Tips on Flash Cards

Have you ever created flash-cards to study from? If you have, you're a step ahead of most students. Flash-cards are an amazing study tool for all types of learners... visual, kinaesthetic and auditory learners, as they are so flexible and can be used for many study environments and situations. You can study on-the-go while in transport; make them creative and colourful with pictures and diagrams; and use them is discussions or presentations in group study environments. Here are some simple tips on using flash-cards as a study tool:

1. Create them regularly as you progress throughout the term as you cover new content in classes. Don't wait until a few days before the exam to actually create them. 

2. On one side of the card write possible exam questions about a specific topic. Questions about a topic can be in many forms, so write a few options that could be in the exam. On the other side of the card, write the information that answers the question(s). You may need more than one card if there is a lot of information. Try not to cram too much on one card.

3. Use bullet points on the information side.

4. Only use one card for one specific topic or sub-topic. 

5. Learn the information week-by-week as you create the cards from new information. By building your knowledge base of the subject as you progress throughout the term helps you understand the whole subject as a whole and how each bit of info relates to each other. This also ensures you don't cram just before the exam.

6. Set aside time in your planner to create the flash-cards, and other times to learn the information. It's easy to forget these two important tasks if it's not in your 'to-do-list'.

7. Study your cards everywhere, as you go to and from school, sitting on the couch, just before bed.. or any time you have idle time. 

8. Pretend you're doing a presentation, and present the information to a study buddy or yourself in the mirror. It helps you construct proper sentences from the information. 

9. Try to answer the questions you've created on a separate piece of paper without looking at your flash-cards. This helps you create proper sentences with the information, which is what you'll have to do in the exam. 

10. This is basic and I'm sure everyone knows this, but I'll add it at the end. Ask a friend or family to test you, by asking you the questions while you answer them verbally.

Good luck with those flash-cards.