The word catch technique can be an effective tool to help you memorize many seemingly unrelated items. The Catch Words technique connects the unrelated ideas we want to remember into the letters of a word or series of words that are related to each other. We know from recent hemispheric brain research that our brains act like computer file folders, putting newly learned information in the same file as already learned information that fits within that same file. This technique connects ideas or elements, just as our brain file folders do. If we take the time to organize new information in the same way that our brains do, we can improve our retention of that information.
Examples of trapped sentences
Do you remember these keywords from school?
HOMES-for the Great Lakes: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior
ROY G. BIV-for the colors of the spectrum: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet
NEWS-for the main points of the compass: north, east, south and west
Addresses
For each keyword you want to remember, use its first letter as one of the letters of a new word. Then select another keyword and use its first letter as one of the other letters in the word, etc. Certainly add additional words as needed, but try to match the words into a memorable sentence, like ROY G. BIV in the example above. Replace any keywords that are too abstract to remember well with concrete objects. For example, substituting the concrete nose for the abstract smell would be a much more memorable object to use for the keyword(s).
Let’s try to memorize some facts for an upcoming World War I history test. You need to know the causes of the war and the members of the alliances of the Triple Entente and the Central Powers. Simple with the Catch Words technique.
For the long-term causes of World War I: alliances, militarism, nationalism, and imperialism, let’s rearrange this list, using the first letter of each cause in this order: PRIMARY. For the Triple Entente: England, Russia, and France, let’s rearrange this list as REF. For the Central Powers: Germany, Austria, and Italy, let’s reorganize this list as A GI. Put them together and you get the memorable MAIN REF A GI. Develop an image of GI-Joe, dressed in a referee’s uniform, directing traffic on Main Street, and you’ll never forget these keywords. That’s ten key World War I facts, organized into three categories!
Now encourage yourself to remember each fact by referring only to the above keywords. It works fine, doesn’t it? A short essay will put these facts into your long-term memory and help you “pass” the history test.
Memorizing using the keyword technique will allow you to retain memory for many seemingly unrelated items. Useful for upcoming tests, names, essays, readings, shopping lists? Easy and very memorable.