With vast syllabi and the pressure to perform excellent, preparing for board exams can sometimes feel like climbing a mountain.
Students appearing in board exams always seek effective ways to make the study easier and productive. Among many, one proven and powerful technique is memorizing and retaining information through flashcards. With only few days left for Board Exam 2025, let’s understand how you can turn your study time into a memory-boosting session using flashcards.
Flashcards are a smart tool for learning as they encourage active recall, which is a proven method for retaining memory. Active recall involves testing human brain to retrieve valuable information rather than passively going through it. Basically, while flipping a flashcard to answer a question, the human brain is reinforcing neural pathways, helping creation of long-term memory. Moreover, flashcards have multiple uses. They can be smartly used for almost every subject—from remembering mathematical formulas to historical dates in social studies, scientific concepts, along with vocabulary in languages.
The real hack is making flashcards clear, concise and focused.
One Question, One Answer: Dedicate one flashcard for storing single piece of information like specific definition or concept.
Use Keywords & Mnemonics: Don't write long paragraphs on flashcards. Rather, use keywords, acronyms, or mnemonics, which are helpful in recollecting topics easily.
Add Some Visuals: Draw small diagrams, charts, or symbols can make the flashcards more easier to remember. Human brain can easily remember visual cues.
Color Code: Don't use similar colour for different subjects. Try different colours for subjects and categories to make them more engaging, organized as well as visually appealing.
Write by Hand: Don't print and paste on flashcards. Write on your own hands to improve your memory retention.
After preparing the flashcards, here’s how to use them effectively before your board exam:
Spaced Repetition: One common mistake done by students is reviewing all the flashcards at once. This doesn't help much. You need to space out your study sessions to revisit them at a regular interval. Nowadays, there are various mobile apps to help you automate spaced repetition schedules.
Challenge Yourself: Don't keep the flashcards in similar pattern every time. You need to shuffle the flashcards and read them randomly. When you keep the flashcards in order everytime, human brain tends to memorize the order only rather than visual cues.
Study in Short Bursts: Break the study duration into 25–30 minute sessions using flashcards, followed by a short break of 5 minutes. This technique is called Pomodoro Technique to keep your mind fresh and focused.
Pair Up with a Friend: Share flashcards with your friend and quiz each other. You can also explain answers to your buddy which reinforces understanding.
Carry Them Everywhere: Portability makes flashcards much more useful. If you are traveling or waiting in a line, use those flashcards to review your preparation.
Science: Formulas, definitions, and key concepts.
Mathematics: Formulas, theorems, and short tricks to solve the problems.
Languages: Vocabulary, grammar rules, and idiomatic expressions.
History: Dates, events, and key personalities.
Geography: Capitals, climatic zones and physical features.
Flashcards are of course effective, but creating too many can be counterproductive. To avoid that, focus on the most critical information only especially for high-yield topics.
Remember, you need to adopt smart working strategies, and flashcards are your secret weapon. Happy studying!
