Additional Anki Features

In a previous article, we discussed the 2 most important types of Anki cards to make during your studies. Here, we will introduce you to two more Anki card types and one alteration to all cards you will make. These new card types and the tweak will streamline your ability to make cards and expand the ways you can test material. We recommend incorporating all three into your card generation workflow. 

Making cards can be exhausting, but it is important to be able to personalize your learning. However, for base content, we recommend checking out DATBooster’s Anki decks to alleviate your workload and help you focus on doing well on the DAT.

I. Extra Field

For all cards you create, you should have another text box for “Extra Information.” In this text box, you put any information that is relevant to the concept being tested but that is not included in the question/answer itself. When you answer a card, the information in the “Extra” box also shows up. This is a powerful addition to your studying because with the “Extra” field you can study and review concepts with appropriate context.

To create another input field for cards, click the “Field” button at the top left and then “Add.” Label this box “Extra” and click “ok.”

You should now see a 3rd box labeled “Extra” both on the Field interface and when entering a new card.

Now, we need to set up the extra field to pop up below the answer after we answer the card. Click the “Card” icon next to “Field.” Tick the “Back Template” circle. This will allow you to edit the back side of the card. Copy the code in the left box into your code box and whenever you answer a card, the right panel will show up!

Now, whenever you answer a card, you will see answer and anything you put in the “Extra” box.

This extra field should be used as much as possible. With it, you are able to study information relevant to the card but not be tested while completing your cards. You won’t need to flip through notes or dig through videos to find complementary information because that information is part of your cards!

II. Cloze Deletion

In order to make the cloze card, you first need to change the “Type” on the top right to “Cloze.” Then, highlight the text you want to and click the “[…]” icon on the top right (hotkey = Ctrl+Shift+C).

You can also add multiple cloze deletions per card. Just repeat the same process with another part of the text. For each subsequent cloze, the number next to the ‘c’ will increase by one. If this number is different, a separate card will be created for each number with all the other deletions hidden during that card. If you have the same number after the ‘c’, the clozes will be part of the same card and you will be tested on all of them at once.

Cloze deletions are really great for copy/pasting important bullet points or sentences into Anki and testing the important parts of those sentences. However, be sure not to add too much information to a single card as this can get overwhelming. Also, you can create the majority of flashcards with clozes instead of the normal front/back card type.

III. Image Occlusion (IO)

Image Occlusion (IO) cards are essentially flashcards of images where you block out a specific part of the image. You will need to download the IO add-on from AnkiWeb here. Make sure to check out my “Top 5 Free Anki Add-Ons for the DAT” article to see how to download this add-on.

To create an IO card, change the image type at the top left corner to “Image Occlusion” and drag and drop the image you would like to occlude into the software. Make sure the blue square on the left panel is selected. Now, you can click and drag boxes over the areas you want to. You can adjust these boxes any time you’d like.

It is important to note that there are 2 options when adding new IO cards (see how both look below as well as where to change the option):

Hide all, guess one

Hide one, guess one

With the first type of card, all information you block out cannot be seen. This is really great when you don’t want any hints or extra information from the image you are occluding. The second type is best used when you want to deduce an answer from surrounding information. For example, “hide one, guess one” is great for learning reactants, reagents and products in organic chemistry. Really, it is up to you on which type of IO presentation to use for certain images. 

Each of the above strategies has its own benefits and drawbacks but all should be strategically used. All three of these features will immensely enhance your card creation skills which will translate directly into high scores! Be sure to use them often! For more information on the beautiful images shown in the demonstrations above, check out DATBooster’s premade DAT study notes!