Passing the Police Officer Exam: Memory questions

Some versions of the Police Officer Exam include questions that are related to the information included in a memory packet or the information included on a memory sheet that you are expected to memorize.  These questions are usually relatively straightforward as you will be able to answer each question simply by recalling the information that you read in the memory packet or the information that you read on the memory sheet.  However, these questions can be more difficult to answer than it might seem as the amount of time that you have to memorize the information included in the packet or the information included on the sheet is usually very limited.  As a result, in order to answer each of the memorization questions on the exam, you will need to make sure that you use the time that you have to memorize the information as wisely as possible.  In order to do this, there are a number of techniques and important facts about the way that the questions are setup that you should keep in mind.
 
There are two different types of memory questions that you may encounter on the Police Officer Exam.  These include passage recall questions and image/suspect recall questions.

Passage recall questions: Also be referred to as reading recall questions or passage memorization questions, these questions will ask you to use the information from a written passage or a series of written passages in the memory packet to answer each question. 

Image/suspect recall questions: Also be referred to as sight recall questions or pictorial recall questions, these questions will ask you to use what you saw in an image or a series of images in the memory packet in order to answer each question.  
 
These two types of questions are both designed to assess your ability to memorize important information and, as a result, there are some similarities between the two types.  However, you may need to vary your approach to each question based on the type of information that you are required to memorize.

As soon as the exam administrator tells you to open the memory packet, flip through the packet quickly to get an overview.  Note:

1. the number of pages that are included in the packet
2. the number of passages that you need to read
3. the number of images that you need to memorize

 
This can be extremely helpful for the memorization section of the exam - you will only have a limited amount of time to memorize the information in the memory packet.  You will typically only have about 10 – 20 minutes to go through the entire memory packet (or 5 – 10 minutes to look over the information on a memory sheet), so you need to make sure that you have enough time to at least read over all of the passages and images.  Knowing the amount that you need to read because will help you to divide your time evenly between the various passages and images included in the packet.
 
In order to answer all of the questions in the memorization section of the Police Officer Exam, you should read over all of the information in the memory packet.  However, this does not necessarily mean that you need to memorize all of the information in the memory packet in order to answer the memory questions.  Almost every memory question on the exam will ask you to provide key details related to the situation described in the packet, so you can focus on memorizing the key details related to the suspects and events that took place, instead of trying to memorize the packet word for word.  There are a number of different techniques that you can use to identify the key details in a particular situation.
 
Once you begin reading the memory packet or the memory sheet, try to read over all of the information as if you were a police officer involved in the situation.  Do not look at the information as something that you simply need to read in order to pass the test, but instead as a police report that you are trying to use in order to prepare for a case in which you need to testify.  This may seem like a strange piece of advice, but it will be much easier for you to memorize the information in the packet if you put the information into a real-like context.  Real-life situations are always more engaging, or at the very least more interesting, than a test packet.  Interesting material is easier to focus on, so more engaging and/or interesting material will make it less difficult for you to memorize the material.  This is the best technique that you can use to locate the key details that you need to memorize.
 
You can also read the information as though you were preparing to testify in court.  Place yourself in the position of a police officer sitting outside a courtroom waiting to be called in to testify about an old case in which you were involved.  Assume this case took place so long ago that you can't remember the exact details of the case, and you're trying to use the police report that you wrote years ago to memorize the details that you may be asked about in the courtroom.  You probably only have about 10 – 20 minutes before the bailiff calls you in to testify, but you know that the attorneys are probably going to ask you to identify or describe:

1. when the situation was reported
2. when the crime was actually committed or when the situation took place
3. when the suspect was arrested
4. where the situation took place
5. who was involved in the situation
6. physical characteristics of the individuals involved in the situation
7. what each of the individuals involved in the situation actually did (including the police officers that responded to the situation)
8. what evidence was found
9. where the evidence was found
10. why the crime was committed
11. how the crime was carried out.

 
Memorizing key details from a written passage will be easier when it is associated with something that is easy for you to remember.  
 
Example: 'Sarah Winters said that she was attacked upon entering the park shortly after midnight.'  
 
