Memory and Observation for Firefighter Exam Study Guide (page 3)

By LearningExpress Editors
LearningExpress, LLC
Updated on Jul 5, 2011

How to Approach Memory and Observation Questions

What to Do

Use a methodical approach to studying what you see. When you read sentences on a page, you read from left to right. This skill is as unconscious as breathing for most English-language readers. Approach memorizing a diagram the same way you read, taking in the information from left to right. Instead of staring at the diagram with the whole picture in focus, make yourself start at the left and work your way across the page until you get to the right.

What Not to Do

  • Do not freeze or let yourself get overwhelmed when you first see the diagram. Take a deep breath and decide to be methodical.
  • Do not try to start memorizing with a shotgun approach, letting your eyes roam all over the page without really taking in the details.
  • Do not read the questions too quickly. Be sure to read them carefully, so that you answer the question that was actually asked. Haste can produce easily avoidable errors.

Memorization Tips

Memorization is much easier if you approach the task with the expectation that you will remember what you see. Call it positive thinking, self-hypnosis, or concentration—it doesn't really matter as long as you get results. When you run through the practice questions in this book, prepare your mind before you start. Tell yourself over and over that you will remember what you see as you study the images. Your performance level will rise to meet your expectations.

Yes, it's easy for your brain to freeze up when you see a drawing or diagram filled with details, a test section full of questions, and a test proctor standing above you with a stopwatch in one hand, intoning, "You have five minutes to study this picture. You may begin." But if you have programmed yourself to stay calm and alert, and execute your plan, you will remember the details when you need them.

Plan? Yes, you need a plan. If you have a method for memorizing, say, a diagram of a second-floor hallway, then you will be more likely to relax and allow yourself to retain what you have seen long enough to answer the test questions. Keep in mind that you aren't trying to memorize the scene to learn it for life, you are doing it to retain the information long enough to answer the test questions. What will it matter if you remember the scene three months from now? Your goal is to retain the information long enough to get through this test.

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