How to Study With Anki
(and Import Our Anki Decks)
Anki is a flashcard app that decides when you should see each card again. This guide explains why that works, the difference between basic and cloze cards, a daily routine you can keep, and how to import a ready-made deck.
What Anki is, in plain words
Anki is a flashcard app. You see the front of a card, try to answer from memory, then flip it to check. After that you tell Anki how it went with one of four buttons: Again, Hard, Good or Easy. Anki uses your answer to decide when to show that card next, and each button shows you the next review date before you press it.
That scheduling is the part that is tedious to do by hand with paper cards. The computer version and the Android app (AnkiDroid) are free. The iPhone and iPad app (AnkiMobile) is a paid app. Anki also has a free sync service, AnkiWeb, if you want your cards on more than one device.
Why it works
Anki’s own manual gives two reasons. The first is active recall: pulling an answer out of your memory builds a stronger memory than re-reading it, and a card you cannot answer shows you what needs more work. The second is spaced repetition: you remember better when reviews are spread out over time, so Anki shows cards you know less often and cards you miss more often.
If you would like the wider picture on why flashcards work, with the research behind it, start with our complete guide to studying with flashcards.
Basic cards and cloze cards
Anki has two card styles, and every bundle we make includes a deck of each, so you can use whichever suits you.
- Basic cards have a front and a back. The front asks, the back answers.
- Cloze cards hide part of a piece of text and ask you to fill it in. In Anki the hidden part is written like
{{c1::this}}, and each numbered hidden part makes its own card.
Here is the same real card from our PSAT deck in both styles. In our cloze decks the term stays visible and the definition is the hidden part.
Allusion
Craft and Structure
Basic · backA brief reference to a person, place, thing, or idea of historical, cultural, literary, or political significance. Recognizing allusions can deepen understanding of themes. Example: ‘He had the strength of Hercules’ alludes to Greek mythology.
Allusion
[…]
Cloze · answerA brief reference to a person, place, thing, or idea of historical, cultural, literary, or political significance. Recognizing allusions can deepen understanding of themes. Example: ‘He had the strength of Hercules’ alludes to Greek mythology.
Card text from our PSAT flashcards. Cards are generated with AI and reviewed by a person before delivery, so treat them as a study aid and check anything important against official exam materials.
Which one should you use? Use basic if you like to answer in your head and then flip. Use cloze if you prefer filling in a gap. You do not need both, and you can try each one with the free samples below.
A daily routine that is easy to keep
- Open Anki and do the cards that are due. Anki keeps new cards, cards you are learning and cards due for review separate, and it shows you what is waiting.
- Say the answer before you flip. If you only read the back, you are re-reading again.
- Be honest with the buttons. Press Again when you got it wrong, Hard when you were unsure, Good when you got it with some effort, and Easy when it was effortless. Honest answers give you a better schedule.
- Add a small number of new cards. Choose an amount you can finish every day. A smaller number you keep up with beats a big first week you cannot sustain.
- Stop when the due cards are done. Short sessions most days add up.
If you fall behind, Anki takes into account how long a card has been waiting when it works out the next date, so you can pick up again after a break without starting over.
How to import one of our Anki decks
Every bundle includes two deck files, one basic and one cloze. They are .apkg files, which is Anki’s deck-package format. Unzip your download first so the .apkg files are visible.
On a computer (Windows, Mac or Linux)
- Install and open Anki from apps.ankiweb.net.
- Click the File menu, then Import.
- Choose the
.apkgfile and confirm. The deck then appears in your deck list.
On an Android phone (AnkiDroid)
- Copy the
.apkgfile to your phone. - Open the file from your phone. AnkiDroid asks if you want to import it; tap OK.
- Or, in AnkiDroid, open the menu on the deck list, choose Import, pick the file and tap OK.
On an iPhone or iPad (AnkiMobile)
The steps depend on your version of the app, so please follow the official instructions in the AnkiMobile manual. A simple route is to import the deck on a computer and sync with AnkiWeb.
Anki’s manual notes that importing a deck again updates the cards it already recognises, and that recent versions let you choose whether to bring in scheduling data. Steps checked against the official Anki and AnkiDroid manuals. Anki is a separate app made by other people; MyFlashDecks is not affiliated with it.
Try it with the free samples
Each sample is a small 10-card subset, so you can see how the cards look and test the import before you decide.
The full decks come with the 29-file bundle: Anki decks, an interactive app and 26 printable PDFs. See all the free samples.
Anki study guides
Studying a specific subject with Anki? These guides show how to use a ready-made deck for it, with real example cards.
Common questions
Do I need to pay to use Anki?
The computer version and AnkiDroid on Android are free. AnkiMobile on iPhone and iPad is a paid app. You can import our decks on a free version and, if you need them on an iPhone, sync them through AnkiWeb.
Should I use the basic deck or the cloze deck?
Both contain the same cards. Basic shows the term and asks you to recall the answer. Cloze keeps the term visible and hides the definition. Pick the style you prefer; there is no need to study both.
Can I use Anki with cards that I did not buy from you?
Yes. Anki works with any cards, including ones you make yourself. Our decks just save you the time of writing them.
How many new cards should I add each day?
As many as you can finish without dreading the next session. Start small, watch how many reviews build up over the first week, and adjust.
Are your Anki decks written by AI?
They are generated with AI and reviewed by a person before delivery. They are study aids, so check anything important against your course or official exam materials.
Want a deck for your own topic?
Tell us what you are studying and we build a complete bundle: Anki decks (basic and cloze), an interactive app and printable PDFs.
Want a deck made for you? Order custom flashcards on our Fiverr gig.