How to Write Cloze Deletion Flashcards (With Examples)

A cloze deletion is a sentence with a gap in it: "The powerhouse of the cell is the ___." You recall the missing word, then check. It's the fastest way to turn notes into flashcards, because the sentence you already have is the card. It's also easy to do badly — hide the wrong word, strip out the context, or cram a whole paragraph into one card — and then the card either can't be answered or teaches you nothing. Here's how to write cloze cards that actually work.

What a cloze card is (and why it works)

A cloze card keeps a piece of real text and hides one part of it. Answering it is active recall: you have to produce the hidden part from memory, which is what strengthens it (the evidence: active recall vs re-reading). The surrounding words give you just enough context to know what you're being asked, without giving away the answer.

In Anki-style syntax, the hidden part is marked like this:

The {{c1::mitochondria}} is the site of aerobic respiration.

Each number (c1, c2…) becomes its own card. Two different numbers in one sentence make two cards; the same number used twice hides both parts on one card.

The golden rule: hide the one thing worth remembering

Hide the key term, value or idea — the part an exam would ask for. Leave everything else visible as context.

Seven rules for good cloze cards

1. One gap per card (usually). If a sentence has two important facts, make two cards — c1 and c2 — rather than hiding both at once.
2. Keep enough context to make the answer unique. If two different words could fill the gap sensibly, add context until only one can.
3. Keep it short. A sentence, not a paragraph. Trim everything that doesn't help you answer.
4. Hide meaning, not grammar. Never hide the, is, or of. Hide the term, the number, the name, the cause.
5. Use hints for genuine ambiguity. A hint appears in the gap — for example {{c1::1919::year}} shows [year] — so you know what kind of answer is wanted without being told the answer.
6. Test from both sides when it matters. For a definition, one card can hide the term and another the meaning.
7. Rephrase copied text first. A textbook sentence is often too long; shorten it into your own words, then cloze it.

This is the same idea SuperMemo's Piotr Wozniak put at the top of his famous rules for formulating knowledge: keep each item as simple as possible — the minimum information principle — and use cloze deletion to get there.

Cloze for lists: overlapping cards

Lists are the hardest thing to memorise with one card. Hiding a whole list at once almost never works. Instead, hide one item at a time with the others visible:

The noble gases include helium, {{c1::neon}}, {{c2::argon}}, {{c3::krypton}} and {{c4::xenon}}.

That makes four cards, each hiding one gas with the rest shown. It's much easier to learn, and after a few reviews you'll be able to recite the whole list anyway. For long lists, split them into groups of three or four.

Cloze for formulas

Formulas are where cloze shines: hide a different part each time, so you know the formula from every angle.

{{c1::v²}} = u² + {{c2::2as}}

Add one card that isn't a cloze — "Which equation of motion has no time term?" — so you also know when to use it. (More on this in how to memorise formulas.)

Cloze for dates and numbers

Put the event in the sentence and hide the number, not the other way round:

• ✔ The Treaty of Versailles was signed in {{c1::1919}}.
• ✘ In 1919, the {{c1::Treaty of Versailles}} was signed. — many things happened in 1919; the answer isn't unique.

When not to use cloze

Cloze is brilliant for facts, terms, numbers and formulas. It's weak for explanations — "why does increasing temperature speed up a reaction?" needs a question card with a short explanation on the back. A good deck mixes both: cloze for the facts, questions for the reasoning, and picture cards for diagrams. (How to decide which is which: making flashcards from a textbook.)

Cloze deletions in StudyTab

• Mark the gap, add a hint. In the card editor, select the words to hide and turn them into a cloze; each gap can carry its own hint, and separate gaps become separate cards.
• Formulas render properly. Cloze cards support LaTeX, so a hidden exponent or constant looks exactly as it will in the exam.
• Or start from your notes. The AI flashcard generator drafts cloze cards from your PDFs and notes for you to review and edit — then FSRS schedules every one.
• Anki cloze cards come with you. Imported {{c1::…}} notes arrive as cloze cards, one per gap. (How to import Anki decks.)

Bottom line

A good cloze card is one short sentence with one meaningful gap and just enough context to make the answer unique. Hide terms, numbers and names — never filler words. Split lists into overlapping cards, cloze formulas from every side, and switch to a question card when what you need to remember is an explanation.

Turn your notes into cloze cards in minutes: try the AI generator free.