Write a prompt you can actually check

Choose the task before the wording

Name one thing you want to be able to recall or explain without the source in front of you. For the fictional paper museum, the task might be remembering what a shelf label permits. It is small enough for a single prompt and has a defined answer in the invented museum rules.

Carnegie Mellon describes retrieval practice as asking a learner to bring information back from memory. A question, a short explanation or a practice problem can provide that opportunity. Reading an answer while it remains visible is a different activity; the Recall Deck therefore has a separate reveal step.

Sources: Carnegie Mellon Eberly Center: Retrieval Practice for Improved Learning

Write a cue that does not supply the answer

Weak prompt: “Blue means visitors may handle the models, right?” It supplies almost the whole answer and invites agreement. A clearer prompt is: “In the fictional paper museum, what does a blue shelf label mean?” The context identifies the rulebook, but the rule still has to be recalled.

Avoid unexplained “it,” “that” or “the process.” A card may be encountered days later or outside the order in which you wrote it. Include the minimum context needed to interpret the question on its own. Do not turn the context into a clue that gives away the key point.

Write the reference before you practice

For this example, the reference is: “A blue label marks a model that visitors may handle.” Record the source or rule alongside the answer in a real deck. A confidently typed answer is not automatically a correct answer; the tool accepts what you supply.

Decide which parts matter. “Visitors may touch models on that shelf” may express the same permission in different words. “Blue models are delicate” changes the meaning. Your comparison should examine the meaning you intended to practice, not demand identical punctuation.

If a reference contains several independent points, consider separate cards plus a later question about how the points connect. Keeping component practice clear does not remove the need to practice an integrated task. CMU makes that distinction in its learning principles.

Sources: Carnegie Mellon Eberly Center: Learning Principles

Try a small prompt repair

The invented prompt “Tell me about the cards” leaves both the object and the expected detail unclear. Replace it with “In the fictional paper museum, what two things go on a model card?” Its reference names the model and the type of paper used.

This revision changes the practice task. Keep that in mind when comparing later records: a clearer question and a revised answer are not identical conditions. Name the revised deck or keep a note outside the tool so an apparent change in recall is not confused with a change in the prompt.

Test the deck as a reader

Read each question without looking at its answer. Can you tell what is being asked? Then inspect the answer: does it address that question, and can you name a reliable source for it? Remove unused fragments and split cards that silently ask for several unrelated tasks.

The Recall Deck accepts up to 30 cards. That is a tool boundary, not a scientifically optimal deck size. Start with the amount you can review carefully; the fictional starter has three cards simply to keep the demonstration small.

Keep a copy you can revise

Export the deck JSON after checking its questions and answers. That file can be imported again; a session Markdown record cannot. The tool holds current work in browser memory and does not automatically save it.

Use the downloadable prompt sheet to keep the task, source and accepted meaning beside each draft. Next, read Compare after the reveal to decide what to record when your attempt differs from the reference.

Related guides

• Compare after the reveal
• Read a practice record without overselling it

Primary references

• Carnegie Mellon Eberly Center: Retrieval Practice for Improved Learning
• Carnegie Mellon Eberly Center: Learning Principles