A Concrete Strategy for Remembering Abstract Prose

Abstract

In four experiments, eighth-grade students were given short prose passages that described the distinguishing attributes of fictitious towns. Illustrations were devised to represent the designated attributes, either separately, thematically, or thematically in conjunction with the mnemonic keyword method. Keyword illustrations proved to be highly effective facilitators of students’ memory for and organization of the critical passage information. This was true with respect to both students’ ability to match the towns and their attributes and their ability to recall either the corresponding verbatim or essential attribute information. Implications of the findings and suggestions for future research are included.