Mnemonic Devices

Mnemonic devices are various tricks that help you remember any kind of information by associating the information that we want to remember with a visual image, sentence, or a word. This tool works by tapping into how your brain naturally stores data. Mnemonics work best went they are created by you.

Mnemonic Device	Description	Example
Visual Image	Associate a visual image with a word or name to help you remember them better. Positive, pleasant, vivid, colorful, and three-dimensional images are easier to remember.	To remeber the difference grey and gray. Imagine a tea cups with the England flag on it (grEy) with a paint bucket with the USA flag on it (grAy).
Acrostic	Make up a sentence in which the first letter of each word is part of or represents the initial of what you want to remember.	The sentence “Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally” to remember the order of operations in math: Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, and Subtraction.
Acronym	An acronym is a word that is made up by taking the first letters of all the key words or ideas you need to remember and creating a new word out of them	The word “HOMES” to remember the name of the Great Lakes: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior.
Rhymes	The repetition of words with similar sounds or cadence. Can be a simple phrase or words set to a song.	The rhyme “I before E except after C” to remember English spelling rules.
Chunking	Breaking long list of numbers or other types of information into smaller and more manageable chunks.	Remembering a 10-digit phone number by breaking it down into three sets of numbers: 555-867-5309 (as opposed to 5558675309).
Method of Loci	Imagine placing the item you want to remember along a route you know well or in specific locations in a familiar room or building.	For a shopping list, imagine bananas in the entryway to your home, a puddle of milk in the middle of the sofa, eggs going up the stairs, and bread on your bed.

This tool is also available as a pdf.