Most of what you revise is gone within a few days. That is just how memory works. Two techniques, spaced repetition and active recall, are the best-evidenced ways around it.
Re-reading notes and highlighting feel productive, which is probably why most people do them. The research is less kind: in study after study, both come out near the bottom for how much you actually remember afterwards.
In the 1880s, Hermann Ebbinghaus measured how quickly he forgot things he had just learned. The drop was steep. Without going back over it, you lose a big part of new information within a few days. Cramming runs straight into this, which is why it fades so fast.
If you go back over something just as you're about to forget it, the memory lasts a bit longer before it fades again. Do that a few times, leaving bigger gaps each time, and it holds for months without review.
Anki works out those gaps for you, so your time goes on the cards you're about to lose rather than the ones you already know.
Trying to remember an answer does more for your memory than reading it again. Researchers call it the testing effect, and it turns up again and again: students who test themselves remember more than students who reread the same material.
Without review, a topic decays fast. Each spaced review (indigo) pulls it back up and flattens the curve, so it fades more slowly the next time. After a few cycles the drop is barely there as it is committed to long term memory. Anki works out the optimal review schedule for you.
If you want to read the research yourself: Ebbinghaus (1885) on the forgetting curve; Roediger and Karpicke (2006) on the testing effect; and Dunlosky et al. (2013), a review that rated practice testing and spaced practice as the two most useful study techniques of the ten it looked at.
Anki and past papers.
Anki is the best way to commit facts to memory. Past papers are also essential for learning how to apply your knowledge to unfamiliar scenarios and to learn exam technique.
Anki works out an optimal schedule so you see cards just before you forget them. For me it was around 20 to 30 minutes a day per subject, mostly done on the bus.
Once a topic feels solid in Anki, move on to past-paper questions on it, to practice applying your knowledge in unfamiliar contexts and to practice exam technique.
Anything you get wrong goes back into Anki as a new card. After a few weeks, the questions you keep dropping marks on stop being a problem, because each one has become a card you see regularly.
I used this method to get ten grade 9s in my GCSEs and four A*s in my A-Levels.
See the decksThe Chemistry deck is the top Chemistry deck on AnkiWeb, and these are some of the comments people left.
“I used this around 3 weeks before my GCSEs and I got a 9! Honestly would recommend to everybody doing Chemistry GCSE. Remember to pair this up with past papers as well! Thank you so much!!”
“Did these flashcards, got 171/200 in my GCSE chemistry exams, the boundary for a grade 9 was 149/200.”
“Top tier flashcards, was able to score 162/200 (Grade 9). Thanks to these flashcards as an excellent guide.”
“If you're searching for a Chemistry deck for your GCSEs, you can stop now, this has to be the most organised deck for AQA GCSE I have ever seen.”
“These flashcards are beautiful oh my god. I was worried that they would not be helpful as most flashcards available on anki are bad quality, and horrendously organised, but these were so helpful. I was pressured for time as I have my chemistry gcse exam tomorrow ,but honestly I do not feel as stressed thanks to these. Good luck everyone, and thank you so much to the creator of these flashcards, they cover everything better than cognito flashcards could.”
“The best Chemistry GCSE deck I've managed to find BY FAR. 100% recommend.”
Every card is hand-written and follows the exam specification exactly so they contain everything you need to know, and nothing you don't.
Full coverage: Atomic structure & the periodic table · Bonding & structure · Quantitative chemistry · Chemical changes · Energy changes · Rate & extent of change · Organic chemistry · Chemical analysis · Chemistry of the atmosphere · Using resources
Full coverage: Cell biology · Organisation · Infection & response · Bioenergetics · Homeostasis & response · Inheritance, variation & evolution · Ecology
Full coverage: Energy · Electricity · Particle model of matter · Atomic structure · Forces · Waves · Magnetism & electromagnetism · Space physics
All GCSE decks are written for the Higher tier of each specification. Payment and downloads are handled securely by Payhip, so your card details never touch my site. Card counts are rough and shift a little as I keep tidying the decks up. If your exam board isn't here, let me know.
I made the original versions of these decks for my GCSEs, and using them and past papers, achieved 10 grade 9s at GCSE and 4 A*s at A-Level. Every deck is hand-written to match the specification exactly, with nothing missing and nothing extra you don't need.
Anki is a free flashcard app that does the spaced-repetition scheduling for you, so you don't have to plan your own reviews. You'll need it to use these decks. It's free on desktop, web and Android; on iPhone it's a one-off paid app. Once it's installed, a deck imports in a few seconds.
Pick the version for your device, make a free AnkiWeb account, and you're set:
Make a free AnkiWeb account and sign in on each device. That keeps your decks and progress synced everywhere, so you can revise on your phone and pick up on your laptop.
Payhip handles the checkout. As soon as you've paid, you get a download link and an email with the .apkg file. The free Chemistry deck downloads straight from its AnkiWeb page.
Once you've got the .apkg file and Anki installed, importing takes a few seconds:
.apkg file, or open Anki and go to File → Import and choose it. The deck appears in your list, ready to study..apkg in your Files/Downloads and choose Open with AnkiDroid, or use the menu in AnkiDroid and tap Import..apkg from the Files app or your confirmation email, tap the share icon and choose Copy to AnkiMobile.If you study on more than one device, sync once after importing (the sync button, top of the screen) and the deck shows up everywhere you're signed in.
Each deck says which board it follows. The GCSE sciences and Geography follow AQA. GCSE Religious Studies and Computer Science follow OCR. A-Level Biology follows AQA and A-Level Physics follows OCR A. A lot of the content overlaps between boards, but it's worth checking against your own specification first. If yours isn't here, ask and I'll see what I can do.
Yes. Anki syncs between desktop, web, Android and iPhone, so you can do your cards wherever you are. You only buy a deck once.
These are instant downloads, so I can't usually refund once you've got the file. If there's a real problem with a deck, email me and I'll either fix it or refund you.
Got a question, some feedback, a card that looks off, an exam board you'd like, or anything else?
Use the form below, or email info@recallrevision.com.