Examples of mnemonics include:

Setting the ABCs to music to memorize the alphabetUsing rhymes to remember rules of spelling like “i before e except after c"Forming sentences out of the first letter of words in order (acrostics), such as “Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally,” to remember the order of operations in algebra

You can also use mnemonic strategies to remember names, number sequences, and even a grocery list. People learn in different ways. Tools that work for one person may not be helpful for another. Fortunately, there are several ways to use mnemonics.

This article explores nine mnemonic strategies. It explains the various techniques for remembering and gives examples of each type of mnemonic.

Here’s how the keyword method works:

First, you choose a keyword that somehow cues you to think of the foreign word. Then, you imagine that keyword connected with the meaning of the word you’re trying to learn. The visualization and association should trigger the recall of the correct word.

For example, if you’re trying to learn the Spanish word for cat, which is gato, first think of a gate and then imagine the cat sitting on top of the gate. Even though the “a” sound in gato is short and the “a” sound in gate is long, the beginnings are similar enough to help you remember the association between gate and cat and to recall the meaning of gato.

For example, memorizing the following number: 47895328463 will likely take a fair amount of effort. However, if it is chunked like this: 4789 532 8463, it becomes easier to remember.

Interestingly, chunking is one of several mnemonic strategies that have been studied in people with mild Alzheimer’s disease. Results from these studies concluded that chunking can be helpful in improving verbal working memory in the early stages of dementia.

If you search online, you’ll find that there are some songs already created specifically to help teach certain information, and for others, you’ll have to make up your own. And no, you don’t have to be able to carry a tune or write the music out correctly for this mnemonic method to work.

Music can be a helpful memory tool for people with mild cognitive impairment.

Acronyms use a simple formula of a letter to represent each word or phrase that needs to be remembered.

For example, think of the NBA, which stands for the National Basketball Association.

Or, if you’re trying to memorize four different types of dementia, you might use this acronym: FLAV, which would represent frontotemporal, Lewy body, Alzheimer’s, and vascular. Notice that I ordered the list in such a way to more easily form a “word,” which you would not do if the list you need to memorize is ordered.

An acrostic uses the same concept as the acronym except that instead of forming a new “word,” it generates a sentence that helps you remember the information.

An often-used acrostic in math class is: Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally. This acrostic mnemonic represents the order of operations in algebra and stands for parentheses, exponents, multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction.

The ability to memorize and remember nursery rhymes is often due in part to repetition and in part to rhyming. Rhyming words can be used as a mnemonic to help us learn and recall information.

Sometimes, you can rearrange words or substitute a different word with the same meaning to make them rhyme.

Take the familiar spelling rule: “i” before “e,” except after “c,” or in sounding like “ay” as in “neighbor” or “weigh.” This phrase sticks in our memories because we’ve heard it multiple times but also because of the rhyming within it.

For example, imagine that you are just introduced to someone named Jeffery. Rather than mentally zipping past his name, pay attention and think about how you can remember it.

Perhaps you notice that Jeffery is very energetic, so you can imagine him jumping around his work and connect Jeffrey with jumping. The next time you see him. you’ll think, “There’s ‘Jumping Jeffery,’ and you can say hello by name.” (Don’t forget to leave the word “jumping” off his name when you greet him.)

How does it work?

The learner visualizes a room or a familiar path through a building. The learner mentally associates facts or information with specific locations or objects along the way. In order to recall what they learned, they re-visualize moving through that room or along that path, and each stop along the way triggers another piece of information.

This method is also called the journey method, creating a “memory palace” or the mental walk strategy.

Research ranging from medical students learning about diabetes to college students remembering grocery lists shows significant improvements when the method of loci is used.

one = buntwo = shoethree= treefour = doorfive = hivesix = sticksseven = heaveneight = gatenine = vineten = hen

After memorizing this list, look over the new information that you are trying to learn. Then, connect the first word to “bun,” the second word to “shoe,” the third word to “tree,” etc. The goal is to make a memorable connection with each new piece of information you need to memorize.

For example, let’s imagine you need to learn the scientific classification system - Kingdom; Phylum or Division; Class; Order; Family; Genus; Species. Using the peg system, you’ll first think of a kingdom placed on a hamburger bun. Then, you’ll imagine the mathematical division sign inside a shoe. Next, you’ll picture a classroom perched on a tree branch. And so on.

This method allows you to recall both the specific piece of information and the correct order in which it needs to be placed.

For example, imagine that you need to remember to bring the following things with you to school in the morning: homework papers, glasses, gym shoes, wallet, lunch money, and keys.

Using the linking system, you can think of the following short story to help you: Jack’s homework papers put on their glasses and gym shoes and ran over to his wallet where his hungry keys were eating his lunch money.

If you add interesting details or humor, it often makes the information easier to remember.

My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us NoodlesMy Very Excellent Mother Just Sent Us Nachos

Prior to 2006, Pluto was the ninth planet in the solar system. (It has since been downgraded to a dwarf planet.) A common mnemonic used to remember the solar system was:

My Very Eager Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas.