How to study with flashcards effectively: a daily routine

Answer before you reveal

Read the front and produce an answer, aloud, in your head or on paper, before turning the card. If you cannot answer, pause for a few seconds and try. The attempt is what strengthens memory.

Then compare your answer with the back. Be strict: a vague answer that would not earn the mark counts as wrong.

Grade honestly

Most apps offer Again, Hard, Good and Easy. Use Again when you forgot or were wrong. Use Hard when you got it with real effort, Good for a normal correct answer and Easy only when it was instant.

Honest grading keeps the schedule accurate. Pressing Good on cards you forgot makes them return too late, and they pile up as lapses later.

Reviews first, then new cards

Start each session with due reviews, then add new cards if you have time. Reviews protect what you have already learnt; new cards add tomorrow’s workload.

Spacing helps even within a session. A study of vocabulary flashcards found that cycling through one large stack, which spaces out each card’s repetitions, beat drilling small stacks in quick succession.

Keep the routine small enough to repeat

Choose a time, such as after breakfast or on the bus, and a session length you can keep on busy days. Fifteen minutes every day works better than an hour every few days.

If you miss a day, do the due reviews first and skip new cards until you have caught up.

Try it yourself

You looked at a card, thought “I knew that”, then saw the answer and realised you had the wrong date. Which rating should you choose?

References

• Kornell (2009), Optimising learning using flashcards: spacing is more effective than cramming
• Anki Manual: studying, burying and suspending