Memorization · 3 min read
How the Image Section Works · Encoding, Organizing, and Associating
What You Will See
Section II contains 10 memorization items. You are shown an image, such as a street scene, a crash, a store front, a booking area, or a housing unit, and asked to memorize as many details as possible. You have 1 minute to study the image and then 1½ minutes to answer the questions about it. The image is not available while you answer.
Officers and deputies use this ability constantly: remembering a suspect's clothing from a be-on-the-lookout broadcast, a tag number glimpsed during a pursuit, or which inmate was standing where when a fight started. The test measures the same skill in a controlled format.
- License plates, unit numbers, cell numbers, and street addresses
- Times on clocks and displays; posted sign text (speed limits, business names)
- People: clothing colors and items, hats, glasses, tattoos, what each person holds
- Counts: how many people, vehicles, bins, or windows
- Positions: who is left or right of whom, what is next to what, which way someone faces
Active Encoding
Encoding is the process of getting information into memory. Attention comes first: detail you never focused on cannot be recalled. Meaningful processing helps next: instead of staring at the whole picture, name what you see ("red sedan, plate JKT 4819, dent on front fender"). Naming a detail creates a verbal memory that supports the visual one.
Organizing What You See
Organized information is easier to recall than a random list. Categorize details (people, vehicles, signs, numbers). Chunk long strings: a plate such as HLD 5520 becomes "HLD" and "55-20". Sequence a scene left to right or by time so you can walk back through it during the questions.
Association Techniques
Association links new information to existing memories. Linking pairs one detail with another in a vivid image. The story method strings details into a short narrative ("the man in the gray hoodie carries a box to 414"). The method of loci places items along a familiar route. Peg and first-letter mnemonics suit ordered lists. On a one-minute image, quick links and a one-line story are the most practical.
Repetition, Recall, and Review
For studying, spaced repetition and active recall beat rereading: close the material and try to reproduce it. During practice, study a scene for one minute, look away, and write down everything you remember before checking. Each round shows which categories you tend to miss.
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