Making flashcards: how to do it properly

Flashcards are one of the most effective ways to learn, but only if you make them properly. The difference between a good card and a bad one decides whether it's any use to you: a cluttered card with half a textbook page on it tests nothing, while a sharp card with exactly one question trains your memory every time you pick it up. Here's how to make cards that really work for you.

The golden rule: one card, one question

The most common mistake is putting too much on one card. A card with five features of the Dutch Golden Age (the Netherlands' period of great prosperity in the 17th century) seems efficient, but when you practise you'll know three of them and think that's good enough. It's better to split it up: five cards, each with one feature. That way you can see exactly which bit you don't know yet, and you practise only that. Small and sharp always beats big and vague.

Put a question on it, not a single word

A card that just says "photosynthesis" doesn't make you do anything; you look at it and think, "yes, I know that." Put it as a question: what does a plant need for photosynthesis? Now your brain really has to get to work, and that work is exactly what makes learning happen. For concepts, the question format works best; for vocabulary, the word on the front and the translation on the back is enough.

Use your own words

Write the answer the way you would explain it, not word for word as it appears in the book. To put something in your own words, you first have to understand it, and understanding is half the learning. If you can't work out how to say something in your own words, you've immediately found out what you don't understand yet. That's a gain too.

Short answer, with a drawing if you like

The answer on the back is a word, a short list or a sentence, not a paragraph. For subjects like biology and geography, a quick sketch is perfectly fine: a cell with arrows, a simple cycle. Ugly is fine; what matters is that your brain recognises the picture.

Make them while you learn, not afterwards

Making cards isn't an extra chore after studying; it is the first round of learning itself. Work through the chapter and make cards straight away for the concepts and facts you need to know in each section. That way you've already processed the material actively once before you start practising, and your revision material is ready to go.

Handy extras

• One colour per subject. Pink for French, green for biology: you grab the right pile in one go and keep your bag organised.
• Number the cards per chapter. If the pile falls, it's quickly back in order, and you can see whether a card is missing.
• Write legibly and in pen. Pencil fades in a pencil case, and a card you can't read is no use for practice.
• Keep old piles. For a test week or your final exams, you'll already have your revision material ready, chapter by chapter.

And then: practise

Making good cards is step one; using them cleverly is step two. Shuffle the pile so you don't learn the order, practise in both directions, and set well-known cards aside so your time goes on the tricky ones. If you want to be systematic about it, work with piles that you repeat on fixed days; more on that on this blog next week.

Read also: Learning vocabulary: 7 methods that really work and Flashcards or summaries: which study technique works better?