Mnemonic Devices

What is a Mnemonic Device?

On this page: Common Mnemonic Devices with examples, that help us improve memory. Points to bigger collection of mnemonics.

A Mnemonic Device is a memory check aid or a memory serving aid typically used to remember a list of items or elements.

Acronyms, acrostics and lyrical rhymes are some of the most common types of mnemonics, that can help us commit information to not just our short term memory, but our long term memory as well.

It is helpful to use them in situations where it is easier to remember the rhyme or acronym, than it is to remember the information they are intended to convey.

Repetition and Association memory techniques are typically used to remember these memory aids, and to associate the actual information to them.

Acronyms

Seven Colors of Rainbow

Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet
ROY G BIV or in reverse, VIBGYOR

Five Great Lakes

Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior
HOMES

How to Shoot a Rifle

Breath, Relax, Aim, Sight, Squeeze
BRASS

Niagara Falls Location

(Left) - Erie - Niagara - Ontario - (Right)
LENOR

Seven Deadly Sins

Wrath, Avarice, Gluttony, Envy, Sloth, Pride, Lust
WAGES (PL.)

Acrostics

Eight Planets

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
My Very Earnest Mother Just Served Us Nachos

Seven Continents

Europe, Antarctica, Asia, Africa, Australia, N.America, S.America
Eat An Aspirin After A Naff Sandwich

Order of Mathematical Calculation

Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplications, Divisions, Additions, Subtractions
Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally!

Twelve Sun Signs

Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces
A Tense Grey Cat Lay Very Low, Sneaking Slowly, Contemplating A Pounce

Lyrical Rhymes

Days of the Month

Thirty days hath September,
April, June, and November;
All the rest have thirty-one
Excepting February alone:
Which hath but twenty-eight, in fine,
Till leap year gives it twenty-nine.

Spellings involving letters i and e

I before E except after C,
and when sounding like "ay" as in Neighbor or Weigh
and "Weird" is just weird

Size of Elephants in India vs Africa

India's big, but Africa's bigger,
The same as their elephants - easy to figure!

Treatment for Bee Sting vs Wasp Sting

Use Ammonia for a Bee sting,
and Vinegar for a Wasp sting

More of such mnemonic devices will be added here, so keep checking back. Meanwhile, here is a good collection of mnemonics categorized well based on the subject.

If you wish, you can read about how techniqes of memory mnemonics can be applied for remembering things in our everyday life.

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