Mnemonics – Memory Techniques
The following are examples of techniques you can use to memorize important information.
When to Use It: |
Technique: |
Example: |
For information involving key words |
Acronym – an invented combination of letters with each letter acting as a cue to an idea you need to remember. |
BRASS is an acronym for how to shoot a rifle– Breath, Relax, Aim, Sight, Squeeze. |
For information involving key words |
Acrostic – an invented sentence where the first letter of each word is a cue to an idea you need to remember. |
EVERY GOOD BOY DESERVES FUN is an acrostic to remember the order of the G-clef notes on sheet music– E,G,B,D,F. |
For ordered or unordered lists |
Rhyme-Keys – a 2-step memory process:
|
Food groups:
|
For approximately twenty items |
Loci Method– Imagine placing the items you want to remember in specific locations in a room with which you are familiar. |
To remember presidents: |
For foreign language vocabulary |
Keyword Method– Select the foreign words you need to remember, then identify an English word that sounds like the foreign one. Now imagine an image that involves the key word with the English meaning of the foreign word. |
In Spanish, the word “cabina” means phone booth. Invent an image of a cab trying to fit in a phone booth. When you see the word “cabina,” you should be able to recall this image and thereby retrieve the meaning “phone booth.” |
For remembering names |
Image-Name Technique– invent a relationship between the name and the physical characteristics of the person. |
Shirley Temple – her curly (rhymes with “Shirley”) hair around her temples. |
For ordered or unordered lists |
Chaining– Create a story where each word or idea you have to remember will cue the next idea you need to recall. |
Napoleon, ear, door, Germany |
Bindu Sharma
Comment