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God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December.
James M. Barrie, 1860 - 1937
Scottish author/playwright

Guides for memorizing series

Memorizing using keywords

For foreign language vocabulary, select a key word in English that sounds like the foreign word.
Next, imagine an image which involves the key word with the English meaning of the foreign word.

Search terms or keywords can provide a strategy
towards memorizing important information!
Try this exercise with a passage or chapter from your reading:

  1. Write down key words and phrases of your text
    on a separate piece of paper, .
  2. Combine these words or phrases into your own sentences
    and compare with the original text
  3. Select a keyword or phrase that summarizes your work
    and that will help you recall the information
  4. Create a mental image of the keyword,
    or even create a story about the word to memorize more detail of the original text.

Memorization techniques:

Acronyms | Acrostics | Rhymes | Loci | Keywords | Image-naming | Chaining

More helpful thought processing guides:

Concentrating | Thinking critically | Thinking creatively | Radical thinking |
Thinking aloud/private speech | Mind/concept mapping | Thinking like a genius

Flash exercise contributed by Karoline Dehnhard and Dr. Brad Hokanson, Interactive Media (DHA 4384) School of Design, University of Minnesota. Revised and edited by Joe Landsberger