Student Retention – School Poster Makers).A complex multi-step logic can be broken down into a visual flow of arrows or a cycle diagram, which students find easier to follow. If you’re studying the legal system, draw a flowchart of the appeal process. If you’re learning IT or science, sketch the architecture of a network or the parts of a cell. These visuals serve as mental hooks. Research in classrooms shows that when tricky concepts are taught with diagrams (e.g., the water cycle with an illustration of clouds and rain), students grasp it faster).
For self-study, you can do the same: whenever you catch yourself struggling to understand a textual description, ask “Can I draw this out?” Often, the act of drawing will reveal insights and solidify your memory. In the exam, you might recall your flowchart image which helps you reconstruct the answer correctly. - Leverage Color and Visual Emphasis in Notes:
Not all studying involves making big maps or diagrams from scratch – sometimes you have to work with your written notes or textbooks. Here, visual learning techniques can still be applied by using color and formatting to make key information stand out. Our eyes are drawn to color and contrast, and using these strategically can make your study materials far more memorable. For example, use a set of colored pens or highlighters to mark different categories of information: perhaps green for definitions, yellow for formulas, and pink for examples. This way, when flipping through notes, your brain quickly registers what’s what (and in the exam, you might remember “oh, that term was highlighted in green on page 5 of my notes”). Studies by Xerox have shown that adding color to learning materials makes them about 39% more memorable for reader(Visual learning statistics for online training | SC Training).Color can also be used in charts (e.g. pie chart segments in different colors to denote proportions) and on flashcards (e.g. writing gendered nouns in different colors in language study).
Beyond color, pay attention to layout: use headings, bullet points, boxes, and bold text to create a visual hierarchy in your notes. For instance, instead of a dense paragraph, list out facts in bullet form – this creates more white space and is easier for the eye to scan. Many students also find doodling helpful; drawing small icons or symbols next to ideas (like a balance scale icon next to “justice” concepts, or a dollar sign next to finance terms) can create a visual association that aids recall. The goal is to make your notes visually rich rather than monotonous. When reviewing, you’ll find your eyes and memory working together – “spatially” remembering that, say, a particular formula was written in the top-right corner of a page in red ink. These spatial cues anchor your memory.
Even on open-book exams or cheat-sheet allowed exams, a well-formatted one-page summary with clear visual cues can save you crucial time – you can locate information in seconds. In fact, making your own cheat sheet (even if not allowed in the exam) is a fantastic visual learning exercise; students condense notes onto one page with diagrams and highlights, which is proven to reinforce learning. Many professionals do this for CFA exam prep – creating formula sheets or summary charts – to digest the extensive curriculum and have an easy visual reference during practice.
Study with Infographics and Visual Summaries:An infographic is essentially a polished cheat-sheet – it presents information in a graphic format, often with charts, icons, and minimal text to convey key facts or statistics. You can either find existing infographics on topics you’re studying (many educational resources provide them), or better yet, create your own. The process of making an infographic or visual summary forces you to identify the most important points and illustrate them, which improves understanding. Visual summaries can take many forms: timelines, comparison tables, hierarchical charts, etc. For example, if you’re studying the differences between three theories, you might draw a table or Venn diagram comparing them. If you’re prepping for CFA Level II which involves a lot of models, you could create an infographic-style summary of each model with its inputs, outputs, and assumptions (using small icons or diagrams to represent each piece).
These visual summaries act as powerful memory aids because they reduce pages of notes into a structured image. A study in e-learning found that people retain information longer when it’s presented as an infographic, because it’s engaging and leverages visual memory
(Visual Learning Benefits Infographic Archives).
Additionally, visual summaries often reveal connections you might miss in linear text. For instance, laying out an infographic of a company’s financial ratios might show that certain ratios share components, reinforcing your understanding of how they interrelate. Many modern study tools and review books provide visual summaries (for example, some CFA prep providers include flowcharts of accounting processes or decision trees for ethics). Make use of these if available, or craft your own. Pin them up on your wall for a quick glance during spare moments – repeated visual exposure will lodge the content in your long-term memory.
Incorporate Visual Mnemonics and Imagery Techniques:Sometimes you need to memorize arbitrary information – like lists, formulas, or vocabularies – where understanding alone isn’t enough; you just have to remember it. Visual mnemonics can significantly improve rote memorization. One popular technique is the Method of Loci (Memory Palace), where you visualize placing items you need to remember along a path in a familiar location (e.g., your home). Each item is imagined as a distinct image at a specific spot, and you “walk” through the location in your mind to recall them. This method is highly visual and has been used by memory champions for centuries. Studies have confirmed its effectiveness – it “powerfully changes the brain to enable superior memory performance”
(Sketchy Visual Learning Whitepaper).For exam purposes, you could use a memory palace to memorize things like a set of accounting standards or the steps in a statistical hypothesis test. Another approach is to use visual metaphors or stories. For example, medical students famously use visual storytelling resources (like SketchyMedical or Picmonic) to memorize diseases and drug facts: they have cartoons where each part of the picture symbolizes a piece of information. This may seem whimsical, but a 2021 randomized trial showed that medical students who learned via such story-based visual mnemonics outperformed those who just read the material in a textbook on later tests
(Pixorize & Sketchy: The Science Behind Visual Mnemonics).
The narrative and imagery cemented the details in memory.For your own study, you can invent little visual stories or analogies. Suppose you need to remember that “CAPM (Capital Asset Pricing Model) assumes investors hold diversified portfolios” – you might visualize a cap (hat) on top of a pie (portfolio pie chart) to represent CAPM, with the hat covering many different pie slices (diversification). It’s silly, but the silliness makes it sticky. Drawing your own mnemonic images can be even more effective. Research has found that students who drew illustrations of concepts remembered them better on tests than those who only wrote notes
(Pixorize & Sketchy: The Science Behind Visual Mnemonics).
So if you’re trying to memorize a formula or a definition, sketch a little scene or symbol for it. Even if you’re not an artist, the act of creating a personal visual ties that information to a mental picture. When you sit for the exam, that picture might pop back up, guiding you to the answer. For languages, drawing a quick cartoon of a new word can imprint its meaning; for history, picturing a visual scene for each event can serve as cues. Essentially, by harnessing your brain’s image memory (which is remarkably robust), you convert dry facts into vivid snapshots.- Utilize Educational Videos and Interactive Visual Tools:
In preparation for tough exams, don’t overlook the wealth of educational videos, tutorials, and apps that teach content visually. Platforms like Khan Academy, Coursera, or YouTube EDU provide video lessons on almost every topic – these typically combine verbal explanation with animations or on-screen drawings. Videos engage both the auditory and visual channels, exemplifying multimedia learning principles. Studies have noted that students often remember material better from videos than from equivalent text, due to this dual modality and the engagement factor (How Visuals Help Student Retention – School Poster Makers).
For example, a CFA candidate might watch a video illustrating how an option payoff diagram works rather than just reading about it – seeing the payoff curve plotted reinforces the concept.Interactive tools such as online simulations or visual quiz apps (e.g. Quizlet with image flashcards, Kahoot games) can also bolster learning. These allow you to visualize and actively participate in manipulating concepts, which aids retention.
If you are studying chemistry, a virtual lab simulation lets you visualize mixing chemicals safely. If you are studying geography, an interactive map quiz helps you learn locations with immediate visual feedback. For finance exams like CFA, there are tools that simulate portfolio allocation or allow you to tweak variables in a model to see visual outputs – these can build intuitive understanding. The advantage of modern digital learning is that it’s inherently visual and often fun, which reduces study fatigue. While videos and apps shouldn’t replace practicing exam questions or reading core material, they are excellent supplements to reinforce and clarify concepts visually. Just be sure to stay focused – treat video learning as a task (take notes or draw concept maps while watching) rather than passively consuming content.
