Acrostics are sentences made from the initial letters of key words. Acrostics work effectively to memorize lists of items that must occur in a specific order. Accurate memorization of the acrostic (sentence) is required first; practice "translating" the first letter of each word in the sentence is then essential for the acrostic to work as a memory tool.

Steps for Making Acrostics:

1. Make a list of the key words or items that must be memorized in a specific order, or make a list of the items to be memorized when an acronym was not possible.

2. Write the first letter of each key word. Leave a space between each letter so you have room to write a complete word.

3. Use the letters to begin the words that make up a complete sentence. Do not add any extra words to the sentence.

Tips for Making Acrostics:

1. Sentences that are silly or bizarre are often times easier to remember.

2. Create sentences that use standard grammar or familiar sentence structures.

3. Avoid sentences that are too long. You can make two separate acrostics (sentences).

A Classic Acronym: Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally

To solve math problems, the mathematical operations must be solved in a specific order. This order is called the order of operations. The order of operations in math problems is:

parentheses      exponents      multiplication       division      addition      subtraction

The letters would be:

P      E      M       D      A      S

The letters are then converted to words:
Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally.

Make Your Own Acrostics

Use the steps described above to write your own mnemonic sentences for the lists of information that must be learned in the exact order shown below.

1. Plants in the order they orbit the sun:

Mercury      Venus      Earth      Mars      Jupiter       Saturn      Uranus      Neptune      Pluto

2. Skeletal structure of the arm from the shoulder to the hand:

humerus      ulna      radius      carpals      phalanges

3. The first ten presidents of the United States:

1) Washington      2) Adams      3) Jefferson
4) Madison          5) Monroe     6) Adams
7) Jackson           8) Van Buren    9) Harrison
10) Tyler

4. Original thirteen colonies of the United States:

1) Delaware      2) Pennsylvania      3) New Jersey
4) Georgia      5) Connecticut      6) Massachusetts
7) Maryland   8) South Carolina  9) New Hampshire
10) Virginia    11) New York      12) North Carolina
13) Rhode Island

5. Contemporary theories of motivation:

Equity Theory                  Expectancy Theory
Reinforcement Theory      Theory Z