Study skills
What are mnemonics?
Quick answer
A mnemonic is a memory trick, such as a rhyme, a sentence or a made-up word, that helps you remember facts. For example, ROYGBIV helps you remember the colours of the rainbow.
In one sentence
A mnemonic is a trick that turns something hard to remember into a rhyme, a word, a picture or a short story.
Explained
Your brain remembers pictures, stories and silly sentences much better than lists of facts. Mnemonics (said "nem-ON-ics") use that. The word comes from the Greek for memory.
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Here are the main types.
- Acronyms. Use the first letters to make a new word. ROYGBIV helps with the rainbow colours: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet. HOMES is a classic for the Great Lakes (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior).
- Acrostic sentences. Use the first letters to make a sentence. Every Good Boy Does Fine gives the notes on the lines of a treble clef (see musical notes). "My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nachos" gives the eight planets in order: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.
- Rhymes and songs. "Thirty days hath September, April, June and November" helps with the months. A tune can fix the alphabet or a times table in your mind.
- Pictures and stories. Link what you want to remember to a vivid, even ridiculous, image. To remember that a stalactite hangs down from a cave roof, think "the c is for ceiling".
- The memory palace (method of loci). Picture a familiar place, like your home, and "place" each item in a different spot along a route. To recall the list, take a mental walk and see each item.
- The knuckle trick. Make a fist and count the months across your knuckles and the gaps. Months on knuckles have 31 days, and months in the gaps have 30 (or 28 or 29 for February).
Mnemonics work best when you make your own. The effort of creating one forces you to think about the facts. They also work alongside other methods. Use them to start remembering, then check yourself with active recall and flashcards, and revisit them using spaced repetition. A mind map can also hold the images.
Examples
| To remember | Mnemonic |
|---|---|
| Rainbow colours | ROYGBIV |
| Treble clef lines | Every Good Boy Does Fine |
| Planets | My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nachos |
| Days in months | knuckle trick, or "Thirty days hath September" |
Common mistakes
- Only memorising the trick. You need to know what each letter stands for.
- Using a mnemonic for something you don't understand. Mnemonics help recall, but they do not replace understanding.
- Making them too complicated. Keep them short and silly.
Quick quiz
Mnemonics
Check what you know with 4 quick questions.
Question 1 of 4
What is ROYGBIV used to remember?
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Related topics
Active recall
Active recall means testing yourself by pulling information out of your memory, instead of rereading it. It is one of the best-supported ways to revise.
Flashcards
Flashcards are small cards with a question on one side and the answer on the other. They work best when you answer from memory before you flip.
Mind maps
A mind map is a diagram with one main idea in the centre and branches spreading out to related ideas. It helps you organise a topic and see the connections.
Growth mindset
A growth mindset is the belief that abilities can improve with practice, good strategies and help. A fixed mindset is the belief that you either have a talent or you don't.
Exam technique
Exam technique is the set of skills for answering the paper well on the day, such as reading questions carefully, using marks to plan time and checking your work.
Note-taking
Good notes are short, in your own words and organised so you can test yourself later. Methods like Cornell notes build in questions and a summary.