In applying these strategies, it’s wise to combine them for maximal effect. For instance, you might watch a video on a topic (audio + visual), then create a mind map from what you learned (turning it into your own visual summary), and finally quiz yourself with flashcards that have a mix of words and images. This layered approach uses visuals throughout and aligns with what Dr. Trayner suggested: “see it, discuss it, experience it” for richly encoded memories (Using visuals improves learning by up to 400% – study | The Educator K/12). Also, keep in mind that practice is key – visual learning aids understanding and memory, but you should still practice applying knowledge (e.g., doing past exam questions). Visuals help store the information in your brain; retrieval practice (like testing yourself) helps you recall it under exam conditions. The good news is that visual cues can make recall easier. Many students report that during an exam, they could visualize the page of their notes or a diagram they drew, and from that mental image, extract the needed information. That’s exactly the outcome we’re aiming for by using these techniques.
(File:APA Cheat sheet.png – Wikimedia Commons) An example of a visual “cheat sheet” (APA style summary) with strategic use of color, layout, and icons. Such one-page visual summaries condense key information into an easily scannable format, aiding quick review and memory.
Conclusion
In the high-pressure context of major exams, using visual learning strategies can significantly enhance preparation by improving comprehension, engagement, and retention. We have seen that visual learning – presenting information through images, spatial layouts, and graphics – is grounded in cognitive science: our brains devote immense resources to visual processing and form durable memories from imagery (Visual learning statistics for online training | SC Training) (Visual learning statistics for online training | SC Training). By tapping into this capacity, visual study methods often outperform purely auditory or text-based methods, as evidenced by research on memory recall and learning efficacy (“Visual versus auditory learning and memory recall performance on short” by Katie Lindner, Greta Blosser et al.) (Pixorize & Sketchy: The Science Behind Visual Mnemonics ). Visual learning is not just a niche for “artistic” students; it’s a broadly effective approach that benefits virtually all learners, especially when combined with other modalities in a multi-sensory learning experience (Visual Learner: Characteristics, Study Tips & Activities). From mind maps that lay out an entire course on one page, to color-coded notes that make review more efficient, to visual mnemonics that make the difference in recalling a hard-to-remember detail – these tools give learners an edge. They make studying more active, engaging, and brain-friendly, turning abstract or voluminous material into digestible visual chunks.
Importantly, visual learning strategies have proven their worth in real-world applications. Students in fields as diverse as medicine, finance, and engineering have adopted visual techniques (often intuitively) to master their exams – think of medical students drawing pathways or using pictorial flashcards, or CFA candidates creating diagrammatic formula sheets and decision trees. These approaches are supported by expert opinion and studies: teachers incorporate graphic organizers because they lead to better student outcomes (Visual learning – Wikipedia), and companies find that training with visuals greatly boosts retention and focus (Using visuals improves learning by up to 400% – study | The Educator K/12) (How Visuals Help Student Retention – School Poster Makers). The consistent theme is that when information is shown as well as told, it sticks better and makes more sense. In exam prep, where one might be juggling hundreds of pages of notes, visual methods offer a way to organize that knowledge in your mind’s eye. They help you build a mental framework where facts aren’t just isolated bits, but part of a connected picture – so during the exam, you can navigate that picture and retrieve what you need.
To prepare for your next major exam, consider adopting the visual learning techniques outlined in this report. Define or summarize each topic with a diagram, use images and color to highlight what matters, and practice recalling content by envisioning your study visuals. Whether you’re a naturally visual thinker or not, integrating these methods can make your study sessions more productive and even enjoyable. You’ll likely find you understand the material at a deeper level and remember it for longer – which is the ultimate goal of education, beyond just passing a test. In the words of an old proverb, “I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.” By seeing through visual learning and doing through creating visuals, you position yourself to not only remember information for your exam, but to truly understand and internalize it. That is a recipe for exam success and knowledge that endures. Good luck, and happy visual studying!
