Mnemonics for better memory

WHEN you need to remember a list of things, mnemonics are an easy way to help you remember the lists. A mnemonic is a pattern of letters or ideas specifically designed to help you remember lists. Although it sounds a little odd, creating and using a mnemonic is actually more efficient than just pounding lists into your brain.

That may sound odd, but this is how it works – Suppose you’re learning piano and you have to look at the music sheet and remember what the lines mean in the treble staff. Reading from the bottom up, the notes for each line are E, G, B, D, F.

To remember these, you can remember the line Every Good Boy Does Fine. So when you look at a note on the top line, you recite the sentence as you look at the lines, and you know from the first letter of each word that any note on the top line is an F for Fine.

It’s really easy to make your own mnemonics. Suppose you need to remember four Malaysian carnivorous plants: pitcher plants, bladderworts, sundews, and ant-house plants. How will you remember this? First, start with a list:

– pitcher plants

– bladderworts

– sundews

– ant-house plants

PABS doesn’t make much sense. Now arrange it so you have the vowel in the second or third place.

– pitcher plants

– ant-house plants

– bladderworts

– sundews

PABS is easier to remember and the phrase Powerful Brave Sabretooth Applauded is even easier, especially if you put a sabre-toothed tiger picture in your notes too.

If you’re not good with making sentences, put the words into the generator here and it will do it for you: mnemonicgenerator.com.