Reading, Studying, and Learning - Tutorial 17

Reading, Studying, and Learning

Topic 11: Reading, Studying, and Learning - Tutorial 17

Having worked through Memory Master tutorials 1 to 16, you now have the necessary knowledge to remember any reading material as you read it.

The facts in reading material are normally sequential, so you can apply, basically, the Link System. Within most reading material you may come across names, unfamiliar words, numbers, technical data, and so on. None of this need present a problem, because you already know how to memorise them.

You are familiar with the Substitute Word system, which will help you remember names, unfamiliar words, and concepts. You know the Key Word or Key Thought idea, which, together with the Link System, will help you remember those things in sequence. You also know how to picture numbers, which will enable you to remember them as you read.

All you have to do is simply apply the Memory Master systems to the reading material you wish to remember.

Practical Example: Jamaica Geography Lesson

Let's see how that actually works in practice. Assume you want to remember the facts in the following 'mini geography lesson' about the island of Jamaica.

Jamaica Geography Facts
'The island of Jamaica lies in the Caribbean Sea, and is one of the group of islands known collectively as the West Indies. Jamaica covers an area of some 4,411 square miles, and has a population of 2,388,000. The island's capital is Kingston, which is situated in the South.'

'Jamaica was first reached by Europeans when Columbus landed there in 1494. The island became British in 1655, and independent within the Commonwealth in 1962.'

'The island's chief exports are sugar, bananas, bauxite, and coffee. Jamaica also has a rapidly expanding tourist industry.'

Building the Memory Link

Now, start applying the Link System to the facts in this text about Jamaica. You should begin your Link with a 'Heading' picture, a Substitute thought which will remind you of Jamaica. You might, for example, picture a Jam Maker, a chef dressed all in white who is frantically making pots and pots of strawberry jam, and getting covered in it from head to toe.

1
Location & Group
Picture a Jam Maker carrying beans to some Vest Indians - a group of Red Indians wearing string vests.
Memory Trigger
This ludicrous picture will remind you that Jamaica lies in the Caribbean and forms part of the West Indies.
2
Area & Population
The next two facts involve numbers - area of 4,411 square miles and population of 2,388,000.
🔢 Number Conversion
4,411 → Re-routed
2,388,000 → Gnome Viva Success
Visualization Technique
Picture Red Indians in string vests being re-routed by a giant hand, tripping over a garden gnome that hops about shouting 'Viva Success'.
3
Capital City
Associate the gnome saying 'Viva Success' to King's Ton (Kingston).
Visualization Technique
Picture a King sitting on a throne surrounded by a ton of gold coins. Suddenly, out of the gold pops that gnome, still merrily shouting 'Viva Success!'
📅 Date Memorization Technique

To picture any date, simply split it into two two-digit numbers and link the Peg Words for those numbers.

Example: 1494 would be Tyre Bear (14-94)

4
Columbus Discovery
Columbus discovered the island in 1494 (Tyre Bear).
Visualization Technique
The King counting his gold when a bus shaped like Nelson's column drives out of the gold pile. Out leaps a bear swinging a big tyre around its middle like a hoola-hoop.
5
British Rule
The island became British in 1655 (Dish Lily).
Visualization Technique
The bear swinging the tyre leaps into a pond full of dish-shaped lilies vigorously waving Union Flags.
6
Independence
Jamaica became independent in 1962 (Tap Chain).
Visualization Technique
A tap with arms and legs swings a heavy chain, jumps across the lily pond stepping on dish-shaped lilies, then falls in the deep end (independent) and sinks dramatically.
7
Exports
Jamaica's exports include sugar, bananas, bauxite, and coffee.
Visualization Technique
Associate tap-chain to sugar to bananas to bauxite (box it) to coffee. Create vivid, comical associations for each item.
8
Tourism
The island's rapidly expanding tourist industry.
Visualization Technique
Associate coffee to tourists who are expanding very quickly as if being inflated by a giant pump, drinking coffee so hot it makes them burst like balloons.

Before proceeding with the Link, you should realise that although the silly pictures described take a lot of words to describe, the actual images are formed in your mind as fast as thought.

Practice and Application

🧠 Review Your Link
That completes your Link, and also the task of memorising the stated facts about Jamaica. Go over the complete Link in your mind once more. If you have really tried to see all the ridiculous pictures, you will remember all the facts in the 'mini lesson'.

In this example, every fact from the reading material was included in the Link. Obviously, when you actually start to use the system in practice, you will be selective and only link the facts you feel you want to remember.

Remember: The key to success with this system is making your mental pictures ludicrous, humorous, and vivid. See them clearly in your mind's eye for just a fraction of a second, and you will not forget them.