Flight

Active recall: the study method that beats rereading

Active recall means testing yourself instead of rereading. What the research shows, why it works, and six practical ways to use it in your study sessions.

By Aryan Kumar · · 3 min read · Studying

Active recall means studying by pulling information out of your memory rather than putting it in again: closing the book and trying to explain the topic, answering practice questions, or quizzing yourself with flashcards. It feels harder than rereading, and that's the point. Decades of research show it's one of the most effective ways to remember what you study.

What the research says

  • Testing beats rereading. In a 2006 study by Henry Roediger and Jeffrey Karpicke, students who read a passage once and then practised recalling it remembered far more a week later than students who spent the same time rereading it, even though the rereaders felt more confident.
  • It beats more elaborate methods too. Karpicke and Janell Blunt (2011) found that retrieval practice outperformed concept mapping, even on tests that asked students to draw concept maps.
  • It's at the top of the list. A large 2013 review by John Dunlosky and colleagues rated ten common study techniques. Practice testing and spaced practice came out as the most useful; highlighting and rereading as the least.

Why it works

Each time you retrieve a memory, you strengthen the path to it. Rereading makes material feel familiar, which is easy to mistake for knowing it. Recall shows you what you actually know, and the struggle to remember is itself part of what makes it stick. Getting answers wrong and then checking them helps too.

Six ways to practise active recall

  1. The blank page. After reading a section, close the book and write down everything you remember. Then check, and fill the gaps in a different colour.
  2. Questions, not notes. Turn your notes into questions in the margin, and cover the answers when you review.
  3. Flashcards, paper or app, one fact or idea per card.
  4. Practice papers, under exam conditions, as early as you can bear.
  5. Teach it. Explain the topic out loud to a friend, or an empty room, without notes.
  6. Start each session with a quiz on the last one.

A study session built on recall

Use 25 or 50-minute sessions on the Pomodoro timer: spend the first few minutes recalling last time's material, the middle on new material, and the end testing yourself on it. Then come back to it in a few days, which is spaced repetition, the other half of the most effective study routine there is. If you're not sure how long a reading will take before you can test yourself on it, the reading time calculator tells you.

Common mistakes

  • Peeking too soon. Struggle for a moment before checking. The effort is what does the work.
  • Only testing what you know. Spend most of your time on the cards you get wrong.
  • Waiting until you've “learned it” to test. Testing is how you learn it.

Active recall, subject by subject

SubjectHow to recall
LanguagesFlashcards from your language into the new one (harder than the other way), and saying sentences aloud
Maths and physicsRedo worked examples from a blank page; explain each step before checking
History and lawWrite timelines, causes and cases from memory; argue both sides without notes
Biology and medicineDraw and label diagrams from memory; recite processes step by step
ProgrammingRewrite a function or algorithm without looking; predict what code will output before running it

Recall on the way to somewhere

In Flight, a study session is a real flight. Use the take-off for recalling last time, the cruise for new material, and quiz yourself before you land.

Questions

What is an example of active recall?

Reading a section of your textbook, closing it, and writing down everything you remember before checking. Answering practice questions without notes, using flashcards, and explaining a topic out loud are other examples.

Is active recall better than rereading?

Yes, by a wide margin in most studies. In a well-known 2006 experiment by Roediger and Karpicke, students who practised recalling a passage remembered much more a week later than those who reread it, even though rereading felt more effective.

How often should I do active recall?

At the end of each study session on what you just learned, at the start of the next one on the last, and then at growing intervals: a day, a few days, a week, a month. That combines recall with spaced repetition.

Do flashcards count as active recall?

Yes, as long as you genuinely try to recall the answer before turning the card over. Flipping straight to the answer turns them back into rereading.

Try it with a free tool

Keep reading

  1. How to use the Pomodoro Technique for studyingThe Pomodoro Technique was made for studying. How to run study sessions in Pomodoros, an example study block, and how many to do in a day.
  2. How to study for long hours without burning outHow to study all day and still learn: work in blocks with real breaks, do the hard subject first, nap and use caffeine wisely, and protect your sleep.
  3. How long should you study before taking a break?How long study sessions should be, how long the breaks, and how many hours a day is realistic, with a guide by type of study and what research says.
  4. Spaced repetition: a study schedule that sticksReview just as you start to forget, at growing intervals. The forgetting curve, the spacing effect, a simple review schedule, and the tools that automate it.