Mnemonic devices are a great way of remember lists of information. Acronyms do this job very well.
What were the MAIN causes of World War I?
Militarism
Alliances
Imperialism
Nationalism
Conceivably, after teaching this acronym (and explaining/discussing the causes of the war in detail), a teacher could assign an essay test question such as: "Explain the main causes of World War I," knowing that students should have no trouble recalling what the main causes were.
