Acronyms & Acrostics

A mnemonic is a technique for aiding memory. Mnemonic systems involve adding something more memorable to the information you are studying. We have already seen how rhymes can act as a mnemonic. Other examples of mnemonics are acronyms and acrostics.

Acronym

To create an acronym, take the first letters of the items that you are trying to remember and make a new word out of them. For example the word "BRASS" can be used to remember how to shoot a rifle: Breath, Relax, Aim, Sight, Squeeze. "CART" could be used to remember your grocery list: Carrots, Apples, Radishes, and Turnips.

Acrostic

An acrostic is similar to an acronym, but instead of making a word out of the first letters, you make a sentence. For example, you could remember the phrase "My very educated mother just sent us nine pizzas" to learn the order of the planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.

These mnemonics work by making the material more meaningful and by chunking it. They change the task from recall to aided recall, which is much easier, and they tell you the number of items you are supposed to remember, which can be quite helpful.

Making up acronyms and acrostics can also help stretch your creativity because you'll be inventing new words and silly phrases.