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How to Review Using Flash Cards
Edited by Karen Lancaster, Kyle G., Jack Herrick, KnowItSome and 6 others
Reviewing. No-one likes it, but everyone needs to do it. Flash cards (or cue cards) are a good way to do this.
Edit Steps
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1Buy or make some cards. Make sure that they are approximately A6 size (half of an A5 piece of paper). Don't try to save money by getting paper - you can see through it, which allows you to unwittingly cheat. It must be lightweight card. -
2Write the keyword on the card. On one side of the card, write a very brief cue, key word or phrase, or possible exam question. For example "Solar system planets (in order of closest to sun)". -
3Write the answer on the other side. On the other side, write "Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune". -
4Make up several - or dozens - of such cards. You could color code them for different subjects - for example, have all blue cards for biology, and pink cards for physics. -
5Increase the complexity for essay exams. If you are reviewing for an essay-based exam, make the information on the back side of the cards more complex, so that you can see the word (for example, "Romeo") and be able to recall several points showing his love for Juliet, several points showing the complexity of his character, advantages and disadvantages of Shakespeare's portrayal of him, what the moral is, etc. -
6Test yourself. When you have made multiple cards, it's time to test yourself. Here's how you do it:- Pick up the first card and read the key words / phrase;
- Try to recall as much of the information as you can;
- Flip over the card and see if you got the answer(s) right;
- If you're happy you got the information right, put that card on the 'right' pile. If you got the information wrong or incomplete, put it on the 'wrong' pile;
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7Do this for all the cards. When you've gone through all the cards, go to the 'wrong' pile, and repeat the process. Keep going through the 'wrong' pile until you get the information right, and there are no cards left in the 'wrong' pile. -
8Complete the process. Then go through the whole lot again for good measure.
Edit Tips
- Keep your flash cards in your pocket or purse. This way, whenever you're free, you can whip out your cards and revise your notes.
- Make sure the keyword side of the card is as blank and identical as possible - or else you start to remember that the card with the torn corner has this answer, and the one with the crossing out has that answer, and so on, and that is no help in an exam. The only cue should be the key word / phrase on the card. So use the same color ink, size of writing, color of card etc., throughout a whole subject.
- Some stores sell flash cards and memory cards that have a hole punched in them and are kept together with a small chain or metal hoop. These are quite useful as all your flash cards are bound together and you can hang them to your pencil case or purse. You can make your own by making flash cards in mini size (couple of inches long) and punch a hole in all of them, a few at a time. Make sure the hole you punched is in the EXACT same place for all your question cards, then you can thread them together.
- Alternatively, you can use an online flashcard creation tool such as Sharplet [1]. This has the added advantage that it tracks how well you know each card and optimally adjusts how often you need to see it.
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Article Info
Categories: Memorization Skills | Homework Skills
Recent edits by: Rex64, Lillian May, MA
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Español: Cómo repasar usando fichas
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