Cloze Deletion Flashcards: What They Are and How to Write Them
Cloze deletion flashcards are fill-in-the-blank cards: you take a sentence, hide one key word or phrase, and make yourself recall what's missing. "The powerhouse of the cell is the [...]" is a cloze card. They're great for facts that live inside a sentence, and useless when you blank out the wrong word or turn half the sentence into blanks.
If your cloze cards feel like busywork and you still can't tell what you actually know, FlashDeck writes clean one-fact cards from your notes and shows you only the ones you're about to forget: Build my study plan.
What cloze deletion is
"Cloze" comes from "closure," the idea that your brain wants to close a gap. A cloze test is an old reading-comprehension format where words are removed from a passage and you fill them in. Cloze deletion flashcards take that and shrink it to one sentence, one blank.
The cloze deletion format is simple:
Mitochondria produce most of the cell's [...] through cellular respiration. Answer: ATP
That's it. Front = sentence with a hole. Back = the full sentence.
Cloze meaning in plain English
A cloze is a blank you fill. That's the whole meaning. If someone in your group chat says "just cloze it," they mean "make it a fill-in-the-blank card instead of a question."
Cloze vs front-and-back cards
Both are flashcards. They just ask in different ways.
| Basic (front/back) card | Cloze deletion card | |
|---|---|---|
| Looks like | Q: What does ATP stand for? A: adenosine triphosphate | Adenosine [...] is the cell's energy molecule |
| Best for | Definitions, "why" questions, processes | Facts inside a sentence, lists, formulas, vocab in context |
| Speed to make | Slower (you write a question) | Faster (highlight and hide) |
| Risk | Question is too vague | You memorize the sentence shape, not the idea |
Rule of thumb: if the fact makes sense as a question, make a normal card. If the fact only makes sense inside its sentence, cloze it.
Good cloze examples by subject
Here are cloze deletion examples that actually work, grouped by subject.
Biology
- The
{{c1::mitral}}valve sits between the left atrium and left ventricle. - In photosynthesis, the light reactions happen in the
{{c1::thylakoid membranes}}.
History
- The Treaty of
{{c1::Versailles}}was signed in 1919. - The Magna Carta was sealed in
{{c1::1215}}.
Chemistry and math
- The ideal gas law is PV =
{{c1::nRT}}. - The derivative of sin x is
{{c1::cos x}}.
Languages
- Elle
{{c1::est allée}}au cinéma hier. (French passé composé with être) - 我
{{c1::喜欢}}喝茶 (I like drinking tea)
Language learners love clozes because the verb or word stays in real context. If you're working on French verbs, pair this with how to memorize French conjugation.
Mistakes that make clozes useless
Most "cloze deletion doesn't work for me" posts are really about these.
- Hiding a filler word. "The
{{c1::the}}mitochondria..." teaches nothing. Hide the word the test would ask about. - Too many blanks on one card. "
{{c1::Mitochondria}}make{{c1::ATP}}via{{c1::respiration}}" as one card is a guessing game. Split it. - Copy-pasting whole paragraphs. A 60-word cloze trains you to recognize the paragraph shape. Trim to one fact.
- Ambiguous blanks. "The war ended in [...]" could be a year, a treaty or a city. Add a hint:
{{c1::1918::year}}. - Only clozing, never explaining. Clozes are good for facts, weaker for "why." Keep a few normal "why" cards.
Cloze deletion tips that fix most problems
- One blank per card, unless the items only make sense together.
- Keep the sentence under about 25 words.
- Use hints for anything that could have more than one right answer.
- Read the card out loud. If it sounds weird, rewrite it.
How to make cloze cards
In Anki (cloze deletion anki)
- Click Add and change the note type to Cloze.
- Type your sentence, select the word, and press Ctrl+Shift+C (Cmd+Shift+C on Mac). You'll see
{{c1::word}}. - Hide another word with the same shortcut and Anki bumps the number to
c2, which becomes a separate card. - Want both blanks on the same card? Use the same number for both (the shortcut with Alt/Option added keeps the number, or just type c1 again).
That's the whole "cloze deletion same card vs new card" question: same number = same card, different numbers = different cards.
A cloze deletion template for paper or Notion
No app? Write the sentence with a blank on the front of an index card and the full sentence on the back. In Notion, put the blanked sentence in a toggle title and the answer inside. (More on that in how to make flashcards in Notion.)
Quizlet
Quizlet doesn't have a dedicated cloze note type the way Anki does. The workaround is writing the sentence with a blank as the term and the missing word as the definition.
Writing good clozes is one job. Deciding which of 200 you actually know is another, and that's where most people start guessing. Paste your notes into FlashDeck and it writes one question-and-answer card per fact, using only what you pasted. Each day it shows only the ones you're about to forget, and misses come back tomorrow. Build my study plan
When to use a normal card instead
Cloze is a tool, not a religion. Switch to a basic card when:
- You need to explain, not complete. "Why does the heart have valves?" doesn't fit in a blank.
- You keep answering from the sentence shape. If you can fill the blank without knowing the idea, turn it into a question.
- It's a definition. "What is osmosis?" as a question tests more than "Osmosis is the movement of
{{c1::water}}..." - It's a diagram. Labels on a picture are better as image occlusion flashcards.
A healthy deck is usually a mix: cloze deletion flashcards for facts in context, basic cards for definitions and "why."
Turn your notes into one-fact cards right now
Paste your class notes, slides text or a PDF of up to 20 pages into FlashDeck and it writes one question-and-answer card per fact, definition or formula. Delete any card you don't want, then spend about ten minutes a day on only the cards you're about to forget.
FAQ
What is cloze deletion in flashcards?
Cloze deletion means hiding a key word or phrase in a sentence so you have to recall it. The card shows the sentence with a blank and the answer fills it in. It's a fast way to turn notes into recall practice.
Are cloze deletion cards better than basic cards?
Neither is better across the board. Clozes are faster to make and great for facts in context, while basic cards are better for definitions, explanations and "why" questions. Most strong decks use both.
How do I make cloze flashcards in Anki?
Choose the Cloze note type, select a word and press Ctrl+Shift+C (Cmd+Shift+C on Mac). Different numbers (c1, c2) create separate cards, and the same number keeps blanks on one card. Add hints with a second pair of colons, like {{c1::1918::year}}.
How many cloze deletions should one card have?
Usually one. Multiple blanks on the same card turn into guessing and make it hard to tell what you missed. Only group blanks when the items really belong together, like a two-part formula.
Is a cloze test the same as a cloze flashcard?
They come from the same idea. A cloze test is a passage with several words removed, often used to measure reading, while a cloze flashcard is a single sentence with one blank used for memorizing a fact.