How do YOU study a PhraseMix lesson?

When you read a PhraseMix lesson, which part do you spend the most time reading and thinking about?

At the top of each lesson, I describe a specific situation and then give an example of something you can say, write, think, read, or hear. Below that, I break the example down into words and phrases that you might see again in some other situation. I give a short explanation of each of those pieces, telling you what they mean and how they're used.

Once upon a time, I used to label these two sections. The top part was called "Memorize" because I thought readers would try to memorize them. The bottom part was called "Understand" because it was information that would help you to understand the example sentence a little better.

So which do you spend more time on: repeating and memorizing the example at the top of the lesson or reading the explanations below?

Here's my personal opinion: I think you're better off trying to clearly imagine the scene I describe and then memorizing the example sentence. If I were using PhraseMix to study English, I'd come back to review each sentence a few times a week, or use a flash card tool like Anki to help me remember.

But this post isn't about me :) It's about you and your study methods. How do you study a PhraseMix lesson? Why do you study that way? Do you think it works? Are my ideas about learning totally wrong?

Share your thoughts in the comments!