Check Out the Techniques You Can Make Your Own Mnemonics

When to Use It:

Technique:

Example:

Acronym - an invented combination of letters with eachletter acting as a cue to an idea you need to remember.

BRASS is an acronym for how toshoot a rifle-- Breath, Relax, Aim, Sight, Squeeze.

For information involving key words

Acrostic - an invented sentence where the first letterof each word is a cue to an idea you need to remember.

EVERY GOOD BOY DESERVES FUN is an acrostic to rememberthe 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:

Memorize key words that can be associated with numbers (one-bun);

Create an image of the items you need to remember with key words.(A bun with cheese on it will remind me of dairy products.)

Food groups:D

airy products: one-bun-cheese on a bun.

Meat, fish, and poultry: two-shoe-livestock with shoes.

Grains: three-tree-sack of grain hanging from tree.

Fruit and vegetables: four-door- opening a door and walkinginto a room stocked with fruits and vegetables.

For approximately twenty items

Loci Method- Imagine placing the items you want to rememberin specific locations in a room with which you are familiar.

To remember presidents:

Place adollar bill (George Washington) on the door. Walk into the room andsee Jefferson reclining on a sofa and Nixon eating out of the refrigerator.

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 Englishmeaning of the foreign word.

In Spanish, the word "cabina"means phone booth. Invent an image of a cab trying to fit in a phonebooth. When you see the word "cabina," you should be ableto recall this image and thereby retrieve the meaning "phonebooth."

For remembering names

Image-Name Technique- invent a relationship between thename and the physical characteristics of the person.

Shirley Temple - her curly (rhymeswith "Shirley") hair around her temples.

For ordered or unordered lists

Chaining- Create a story where each word or idea you haveto remember will cue the next idea you need to recall.Napoleon, ear, door, Germany

Story:Napoleon had his ear to the door to listen to the Germans in his beer cellar.