MNEMONIC TECHNIQUES AND SPECIFIC MEMORY "TRICKS"

Mnemonic techniques are more specific memory aids. Many are based on the general memory strategies that were presented earlier. Although it can be easiest to remember those things that you understand well, sometimes you must rely on rote memory. The following techniques can be used to facilitate such memorization. 1. ACRONYMS. You form acronyms by using each first letter from a group of words to form a new word. This is particularly useful when remembering words in a specified order. Acronyms are very common in ordinary language and in many fields. ome e!amples of common acronyms include "#A $"ational #as%etball Associations&, '(#A $ elf 'ontained (nderwater #reathing Apparatus&, #T(s $#ritish Thermal (nits&, and )A *+ $)ight Amplification by timulated *mission of +adiation&. ,hat other common acronyms can you thin% of- The memory techniques in this section, for e!ample, can be rearranged to form the acronym . '+AM. $ entences/acrostics, 'hun%ing, +hymes 0 songs, Acronyms, and Method of loci&. )et us suppose that you have to memorize the names of four %inds of fossils for your geology class1 1& actual remains, 2& 3etrified, 4& 5mprint, and 6& Molds or casts. Ta%e the first letter of each item you are trying to remember1 A35M. Then, arrange the letters so that the acronym resembles a word you are familiar with1 3A5M or 5MA3. Although acronyms can be very useful memory aids, they do have some disadvantages. 7irst, they are useful for rote memory, but do not aid comprehension. #e sure to differentiate between comprehension and memory, %eeping in mind that understanding is often the best way to remember. ome people assume that if they can remember something, that they must .%now. it8 but memorization does not necessarily imply understanding. A second problem with acronyms is that they can be difficult to form8 not all lists of words will lend themselves equally well to this technique. 7inally, acronyms, li%e everything else, can be forgotten if not committed to memory. 2. SENTENCES/ACROSTICS. )i%e acronyms, you use the first letter of each word you are trying to remember. 5nstead of ma%ing a new word, though, you use the letters to ma%e a sentence. 9ere are some e!amples1 My Dear Aunt Sally (mathematical order of operations: Multiply and Divide before you Add and Subtract) Kings Phil Came ver for the !enes Special (Kingdom" Phylum" Class" rder" !enus" Species)

'an you thin% of other e!amples- )i%e acronyms, acrostics can be very simple to remember and are particularly helpful when you need to remember a list in a specific order. :ne advantage over acronyms is that they are less limiting. 5f your words don;t form easy<to<remember acronyms, using acrostics may be preferable. :n the other hand, they can ta%e more thought to create and require remembering a whole new sentence rather than =ust one word $as is the case with acronyms&. :therwise, they present the same problem as acronyms in that they aid memorization but not comprehension. EXERCISE: PRACTICE USING ACROSTICS 1. Try ma%ing up a sentence $acrostic& to remember the five mnemonic techniques discussed in this section. 2. "ow come up with acrostics for several of the main sections of a chapter from one or your te!tboo%s. 4. RHYMES & SONGS. +hythm, repetition, melody, and rhyme can all aid memory. Are you familiar with 9omer;s :dyssey- 5f you are familiar with the boo%, then you %now that it is quite long. That is why it is so remar%able to realize that this, along with many ancient >ree% stories, was told by storytellers who would rely solely on their memories. The use of rhyme, rhythm, and repetition helped the storytellers remember them. You can use the same techniques to better remember information from courses. 7or e!ample, even the simple addition of familiar rhythm and melody can help. ?o you remember learning the alphabet- Many children learn the letters of the alphabet to the tune of .Twin%le, Twin%le, )ittle tar.. 5n fact, a student demonstrated how she memorized the quadratic formula $notorious among algebra students for being long and difficult to remember& by singing it to a familiar tune@ (sing these techniques can be fun, particularly for people who li%e to create. +hymes and songs draw on your auditory memory and may be particularly useful for those who can learn tunes, songs, or poems easily. )i%e the other techniques in this section, however, they emphasize rote memory, not understanding. Also, when devising rhymes and songs, don;t spend too much time creating them. (se these techniques =udiciously and don;t let them interfere with your studying. 6. METHOD OF LOCI. This technique was used by ancient orators to remember speeches, and it combines the use of organization, visual memory, and association. #efore using the technique, you must identify a common path that you wal%. This can be the wal% from your dorm to class, a wal% around your house, whatever is familiar. ,hat is essential is that you have a vivid visual memory of the path and ob=ects along it. :nce you have determined your path, imagine yourself wal%ing along it, and identify specific landmar%s that you will pass. 7or e!ample, the first landmar% on your wal% to campus could be your dorm room, ne!t may be the front of the

