How to Memorise Long Text in the Shortest Amount of Time Possible

Method 1: Breaking the Text into Chunks

Divide the text into separate actions or objectives. 

Once you read through the text you want to memorize a few times, patterns will start to emerge. Use these patterns or themes in the text to split it up into smaller units. Your units won't necessarily correspond to whole paragraphs or even whole sentences. Rather, each smaller unit should discuss a single idea.

TIP: Look for phrases you already know that you won't have to work as hard to commit to memory.

Practice each chunk separately.

Now that you've found your chunks, start with the first one and repeat it until you feel comfortable with it and can recite it without looking at the text. Then move on to your second chunk and do the same.

TIP: Get a good familiarity with each of the chunks separately before you start to combine them.

Combine the first chunk with the second chunk.

Once you have a handle on your chunks, it's time to put them together so you can eventually memorize the whole text. 

Start with the first text and try to recite it from memory. But this time, instead of stopping with the first chunk, move on to the second chunk.

Repeat the process until you've memorized the entire text.

Once you have the first and second chunks combined as a unit, move on to the third chunk and practice all three together. This reinforces your memory of the earlier chunks as well. Keep adding new chunks until you've reached the end of the text you want to memorize.

TIP: Throughout the process, keep your eye out for transitions that you can use as triggers to combine the chunks together seamlessly.

Method 2: Creating a Memory Palace

Map out a familiar place in your mind.

The memory palace technique, also known as the "loci technique," has been around since the ancient Greeks. The idea is to think of a familiar place in your mind, then attach the text you want to memorize to the location you already have memorized. That place becomes your "memory palace."

TIP: Your "memory palace" doesn't have to be a single building or location. It can also be a route from one place to another. For example, you might use your route from home to work or school.

Assign parts of the text you want to memorize to rooms in the "palace." 

Go through your text and break it down into small bits. These could be as short as phrases or as long as paragraphs. Think about the rooms in your "memory palace" and the objects within them. 

TIP: Set a logical starting point and start connecting bits of the text to the objects in the room. The objects don't necessarily have to exist in the room. You can simply place them there in your mind.

Walk through your palace to connect the pieces together..

When you enter your palace mentally and walk through it, you'll encounter each piece of the text you're trying to memorize. Thread them together as you move through the palace, always taking the same route each time. It will probably take several walkthroughs for you to have the text down, but each walkthrough will reinforce your mental association between the visual image and the text.

Use the mental image to recall the text you want to memorize.

When you want to recite the text you've memorized, take yourself mentally back to your memory palace. As you walk through the rooms, recite the text based on the objects you encounter.

TIP: This technique may take some practice to master. If you're up against a deadline, it may not be the best time to create a memory palace. However, once you've used it a few times, you may find it enables you to memorize text more quickly.

Method 3: Trying Other Memorization Techniques

Memorize the first letter of each word of the text to create a shortcut.

Memorizing something is as much about your ability to recall the information as it is about committing it to your memory. 

TIP: To exercise your ability to recall, make a new page with only the first letter of each word in the text. Include punctuation so you can identify sentences and pauses. Then try to recall the text using only those first letters

Use your favorite memorization technique to better commit those words to your memory in the context of the text, then try the first letters again.

Turn the words into a song to help you remember them. 

The melody and rhythm of a song attach to the text and make it easier for you to remember. Use a familiar melody or a favorite song that you can fit the text into. It doesn't matter if the lines rhyme (they likely won't), as long as you can make it work as a song.

Walk around as you recite the memorized text to stimulate your brain.

Once you've committed the text to memory, you'll find you have better recall if you're able to move around while reciting it — especially if you were moving around while you memorized it. Being active stimulates blood flow to your brain to make it easier to recall a text you've memorized.

Connect images to the text if you're a visual learner.

You may find it easier to remember pictures than words, in which case this technique might work for you.

TIP: Similar to the memory palace technique, try to come up with an image for each of the main words in the text. Your brain will typically be able to fill in articles and other small words automatically.

If you enjoy emoji, you might try "translating" the text into emoji. Since those images are already familiar to you, it might make the text easier to remember.

Record yourself reading the text if you're an auditory learner. 

Some people can more easily commit things to memory by listening to them over and over. If that's you, record yourself reading the text you want to memorize so you can listen to it. The act of speaking and listening may enhance your memory.