(Associate the details to things that you are familiar with).  
If you have a sister named Sarah, associate the situation with the phrase 'your sister playing in the park long after dark.'  
 
This technique may seem strange as the phrase by itself doesn't really mean anything, but this technique will help you to remember the information that you need to remember because it allows you to memorize an easy phrase instead of the exact details.  This technique works because the easy phrase will remind you of the information that you need in order to choose the correct option.
 
If you come across a list or a passage that describes the procedures involved in a certain process, focus on the procedure at the beginning of the process and the procedure at the end of the process.  The questions on the exam will usually ask you to identify the first procedure involved in the process or the last procedure involved in the process instead of asking you to identify the steps that occur in the middle.  This does not mean that you won't see any questions related to the steps that occur in the middle of a particular process, but rather that most of the questions that you will see on the exam will focus on the first and last procedure in any process.
 
If you come across a series of images in the memory packet, Look at each image one at a time.  Focus on the key details that define a particular image rather than the key details that define every image that you see.  You may be asked to recall several details about each image.  It can be very easy to become overwhelmed and/or confused by all of the different details included.  Avoid any confusion by focusing on one image at a time instead of trying to memorize the key details of every picture all at once.
 
While you are memorizing the key details of an image, move your eyes across the image from left to right and back again (or vice versa) analyzing the image as you go.  Pick a starting point on one side of the image, look at the spot, and determine whether there is anything of interest in that spot.  If there's nothing of interest in that particular spot, move your eyes until you come to something of interest and try to think of some of the questions that specific point of interest might be able to answer during an investigation.  These questions might include:

1. who was involved in the situation taking place in the image, 
2. what did the individuals involved in the situation look like, 
3. what is happening in the image, 
4. what items appear in the image and where those items are located, 
5. why is the situation occurring in the image, 
6. why did the individuals take the action that they did in the image, 
7. when did the situation depicted in the image take place, and 
8. where did the situation in the image appear to take place.  

 
These questions are the types of questions that you will typically be required to answer during an investigation and, specifically, the types of questions that you will be required to answer for the image recall questions on the exam.
 
While you are trying to memorize the key details of an image, keep an eye out for anything that looks unusual or out of place, anything that you can read, and/or anything that you can count.  Many of the images that typically appear in the memory packet for the Police Officer Exam will contain items that seem to be in an unusual location such as a gun on a roof or items that don't seem to be in their usual condition, such as a door that's off its hinges.  Many of the images in the memory packet will also include clocks, license plates, signs, written messages, and other similar elements that you can read in order to learn key details about the image and the individuals involved in the image.  Another note-worthy item may include the number of animals, people, vehicles, and/or the number of other similar elements that appear in an image.  
 
The exam's administrators will inform you when you have reached the time limit for the memory packet and you will be required to close the packet.  This time period is extremely important – it is at this point (right after you have closed the packet) that you should really try to go over all of the information that you have just read and memorized.  You will typically have 1 – 2 minutes while the exam's administrators collect the booklets and an additional 3 - 5 minutes for the period of time that they deliberately wait in order to see if you forget the information before you are asked to open the exam booklet and begin the questions in the memory section.  Go over the information in your head during this period by asking yourself questions about the information that you read in the packet and the images that you saw.  Do not make the mistake of trying to relax before the actual exam begins; this is the period in which most people forget the information from the packet.  In order to identify the correct answer to as many of the memory questions as possible, focus on keeping the information from the packet fresh in your mind even after the booklets are closed. 
 
Once you are allowed to open the exam booklet and begin the questions in the memory section of the exam, take a minute to make some notes in the test booklet.  These notes may be anything from quick sketches of what you say in the memory packet to names, ages, license plate numbers, crimes, the number of people in a specific situation, and any other similar information that you can remember from the information in the packet.  You will almost always be allowed to write in the test booklet, but you will not be allowed to take notes during your review of the memory packet.  If you write down as many details as you can while those details are still fresh in your mind, you will forget fewer of those details before you get to the question that is asking you to provide those details.  It will allow you to glance back at your notes in order to refresh your memory or, in some cases, to find the correct answer right in front of you.