01/12/2016 MemoryTechniquesTheAlphabetSystem|AcademicTips.

org

AcademicTips.org

StudyTechniques
MLAFormat
MoralStories
FunnyJokes

More
StudySkills
MemoryTechniques
HighSchoolStudyTips
InterestingFacts

Home
studytechniques
memorytechniques
thealphabetsystem

TheAlphabetSystem

TheAlphabetsystemisapegmemorytechniquesimilarto,butmoresophisticatedthan,theNumber/Rhyme
system.Atitsmostbasiclevel(i.e.withouttheuseofmnemonicmultipliers)itisagoodmethodfor
rememberinglonglistsofitemsinaspecificorderinsuchawaythatmissingitemscanbedetected.Itis
slightlymoredifficulttolearnthantheNumberbasedtechniques.

MindToolsMnemonicGrades:

EaseofUsemoderate
Effectivenessquitegood
Powermoderatecodes126itemswithoutuseof
enhancement
Learninginvestmentmoderate
Whoshouldusebrighterindividuals

HowtousetheAlphabetTechnique

Thistechniqueworksbyassociatingimagesrepresentingandcuedbylettersofthealphabetwithimages
representingtheitemstoberemembered.

Theselectionofimagesrepresentinglettersisnotbasedonthestartingcharacterofthelettername.Images
areselectedphoneticallyi.e.sothatthesoundofthefirstsyllablleoftheimagewordisthenameofthe
letter,eg.wewouldrepresenttheletter'k'withtheword'cake'.

TonyBuzaninhisbook'UsingYourMemory'suggestsusingasystemofusingthefirstpictoriallyvivid
imagesuggestedbytakingtheletternameroot,andthencomingupwithwordsbasedbyadvancingthenext
consonantinalphabeticorder(e.g.fortheletter'S'root'Es',wewouldfirstseeifanystrongimages
presentedthemselveswhenwetriedtocreateawordstartingwith'EsA','EsB','EsC','EsD','EsE',etc.)This
hastheadvantageofproducingamnemonicimagethatcanbereconstructedifforgotten,howeveryoumay
judgethatitisanunnecessarycomplicationofarelativelysimplesystem,andthatitisbesttoselectthe
strongestimagethatcomestomindandstickwithit.

Oneimageschemeisshownbelow:
AAceofspades
BBee
CSea
DDieselengine
EEagle
FEffluent
GJeans

http://www.academictips.org/memory/alphabet.html 1/2
01/12/2016 MemoryTechniquesTheAlphabetSystem|AcademicTips.org

HHBomb
IEye
JJade
KCake
LElbow
MEmpty
NEntrance
OOboe
PPea
QQueue
RArk
SEskimo
TTeapot
UUnicycle
VVehicle
WWC
XXRay
YWire
ZZulu

Ifyoufindthattheseimagesdonotattractyouorstickinyourmind,thenchangethemforsomethingmore
meaningfultoyou.

Oncefirmlyvisualisedandlinkedtotheirrootletters,theseimagescanthenbelinkedtothethingstobe
remembered.Continuingourmnemonicexampleofthenamesofphilosophers,wewillusetheexampleof
rememberingalistofcontemporarythinkers:

AAceFreudacrispACEbeingpulledoutofaFRyingpan(FRiED)
BBeeChomskyaBEEstingingaCHiMpandflyingoffintotheSKY
CSeaGenetteaGENeratorbeingliftedinaNEToutoftheSEA
DDieselDerridaaDaRingRIDersurfingontopofaDIESELtrain
EEagleFoucaultbruceleefightingoffanattackingEAGLEwith
kungFU
FEffluentJoyceenvironmentalistsJOYfullyfindingaplantbyan
EFFLUENTpipe
GJeansNietzcheaholeypairofJEANSwithakNEeshowing
through
HHBombKafkaagreycivilserviceCAFebeingblownupbyanH
Bomb
etc.

Tryeithervisualisingtheseimagesassuggested,orifyoudonotlikethem,comeupwithimagesofyour
own.Althoughtheimagesarequitelaboured,theyaregoodenoughtogivethecuesforthenamesbeing
coded.

SeethearticleonUsingMnemonicsMoreEffectivelytoseehowyoucanimprovethesepicturestohelp
themstayclearlyinyourmind.

Onceyouhavemasteredthistechniqueyoucanmultiplytheitusingtheimagesdescribedinthearticleon
ExpandingMemorySystems.

TheAlphabetSystemisthemostcomplexanddifficultofthepegsystems,requiresalongerpreparation
periodandismoredifficulttocodethaneithertheNumber/RhymeSystemortheNumber/Shapesystem.It
is,however,morepowerfulinthatitallowsyoutocodeandrememberalistofupto26itemsbeforeyou
havetostartusingMnemonicMultipliers.Youmay,however,judgethatitismoreeffectivetouseasimpler
pegsystemwithmultipliersthantousetheAlphabetSystemwithoutthem:thisisyourchoice.

MainMemoryTechniquesPage

AcademicTips.org19992016PrivacyBacktotop

http://www.academictips.org/memory/alphabet.html 2/2