How to Memorize Verbatim Text
August 9, 2007 · Print This Article
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Memorizing does not have to be as hard as most people make it. The problem is that most people only know how to memorize by reading the same thing over and over again. In this post we are going to look at how the brain remembers and then show how to use that knowledge to come up with a method for memorizing verbatim text. Any tip or trick that will improve your memory even slightly is well worth the effort.
At the end of this article is a Javascript tool that makes it easy to implement this method. If you are reading the RSS or Email version, the tool may not show up.
Synapses and Neurons
In the simplified model of the brain in this discussion, we’ll be looking at neurons and synapses. Neurons are parts of the brain that can send and receive electrical signals. Synapses are the paths between neurons.
When you remember something neurons fire signals down particular synapse pathways to other neurons which in turn fire signals to other neurons. The particular sequence represents a memory. In fact, scientists have been able to make people “re live” experiences from the past by poking around in their brain with an electric probe and starting this interaction.
Strong Pathways
Synapses appear to exhibit plasticity. The strength of the signal they convey is determined by use. The more a particular synapse is used, the stronger the signal it conveys.
For example, consider remembering your home telephone number. Since this is a number you use on a regular basis it probably comes very easily to mind. When you try to recall the number some neurons fire of a signal down some synapses that carry a very strong signal to other neurons which do the same thing. The number comes with very little effort.
Now consider a number that you will have trouble remembering. Lets say your drivers license number. For most people an attempt to recall this number will cause neurons to fire down very weak synapses. If you are like me, the signal is so week that it will probably not create the necessary chain reaction to recall the number. In fact all I get is a vague impression that the first letter is an S or E. To improve your memory of this number it is necessary to fire a signal down the synapses that will trigger this memory.
Reading vs. Recalling
This is the crucial concept of any type of memorization. The act of reading something you want to memorize fires different connections than the act of recalling. This means that simply reading a particular piece of text over and over again is going to be the long road to memorization. You need to let your brain practice recalling the data so it can strengthen the same pathways that will fire when you need to remember the information later on. You can’t practice recalling until the information is at least partially contained in your short term memory.
Now lets look at coming up with a method for memorizing text using our understanding of how the brain works. So lets say we are trying to memorize the Gettysburg Address by Lincoln.
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate — we can not consecrate — we can not hallow — this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
The 278 word speech is not a particularly long oration, but it will work for our demonstration purposes. Our goal is to create a method that will force our brain to practice recalling the speech–even before we have it fully memorized. So first of all we need to get it into our mind so our brain has it–even if we can’t recall it. Here are a few methods that will work:
- Read through it aloud.
- Copy the text by hand.
- Read through the text and create a short outline.
- Have someone else read it to you.
There are other methods as well, just do something to get a general familiarity with the piece. Now we need to come up with a method to give our brain, just enough information to recall the original text without simply reading the original.
F s a s y a o f b f o t c, a n n, c i L, a d t t p t a m a c e.
N w a e i a g c w, t w t n, o a n s c a s d, c l e. W a m o a g b-f o t w. W h c t d a p o t f, a a f r p f t w h g t l t t n m l. I i a f a p t w s d t.
B, i a l s, w c n d — w c n c — w c n h — t g. T b m, l a d, w s h, h c i, f a o p p t a o d. T w w l n, n l r w w s h, b i c n f w t d h. I i f u t l, r, t b d h t t u w w t w f h h t f s n a. I i r f u t b h d t t g t r b u — t f t h d w t i d t t c f w t g t l f m o d — t w h h r t t d s n h d i v — t t n, u G, s h a n b o f — a t g o t p, b t p, f t p, s n p f t e.
What we’ve done is taken the first letter of each word. Now try to recite the speech while looking at the text above. You’ll probably get part way into it and get confused. Backup a few letters and look beyond the letter you are struggling with to see if you can figure it out. Remember you are trying to help your brain find the right connections. If you have to consult the original, make note of what confused you and start over.
I have found this method to be much more productive for memorizing verbatim text than just about anything else. It will help improve your memory by giving you a way to practice. However, keep in mind that it is simply one method. When you need to memorize something, think about how to help your brain practice recalling the information–not merely reading it over and over again. Your goal is to quickly get the information into your short term memory so you can start practicing the recall process and move the information into long term memory.
Below is a tool to help you produce first letter text as shown above. Simply paste the original text in the top box and hit the button. All the letters other than the first one of each word will be stripped out and placed in the bottom box. You can then copy this into a document for printing.
John Place has a related memorization technique that he used to memorize over 23,000 words or 70 pages of a college text book.
