You'll remember a word longer if you think about its meaning than how it looks
Fergus Craik and Robert Lockhart's 1972 model overturned the idea that memory has fixed 'stores.' Instead, how deeply you process information determines how well you remember it: noticing a word's shape barely registers, but judging its meaning creates a durable trace. It's why relating new material to what you already know beats simply rereading it.