Practise the thinking. Keep the judgement.
Flashcards for exam preparation: when they help and when to practise questions
Use flashcards for facts and rules, practice questions for applying them, and link the two so every mistake becomes a review.
What flashcards do well
Flashcards are excellent for knowledge you must recall quickly: vocabulary, formulas, definitions, dates, rules and kanji. Spaced reviews keep hundreds of these facts available without rereading notes.
Practice testing and distributed practice were rated high-utility techniques in a large review of study methods. A flashcard deck with spaced reviews combines both for factual material.
What they do not do
An exam asks you to apply knowledge in unfamiliar questions, read passages under time pressure or write an argument. Knowing a formula does not guarantee you recognise when to use it.
Practice questions train that step. They also reveal gaps a deck will not show, such as misreading a question or running out of time.
Link the two
Do a short practice set, review the explanations, and save your mistakes. Turn each mistake’s cause into a flashcard. The deck then grows from real gaps rather than a guess at what might be tested.
On RubricMark, Practice Hub provides exam checks with explanations, Mistake Book keeps the questions you missed and lets you make a flashcard from them, and Ronri schedules your reviews on iPhone.
A weekly balance
Early in preparation, spend more time building and reviewing cards on core knowledge. As the exam approaches, shift time towards timed practice, keeping daily card reviews short.
In the last week, add few or no new cards. Review what is due and work through practice questions under exam conditions.
Try it yourself
You know every formula on your cards but keep losing marks on word problems. What should you add to your study?
Show the answer and explanation
Practice questions on word problems, with a flashcard for the cause of each mistake (for example, which formula a type of problem needs).
The gap is applying the formulas, which cards about the formulas alone do not train.