The team amassed quotes from the Internet Movie Database (IMDb), which contains a list of lines flagged by users as memorable. The context in which a line is uttered can make a quote more notable, so as a control, the team paired each notable quote with an ordinary one from the same context. It was the same length and spoken by the same character at around the same point in the film.

The computer analysed the pairs of quotes - around 2200 in total - for language patterns, unusual words, and word combinations. Unusual words were defined as those that rarely cropped up in text taken from news publications. The computer managed to identify several characteristics peculiar to the memorable quotes, creating a model that could identify them. The analysis also showed that memorable lines often have a property the team dubs 'generality': they can be widely used because they don't contain words that tie them to a specific context.

The model was able to distinguish between memorable and non-memorable quotes with 64% accuracy. Humans scored 78%. The team suggests that political campaigners could use the model to assess their slogans.