Decide what you want to retrieve
A cloze card hides part of a statement. A question-and-answer card asks you to supply an answer to an explicit prompt. The useful distinction is the recall target: do you need a term within a meaningful sentence, or an explanation that should stand on its own? Neither format is a shortcut around understanding. If you cannot explain the sentence before hiding a word, revealing that word is unlikely to resolve the missing explanation. Start with a passage you understand and choose the format after identifying the target.
Compare one fact in both formats
Use this original example: “A base case ends a recursive branch without making another recursive call.” A cloze version can test the term: “A {{base case}} ends a recursive branch without another recursive call.” A question-and-answer version can test the role: “What must a recursive base case avoid doing?” Answer: “Making another recursive call on that branch.”
Learning target | Useful format | Check before keeping it |
|---|---|---|
Recall the name of a component in a sentence | Cloze | Does the remaining sentence identify a unique term? |
Explain the role of that component | Question and answer | Does the prompt specify which role or condition matters? |
Recall several unrelated definitions | Separate cards | Can each result be judged independently? |
Avoid blanks you can guess without knowing
Grammar, repeated wording and visible neighboring answers can make a cloze look easier than the actual knowledge task. Read the front alone and ask whether someone unfamiliar with the topic could guess the hidden word from the sentence shape. If so, change the wording or use a direct question. Also check for legitimate alternatives. “The program uses {{memory}}” is too open unless the course establishes a particular phrase. A learner who supplies another sensible word should not have to infer an unstated exact-string requirement. Add context or change the target rather than marking an ambiguous card as a difficult memory problem.
Use Deckumi's cloze syntax as implemented
Deckumi's editable cloze content uses double braces around the answer, such as {{base case}}. When a card contains several blanks, the current card reveals them together. It does not provide Anki's separately numbered cloze groups. Anki documentation is useful background, but its syntax and grouping are not a description of Deckumi's implementation. If you want two facts to be scored separately, create two cards. Keep the sentence readable before and after the hidden span, and review the result through the actual front and answer views rather than only inspecting the text in the editor.
A practical revision sequence
First write the complete statement and verify it against the material. Next select the smallest answer span that represents the target. Preview the front, attempt the answer, then reveal. Finally decide whether the question tests the concept you meant to learn or merely the position of a familiar word. For a mechanism or an explanation, try the same fact as a direct question. Compare which version makes a wrong or incomplete answer easier to recognize. You can keep more than one perspective when each serves a distinct purpose, but do not create near-duplicates simply to increase the card count.
Review the format after a real attempt
When a cloze repeatedly feels ambiguous, edit its context. When a direct question has a long answer with several independent targets, split it or move supporting explanation into notes. Format is something you can revise as your understanding improves. Use the example cards first, then choose manual creation or edit cards in an existing set. Generate from your own text or PDF only after signing in and checking the source and account allowance. This guide does not promise image occlusion, automatic semantic grading or APKG export; those are different capabilities from creating and reviewing a text cloze.
Put this into practice: PDF to flashcards · Text to flashcards · FSRS flashcards online