Having a strong memory is a great way to make life much easier
and more convenient. Although many older individuals make it a point to
do special exercises and activities to keep their memorization skills
intact, students in high school and college can also benefit from using
memory tricks in order to improve their odds of doing well in their
coursework. There are a variety of tips and tricks that students can use
the next time they need to prepare for a test or important exam.
Acrostics
If you're trying to study for a test on a subject that involves remembering a set of items in a particular group, such as the human skeleton or the names of certain historical figures, acrostics are one of the most helpful memory tricks that continue to be widely used today. By definition, acrostics is the technique of creating a sentence or phrase, where the first letter of each word is also the same first letter of the actual word you want to memorize.
For example, a popular acrostic sentence for trying to remember the major colors found in the rainbow is to arrange the names of the colors so that they create a man's name: ROY G. BIV, which stands for "R"ed, "O"range, "Y"ellow, "G"reen, "B"lue, "I"ndigo and "V"iolet.
Another commonly used acrostic deals with memorizing the biological taxonomy: Kings Play Cards On Fat Green Stools. The first letter in each word stands for "K"ingdom, "P"hylum, "C"lass, "O"rder, "F"amily, "G"enus and "S"pecies.
Are you having trouble recalling the functions used in trigonometry? All you'll need to do is remember the acrostic phrase: SOH COH TOA, which stands for "S"ine = "O"pposite / "H"ypotenuse, "C"osine = "A"djacent / "H"ypotenuse and "T"angent = "O"pposite / "A"djacent.
Word Play Association
Using word play to create an association between the word and the information you need to recall is another effective trick that can be utilized to improve memory. The great thing about this approach to memorizing information is that it can be tailored to each student's personality and studying preferences. The best way to use word play association is to come up with a connection that is not only unique but easy to trigger your memory as to what you need to recall. This is especially helpful for tests that involve defining vocabulary words.
For example, a medical student trying to remember what the word "Hippocratic" means will more than likely pick out the word "hippo" in the term. Now apply this to the actual definition, which is the reference to Hippocrates or the school of medicine named after him. Next, visualize a hippo in medical school. The funnier or odder the word association is, the easier it is to remember.
Role Play
One of the most effective memory tricks any student can try out is to pretend like they are in the real test taking situation. By putting yourself in an environment that is similar to the one you'll be in during the real test, this helps to boost your memory into preparing for what it thinks is the real thing. If you happen to have access to practice tests and questions, this will make the results even more effective. As soon as you get the opportunity, go to a study hall, library or empty classroom and pretend that you are actually about to take your exam. Give yourself a time limit and begin filling out the practice test. Once the time is up, stop writing and check your answers. Tricking your memory in this way will not only give you a chance to see how much information you can recall on your own, but is a great way to lessen any anxiety you may experience when it comes to taking these types of exams.
Mind Maps
Because the human mind is fond of linking certain thoughts to others, students can use this to their advantage by creating what is known as a mind map. The way this memory trick works is to write down one of the ideas or concepts that you need to memorize and then connect it to other ideas, which branch out from the original thought. Make sure each branch represents a thought that you'll remember as well as how it relates to the other thoughts. Eventually, you'll have a mind map that you can learn to memorize in a way that is more natural in recalling information, as opposed to randomly memorizing facts just because.
Acrostics
If you're trying to study for a test on a subject that involves remembering a set of items in a particular group, such as the human skeleton or the names of certain historical figures, acrostics are one of the most helpful memory tricks that continue to be widely used today. By definition, acrostics is the technique of creating a sentence or phrase, where the first letter of each word is also the same first letter of the actual word you want to memorize.
For example, a popular acrostic sentence for trying to remember the major colors found in the rainbow is to arrange the names of the colors so that they create a man's name: ROY G. BIV, which stands for "R"ed, "O"range, "Y"ellow, "G"reen, "B"lue, "I"ndigo and "V"iolet.
Another commonly used acrostic deals with memorizing the biological taxonomy: Kings Play Cards On Fat Green Stools. The first letter in each word stands for "K"ingdom, "P"hylum, "C"lass, "O"rder, "F"amily, "G"enus and "S"pecies.
Are you having trouble recalling the functions used in trigonometry? All you'll need to do is remember the acrostic phrase: SOH COH TOA, which stands for "S"ine = "O"pposite / "H"ypotenuse, "C"osine = "A"djacent / "H"ypotenuse and "T"angent = "O"pposite / "A"djacent.
Word Play Association
Using word play to create an association between the word and the information you need to recall is another effective trick that can be utilized to improve memory. The great thing about this approach to memorizing information is that it can be tailored to each student's personality and studying preferences. The best way to use word play association is to come up with a connection that is not only unique but easy to trigger your memory as to what you need to recall. This is especially helpful for tests that involve defining vocabulary words.
For example, a medical student trying to remember what the word "Hippocratic" means will more than likely pick out the word "hippo" in the term. Now apply this to the actual definition, which is the reference to Hippocrates or the school of medicine named after him. Next, visualize a hippo in medical school. The funnier or odder the word association is, the easier it is to remember.
Role Play
One of the most effective memory tricks any student can try out is to pretend like they are in the real test taking situation. By putting yourself in an environment that is similar to the one you'll be in during the real test, this helps to boost your memory into preparing for what it thinks is the real thing. If you happen to have access to practice tests and questions, this will make the results even more effective. As soon as you get the opportunity, go to a study hall, library or empty classroom and pretend that you are actually about to take your exam. Give yourself a time limit and begin filling out the practice test. Once the time is up, stop writing and check your answers. Tricking your memory in this way will not only give you a chance to see how much information you can recall on your own, but is a great way to lessen any anxiety you may experience when it comes to taking these types of exams.
Mind Maps
Because the human mind is fond of linking certain thoughts to others, students can use this to their advantage by creating what is known as a mind map. The way this memory trick works is to write down one of the ideas or concepts that you need to memorize and then connect it to other ideas, which branch out from the original thought. Make sure each branch represents a thought that you'll remember as well as how it relates to the other thoughts. Eventually, you'll have a mind map that you can learn to memorize in a way that is more natural in recalling information, as opposed to randomly memorizing facts just because.
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By Bill Hodge
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By Bill Hodge
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