Why flashcards work
Flashcards make you recall an answer instead of rereading it. That act of retrieval is what strengthens memory. Reviewing cards at increasing intervals, so you see hard cards often and easy cards rarely, makes the effect much stronger.
What to put on a card
- One idea per card. “Causes of the First World War” is too big; split it into separate cards.
- A question, not a topic. “What is the function of mitochondria?” works better than “Mitochondria”.
- Short answers. If the answer is a paragraph, break the card into several.
- Both directions for vocabulary: one card from English to the other language, one back.
- Pictures where they help: diagrams, maps and labelled shapes.
A paper spaced-repetition system
The Leitner system, described by the German science journalist Sebastian Leitner in his 1972 book So lernt man lernen (How to learn to learn), needs only a few envelopes or boxes:
- Put all new cards in Box 1, which you study every day.
- When you answer a card correctly, move it to Box 2 (every other day), then Box 3 (twice a week), and so on.
- When you get one wrong, send it back to Box 1.
Hard cards keep coming back; easy ones fade into the background. Five boxes cover most courses. Some people send a missed card back only one box instead of all the way to Box 1, which is gentler on cards you nearly know.
Here is what that does to your workload, with boxes reviewed every 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16 days:
Making the cards
Print flashcard sheets, ten or twelve per page, on card stock and cut along the guides, or use index cards for longer answers. Writing cards by hand is part of the learning, so do not skip it even if you could type them.
From notes to cards
After each lesson, turn the key points of your notes into questions. The cue column of Cornell notes is ready-made for this: each cue question can become a card. The Cornell method guide shows how.
Studying with a partner
Flashcards work well in pairs: one person reads the question, the other answers aloud, and cards answered correctly go into a separate pile. Explaining an answer aloud, rather than just recognising it, helps it stick. Swap roles every ten cards.
Common mistakes
Copying whole sentences from a textbook onto cards, making too many cards in one go, and only flipping cards you already know are the usual traps. Keep cards short, add new ones gradually and always go back to the ones you got wrong.
Printing
Print at 100% / Actual size on card of 160–220 gsm for cards that shuffle well. Check your printer’s manual for the heaviest paper it accepts, and feed thick card one sheet at a time through the rear or manual feed if it has one, which avoids jams.
