In Augmenting Long-term Memory, Michael Nielsen describes using Anki while reading technical material: smaller questions support connections, alongside integrative questions. Taking reading as our theme, this original Deckumi guide offers a new exercise and workflow. The full essay is linked below.
Give this reading session a purpose
Write a specific use for the chapter, such as “In next week’s discussion, I need to explain what this study compared.” That purpose helps you select passages to examine and cards that are worth making.
Scan the outline for terms, conditions and the author’s main question. Mark passages you have not understood for another look. Resist filling the gap with an answer that merely sounds complete.
Work at three levels
Level | Task for this reading session |
|---|---|
Locate | Identify the topic, terminology and conditions. |
Explain | Describe a key relationship in your own words. |
Connect | Bring material from several sections into one question. |
These levels are our exercise structure, not software-measured stages of understanding. Move between them as needed; you do not have to memorize every term before trying to explain a relationship.
An original exercise: reading a study description
Fictional passage: Group A studies for 30 minutes on one day. Group B studies for 10 minutes on each of three different dates. The passage does not provide test results.
Card front | Core answer |
|---|---|
How does Group B distribute its study time in this passage? | Ten minutes on each of three different dates. |
What known time condition do the two groups share? | Both study for 30 minutes in total. |
Can this passage establish which group scores higher? | No. It does not provide test results. |
The third card checks the boundary of the evidence. Distinguish a stated conclusion from an interpretation and from missing information. Completing a card collection is not a reason to invent a result.
Leave room for synthesis
After the detail cards, add an exercise such as “What else would we need to compare the effects of these schedules?” It may involve the test task, delays and outcomes. Define the answer criteria for your course before reviewing it.
A synthesis answer may be longer. Its job differs from a short locating question. Return to the material to check that recalling a few terms has not substituted for a complete argument.
Keep a reading path in Deckumi
New generated cards use the recognized source outline to create groups. Groups preserve chapter membership; lower-level sections can belong to the corresponding top-level chapter. Rename groups, create your own or move cards to reflect your reading task.
Add your current question and a source location to card notes. Use the source-viewing entry in the generation workflow to revisit the material. Check the conditions and answer directly rather than treating a completed generation as proof of accuracy.
Let the interface support finding and reading
Deckumi groups use narrow side covers and numbers, distinct from the larger set cover. The card grid and pagination support inspection in batches. These are navigation and reading choices; a chapter’s card count is not a measure of complete understanding.
Try this in your next session
- Write one concrete purpose for the chapter.
- Begin with locating questions and add explanation questions as the relationships become clearer.
- Finish with one synthesis question and a note of evidence that is still missing.
Deckumi wrote this exercise and workflow. Nielsen’s full essay discusses a wider range of reading experiences and memory-tool practices worth considering for your own work.