Thanks, know the feeling. I am looking forward to giving the system a try
Wow! Wow! Wow!
My 14yo is studying 1,507 Bible verses for Bible Bee 2009, and we found you through http://www.scripture-memory-support.org/prompt.html !
This is going to be such a blessing as we head into the last few weeks before competition on Sept. 12.
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!
We will spread the word, so I hope we don’t close down your site here!
b
For those who are interested, the UPurMEMORY tool that I wrote for Windows has been updated to work with 64-bit Windows Operating Systems. You can find it here: http://www.twomilessolutions.com/upurmemory
Mark, this is a truly brilliant technique. I often need to memorize passages of historic text verbatim, and it has always been a nightmare, even with the kind of mnemonic memory techniques the Prof mentioned above.
To explain that a little by the way, the idea is that through training, you learn shortcut associations for each number from 1-100 and each letter (and, if you want to take part in memory tournament *shudder* each card in a deck) with a specific graphic image. For instance, in the system I use, 1 is a Tie, 2 is Noah, 3 is Mother, and so on.
Then when you need to memorise something, you break it into conceptual chunks, and associate each chunk its own graphic mental image. The pre-memorised shortcuts can help a lot in some cases, and not at all in others.
Once you have your graphic visualisations, you piece them together into a mental story — the stranger, more striking, more obscene, whatever the better.
So “four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent” could be a big football-stadium scoreboard made of Rye (the token for 4). A godzilla-sized cow (for 7) then takes a bite out of the scoreboard. Then maybe my father could kick the cow (now poodle-sized) off into the distance, and, I dunno, squat down and give birth onto America.
Not very nice, I admit — I write horror for a living, heh — but certainly memorable.
It’s a system that works very well, but as you can see, it is also very laborious. It’s pretty damn good for shopping lists and stuff like that, though.
Anyway. Thanks again for this great technique.
Oh and also, people, don’t buy Jeff’s exploitative cash-in tool directly above this comment. Please, bookmark this page. If you really don’t want to do that, then to quote Stephen Downes above:
“This is a very simple bit of Javascript code, based on a one-line regular expression, and nobody should be charging $10 for something like this. Go here:
http://www.downes.ca/memorization.htm
and view the source. Better yet, save a copy to your desktop and open it there.”
T.
@Ghostwoods – I’m glad you like the system. Jeff’s program has some additional capabilities when it comes to testing yourself that would be very handy to some people. Whether it is worth the small fee he is charging probably has more to do with how much you need to memorize and how much your time is worth, but I would hardly call $10 exploitative.
I am memorizing the lyrics(German) and the translation, this seems to work well for the lyrics, I am trying to incorporate this into memorizing the translation. Creating Flash card would be too cumbersome> any ideas?
Mark:
Great site. In your learned opinion, would there be a more effective or more efficient way of memorizing long lists of phrases (verbatim) but also to incorporate little nuances and “wrinkles” to each phrase and how each phrase would be applied (not verbatim)? For example, to memorize verbatim a list of elements(phrases) for a particular item, but also to memorize (not necessarily verbatim) when each such element/phrase would apply or when there are exceptions to each element/phrase. This is in the context of me trying to study for the Bar Exam. Some things need to be memorized verbatim, while each item/phrase in the list of, say 5-10 short items/phrases would have sub-items/phrases that are contextual in nature (i.e., that a given item/phrase only applies in certain situations, who this applies to, or other general considerations such as if one of the verbatim items is or is not present within a given set of facts or a given situation, then one must look at something completely different like a separate list of items memorized verbatim, etc.,). I think the my circumstances may be distinguishable just enough from the situation you’ve highlighted in the above article so as to warrant a slight modification of approach, but I’d love to know if you think it does or not. Kindly awaiting your expert advice or opinion re: this situation.
This is a great technique!
I’ve combined your technique with a few others, and put together a free web app for memorizing pieces word for word called Verbatim:
http://members.cox.net/astonishment/iphone/webapps/verbatim/
It runs on the iPhone, iPod Touch, Palm Pre, Android devices, and WebKit-based browsers (such as Safari and Google Chrome).
I’ve also linked this article in the manual under “related resources”.
Wow! I have a play to learn, and despite the fact that I only read it through once before I typed it in, I was able to recall almost all my lines! I would reccommend this to anyone, it should be publicised a little more, it’s a great technique! It’s very versatile and anyone could use it! Thankyou so much!
I had to memerize this one poem to me 3 days. It takes 67 minutes to say but I did it.
Steps
1.read over a stanza 5 times
2.write out the poem 5 times
3.Then say each word slowly, but not to slow
Then repeat the steps 3 times then bravo your down!