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Brain-Hacks to Make Facts Stick: Memory Mastery for UPSC Prep

When hundreds of pages of facts vie for your attention, memory techniques can transform rote slog into effortless recall. Here are three proven hacks:

1. The “Memory Palace” for Static Syllabus

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• Visualize your home: assign each room to a subject (e.g., Living Room = Polity).
• Place vivid mental images representing facts in each room (e.g., Constitution’s Preamble = a throned scroll).
• Walk through your palace before sleep to reinforce pathways.

2. Peg-Word System for Lists & Schemes

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• Assign peg words to numbers (1 = sun, 2 = shoe, … 10 = hen).
• Link each scheme or year to its peg: e.g., 2% interest scheme = visualize a giant shoe with % embossed.
• Rapid recall by “walking” peg list.

3. Chunking & Story-Linking for Current Affairs

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• Group related news items into “chunks” (e.g., environment chunk: COP30, air-quality index, mangrove restoration).
• Craft a mini-story: “At COP30, I planted mangroves in smog-filled streets.”
• Stories trigger emotional circuits—facts lodge deeper.

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