residence hall, ne!t a familiar statue you pass, etc. The number of landmar%s you choose will depend on the number of things you want to remember. :nce you have determined your path and visualized the landmar%s, you are ready to use the path to remember your material. This is done by mentally associating each piece of information that you need to remember with one of these landmar%s. 7or e!ample, if you are trying to remember a list of mnemonics, you might remember the first<<acronyms<<by picturing '(#A gear in your dorm room $ '(#A is an acronym&. You do not have to limit this to a path. You can use the same type of technique with =ust about any visual image that you can divide into specific sections. The most important thing is that you use something with which you are very familiar. EXERCISE: METHOD OF LOCI 1. 5f someone reads a list of unrelated words to you, =ust once, how many do you thin% you could remember>ive it a try. 9ave someone read a list of 1A words to you at a slow but steady pace $about 1 word per second&. +ather than using any of the memory techniques presented here, simply try to concentrate on the words and remember them. 9ow many words did you remember2. "ow ta%e a few minutes to identify a path or ob=ect that you can use in the method of loci. 7amiliarize yourself with each of sections of your path or ob=ect. Mentally go through each of the loci $locations& and visualize them as best you can. +emember, it is important to be able to visualize and recall each location readily. :nce you have done this, have your friend read you a different list of words. This time, try to create visual images of the words associated with one of the locations. This may not come easy at first, but with practice you should be able to create these visual images more readily. 5f you find that you are having difficulty coming up with the images quic%ly, practice on some more lists until you have improved. 'hances are, when you become familiar with using this technique, you will be able to remember many more words $maybe all 1A items&. 4. 3ractice the technique to sharpen your s%ills. B. CHUNKING. This is a technique generally used when remembering numbers, although the idea can be used for remembering other things as well. 5t is based on the idea that short<term memory is limited in the number of things that can be contained. A common rule is that a person can remember C $plus or minus 2& .items. in short< term memory. 5n other words, people can remember between B and D things at one time. You may notice that local telephone numbers have C digits. This is convenient because it is the average amount of numbers that a person can %eep in his or her mind at one time. ,hen you use .chun%ing. to remember, you decrease the number of items you are holding in memory by increasing the size of each item. 5n remembering the number string E6F41DDE, you could try to remember each number individually, or you could try thin%ing about the string as E6 F4 1D DE $creating .chun%s. of numbers&. This brea%s the group into a smaller number of .chun%s.. 5nstead of remembering F individual numbers, you are remembering four larger numbers. This is particularly helpful when you form .chun%s. that are meaningful or familiar to you $in this case, the last four numbers in the series are .1DDE,. which can easily be remembered as one chun% of information&. E. PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT $or closer to it anyway&1 :%ay, it may not be a mnemonic, but repeating is still a great memory aid. +emember the children;s game .5;m going on a picnic and 5;m bringing..... As each new ob=ect is added, the old ob=ects are repeated. 3eople can often remember a large number of ob=ects this way. ,hen remembering a list of things, you might try a similar concept. :nce you are able to remember B items on your list without loo%ing, add a Eth, repeat the whole list from the start, add a Cth, and so on. 5t can be quite intimidating to see long lists, passages, or equations that you are e!pected to commit to memory. #rea% up the information into small bits that you can learn, one step at a time, and you may be surprised at how easy it can be. You might even utilize grouping techniques, li%e those discussed earlier, to form meaningful groups that you can learn one at a time. C. Another mnemonic device is the PEGSYSTEM. 5n this system, items that are to be learned are hoo%ed by vivid mental images onto the .pegs. that have already been learned in a certain order. This system is especially useful when something is to be learned in order or in steps. 9ere is a list of peg words from one to ten. ne is a bun Si# is stic$s% &'o is a shoe% Seven is heaven% &hree is a tree (ight is a gate% )our is a door% *ine is a mine% )ive is a hive% &en is a hen% All the peg 'ords are concrete nouns that can easily be associated mentally 'ith the items to be learned% )or e#ample" if the fourth 'ord to be learned is +chlorophyll+" it 'ill be retained better if it is translated into something li$e the opening of a Green door. A similar s s!"m i#$%l$"s $is&ali'i#( !)" #&m*"rs !)"ms"l$"s as +i,!&r"s.

