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A mnemonic rule is a type of rule that used to remember or learn something specific. The basis of mnemonics is that it uses a previous knowledge to incorporate a new one.
In the broad sense of the word a mnemonic rule is everything that helps us remember something. There are many mnemonic rules and it could even be said that these are individual or personal.
For example, a mnemonic rule can be to cross your fingers as a sign that you want to remember something, to place a book on the counter so you don't forget to return it the next day. Both examples also consist of simple mnemonic rules. Then there are the mnemonic rules related to writing. Thus, if we want to remember a word, we generally adduce a mnemonic rule.
For example; if we want to remember the word "CartagenaWe could think of remembering a letter written by someone else: “Foreign letter”. Mnemonic rules often work well with images. In the example cited we could think of drawing a letter that one person sends to another.
As will be seen, the mnemonic rules do not have a relationship between the initial word and the one to be remembered. They only serve as a personalized association. The main secret of the mnemonic rules is to use humor to remember something.
Study technique or memorization technique?
The mnemonic rules are widely used as a memorization technique. However, it is not possible to remember everything we learn by heart but it is very useful for complicated words, city names or historical dates. For this reason, it is incorrect to think that the mnemonic is a study technique. Rather, it is a memorization technique.
Areas where mnemonics are most used
Generally, this technique is widely used in jurisprudence, anatomy (medicine) or in areas where it is necessary to speak or speak in public. However, there is great interest among students to learn to use this tool properly.
Characteristics of mnemonics
- Associate previous or known ideas with new concepts
- Incorporate part of the personal history of each individual for the memorization of something specific.
- It is a method based on repetition but associated with pre-existing information in the mind of the user.
- The new idea must be associated with an emotional previous idea lived by the person.
Examples of mnemonics
- Conceptual maps. Concept maps are based on the idea of incorporating the keywords of the text to visually fix them in memory.
- Memory association. Another of the techniques (and that was mentioned before) is to associate words. As explained above, word association is much more effective if part of the personal memory of each subject's experiences is included. For example: if I want to remember the name of a new teacher called "Aníbal" I could associate it with a relative or neighbor of the same name. In this way I will quickly remember the name of the person and will also evoke a memory of that neighbor or relative who is called the same way. In this case it is important that the association (if possible) with a pleasant or positive memory.
- Word association. It is similar to the mnemonic rule above, however in this case words are associated and not concepts or memories. For example, if I want to remember a sequence: "icon, index and symbol", you can associate the initials of the letters: "i, i, s" and associate them with names of known people: for example "Irene Y (which would represent the letter "i”) Sol ". It is usually very useful when we must respect the order of something. In the example cited, it is not possible to mention the symbol first without first mentioning the icon and the index, according to a well-known semiological theory.
- Phrase association. The association of phrases is similar to the association of words. For example, to remember the bones of the forearm: “radius” and “ulna” and their position, a mnemonic rule can be made for example by associating the radius with the thumb (since they are on the same line) and the little finger or little finger with the ulna. However, this association is loaded with force if we associate this with a daily or affective load. For example: say that the thumb listens to the radio (in relation to a radio) while the little finger is hot and needs a bucket (ulna) of ice ”is a mnemonic that is rarely forgotten.
- Numerical history. To remember several elements (a list, for example) it is useful to write a story. For example: "The lady of the department 1, visited her neighbor from 4 floor and asked if he would accompany her to buy 9 breads for their 2 sons”. In this way the number is formed: 1492, date of the discovery of America.
- Acrostics. In this case a part of a word is used that must be remembered. For example, to remember the planets and their order with respect to the sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. In this case you can do the following: "Mi Vieja Tía Maria Jmore Supo ORhe Nnumber Pwe laugh”. In this case, the first letter was used to form a phrase that is easy to remember the order in which the planets of our solar system are found.
- Visual mnemonics. As mentioned above, images are often used to remember something specific. For example, if we clench the fists of our hands, the knuckles can be counted as the months of the year that have 31 days, while the cavities have either 28 (in the case of February) or 30 days (in the case of the rest of the months). Here is an image that illustrates this type of mnemonic.
