Mnemonics

Memory Tricks
Mnemonic—pronounced ni-mon-ik, the ‘M’ is silent—are memory devices or strategies to help you remember information. Below are some examples. Creating your own “memory tricks” will come in handy in a variety of situations (e.g., tests, trivia bowls, spelling, remembering lists). Everyone processes information differently so when formulating mnemonics, get creative and determine what works best for you.

Rhyming or poetry mnemonics

A mnemonic for remembering how many days are in each month:

Thirty days hath September
April, June and November.
All the rest have thirty-one,
But February, it is great
And brings to us twenty-eight,
Unless it steps out of line
And brings to us twenty-nine (leap year occurs every four years)

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“When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking.”
This means that when there are two vowels in a row, the first usually has a long sound and the second is silent. That's why it's team, not taem; coat, not caot; and wait, not wiat. Remembering this rule will help you to put vowels in the right order.

The popular cheer  "'S' 'U' 'C' 'C' 'E' 'S' 'S' that's the way we spell success."

Acronyms as mnemonics

An acronym is a word or phrase that is made from the first letter of each word or phrase you are trying to remember.

RICE is a mnemonic for treating a sprain: Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation.

HOMES is a mnemonic for the five Great Lakes—Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior.

ROY G. BIV is a mnemonic for the seven colors of the rainbow—Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet.

A mnemonic for remembering the order of the planets is: My Very Excellent Memory Just Summed Up Nine Planets (this was used before Pluto was downgraded to no longer being a planet)

Mnemonics for spelling

Desert vs. Dessert 
Desert is the hot, dry place where cacti grow. Dessert is the sweet treat you have at the end of a meal. You may want more than one dessert and it has more than one s. That will help you remember how to spell it. 

Foul vs. Fowl
It may be helpful to remember that the word fowl—birds raised with the intent to be used as food—contains the word ‘owl’. Since an owl is a bird and since the word fowl contains the word owl, associating it in this way may help you remember to write the word fowl and not foul when referring to birds.  

Principal vs. Principle
To distinguish principle from principal think of "the principal is your pal." 

Hear vs. Here
When you remove the ‘h’ in hear you are left with the word ear. As you know, your ear is what allows you to hear. You hear with your ear. 

Made vs. Maid
When you remove the ‘m’ in maid you are left with the word aid. Think of your maid as your aid, someone who helps you cook, clean, etc.  

Heal vs. Heel
When you remove the ‘thy’ in healthy you have the word heal. Since heal means to regenerate healthy tissue, it may be helpful to associate the word healthy with heal.
Heel (the bottom back part of the foot). Heel contains two consecutive vowels of the same letter ‘e’ and ‘e’. (Heal does not.) Foot also contains two consecutive vowels of the same letter, ‘o’ and ‘o’. It may help you to remember this so that you always associate the word heel with foot.      

Other mnemonics

Here’s one for remembering what term to use for the front and back of a boat. When a person bows he bends forward (not backward). The bow is the front of a boat; the stern is the back.

When remembering which way to change your clocks for daylight savings time: Spring forward, Fall back. You move clocks forward an hour in the spring and back an hour in the Fall.