1< is a pen. 2< is a swan. 4< is a bird in flight. 6< is a sailboat. B< is a hoo%. E <is a golf club. C< is a cliff. F< is a snow man. D< is a lollipop. 1A< is a bat and ball. 7igure out why each of these numbers loo%s li%e the word and you can easily remember 1A things by associating them with the picture. Usi#( M#"m%#i,s !% L"ar# M%r" E--",!i$"l ,hen you are creating a mnemonic, e.g. an image or story to remember a telephone number, the following things can be used to ma%e the mnemonic more memorable1 (se positive, pleasant images. The brain often bloc%s out unpleasant ones. *!aggerate the size of important parts of the image (se humour $perhaps lin%ed with point 2&@ 7unny or peculiar things are easier to remember than normal ones. imilarly rude or se!ual rhymes are very difficult to forget@ ymbols $e.g. red traffic lights, pointing fingers, etc.& can be used in mnemonics. Givid, colourful images are easier to remember than drab ones. (se all the senses to code information or dress up an image. +emember that your mnemonic can contain sounds, smells, tastes, touch, movements and feelings as well as pictures. #ringing three dimensions and movement to an image ma%es it more vivid. Movement can be used either to maintain the flow of association, or can help to remember actions. )ocate similar mnemonics in different places with bac%grounds of those places. This will help to %eep similar images distinct and unconfused.

The important thing is that the mnemonic should clearly relate to the thing being remembered, and that it should be vivid enough to be clearly remembered whenever you thin% about it. Laryngeal cartilages T-E-A-C T-Thyroid E-Epiglottis A-Arytenoid C-Cricoid Muscles of mastication P.T. (Barnum s! Massi"e Tents.# P.T-PTerygoid (medial and lateral! Massi"e-Masseter Tents-Temporal Circle of $illis% &lic' $illy Clinton (Circle of $illis) said% $hile *.P. Al +as Busy &uing for the Presidency, a Politician -n the Midlands Announced his Anointment..

*-*erte/ral artery P-P-CA Al-A-CA Busy-Basilar artery &uing-&uperior cere/ellar a Presidency-Posterior cere/ral a Politician-Posterior communicating a -n--nternal carotid a Midlands-Middle cere/ral a Announced-Anterior communicating a Anointment-Anterior cere/ral a Cranial ner"es% .&ome &ay Money Ma'es Business. My Brother &ays Big Business Ma'es Money.. C0- &ensory - &ome C0-- &ensory - &ay C0--- Motor - Money C0-* Motor - Ma'es C0* Both - Business C0*- Motor - My C0*-- Both - /rother C0*--- &ensory - &ays C0-1 Both - Big C01 Both - /usiness C01- Motor - Ma'es C01-- Motor 2 Money Terminal Branches of the 3th Cranial 0er"e% Ten - Temporal 4om/ies - 4ygomatic Buggered - Buccal My - Mandi/le Cat 2 Cer"ical Phrenic ner"e% C5, C6, C7 'eep the diaphragm Ali"e
A/dominal muscles% .&pare TIRE around their a/domen.% Trans"ersus a/dominis Internal a/dominal o/li8ue Rectus a/dominis E9ternal a/dominal o/li8ue :acial 0er"e .T+o Zom/ies Buggered My Cat.% ; :rom superior to inferior% Temporal /ranch Zygomatic /ranch Buccal /ranch Mandi/ular /ranch Cer"ical /ranch ; Alternati"ely% .T+o Zulus Bit My Cat.. ; Alternati"ely% .T+o Ze/ras Bit My Coccy9.. ; Alternati"ely% .To Zan<i/ar By Motor Car.. ; Alternati"ely% .Tall Zulus Bear Many Children.. Cranial 0er"es%

.On Old Olympus To+ering Tops, A Finn And German Vie+ed Some Hops.% ; -n order from = to =>% Olfactory Optic Occulomotor Trochlear Trigeminal A/ducens Facial Auditory (or *esti/ulocochlear) Glossopharyngeal Vagus Accessory (or &pinal root of the accessory) Hypoglossal :acial 0er"e% .-magine someone ma'ing the facial e9pression to say PSS... .% Facial e9pression muscles Posterior /elly of digastric Stapedius Stylohyoid

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