A mnemonic, or mnemonic device, is, like the link method, a technique for “improving” your memory. (the definition of “improving” in the case of memory training had been addressed in the 0-0 About your memory page)
You probably use several mnemonics yourself! I did not move to Canada until I was in grade 7, so I have never been exposed to this technique until I began training my memory.
Here are some examples:
My Very Energetic Mother Just Serve Us Nine Pizzas
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto
The basic premise of mnemonic is to connect what is unfamiliar to what is familiar. You should be very familiar (no pun intended) with this concept by now, having studied the link method. All the memory techniques essentially transform the intangible (numbers, dates, lists) into vivid images; such is a process that obeys the principle of mnemonic.
*the sillier and more ridiculous the mnemonic, the better
There are four major classes of mnemonics.
1. Acrostic sentences: the first letter of each word is the first letter of the things you need to remember (in a particular sequence)
Tip: make it funny, ridiculous, or even gross.
2. Acronyms
NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization
RAM: Random Access Memory
Scuba: Self-contained underwater breathing apparatus
HOMES: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior
3. Rhymes
4. Wordplay
(these two are self-explanatory.)
Mnemonic techniques
1. Chaining
2. Chunking
3. Keywords
4. The Loci Method
5. Peg Words
to be completed. Look forward to examples from my studies.
Jiming & Hanson's Memory Excursion 