Study skills guide
Spaced repetition for exam revision
Spaced repetition is the single highest-ROI revision technique for knowledge-heavy professional exams. It's how medical students memorise 10,000+ facts and how language learners retain vocabulary for decades. Here's how to apply it to your exam.
The science in one paragraph
Hermann Ebbinghaus showed in 1885 that memory decays exponentially unless refreshed. Each review at the right interval flattens the curve. Reviewing too early wastes time; too late means re-learning from scratch. Spaced-repetition software calculates the sweet spot per card.
What to put on a flashcard
One idea per card. Question on the front, answer on the back. Bad card: 'Explain consideration.' Good cards: 'What are the three elements of consideration?' / 'Is past consideration valid?' Atomic cards are recalled faster and scheduled more accurately.
The typical schedule
New card: review same day. Correct answer: 1 day → 3 days → 1 week → 2 weeks → 1 month → 3 months. Wrong answer: reset to same-day. Most spaced-repetition tools (Anki, and The Quiet Rooms' built-in flashcards) do this automatically.
Common mistakes
Making cards you never review (build the habit before the volume). Overloading cards with paragraphs. Skipping days — the schedule compounds when you fall behind. Fix: 20 minutes daily beats 3 hours weekly.
Combining with practice questions
Flashcards teach rules; practice questions teach application. You need both. Rule of thumb: 30% flashcards, 70% applied practice as you approach exam day.
FAQs
- How many flashcards should I have?
- For a full SQE1, ACCA, or CFA syllabus, 800–2,000 cards is typical. Quality beats quantity — don't card every sentence.
- How long per day?
- 15–30 minutes daily is enough if you build the deck steadily. Longer sessions once you're 500+ cards deep and reviews compound.
- Does it work for applied exams?
- Yes, for the underlying rules and definitions. Pair it with timed practice questions for application skills.
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