Active or Passive Review? Understanding the Difference to Study Better

Not All Reviews Are Equal

Passing your eyes over a text and actively retrieving information from memory are two neurologically different experiences. The second is far more effective — and also far more demanding. That's why Keeplet gives you a choice between two review modes, each with different characteristics and uses.

Passive Mode: Self-Assessment

In passive mode, you see the flashcard question and must decide how well you remember it before seeing the answer. Then the answer appears and you rate yourself on four levels:

• Not at all — I remembered nothing
• Barely — I remembered something but vaguely
• Mostly — I remembered almost everything with some uncertainty
• Perfectly — I remembered everything clearly

Each level corresponds to a numerical value in the SM-2 algorithm and produces a different interval: if you answer "Perfectly", the next repetition will be further away in time. If you answer "Not at all", the flashcard goes back to the top of the priority queue.

When to use it: when studying narrative or descriptive concepts (paragraphs, long definitions, connections between ideas), when you're on the go and can't concentrate much, or when you want a quick maintenance session.

Active Mode: Reconstruct the Text

In active mode the system extracts the meaningful words from the flashcard text, shuffles them, and you must reorder them correctly to reconstruct the original sentence.

You're not passively reading — you're producing the answer. This type of retrieval is much more demanding, but memory research is clear: the difficulty is the point. Karpicke and Roediger (2008) called this phenomenon "desirable difficulty" — the difficulties that favor long-term learning (Science, 2008).

If you order the words correctly → card marked as remembered. If you get it wrong → card marked as forgotten and put back in the queue.

When to use it: when studying technical terminology, formulas, sequences, precise definitions (laws, theorems, historical dates), or when you want to truly test the solidity of a piece of knowledge.

Cloze: The Automatic Variant

When a flashcard contains cloze markers (words you marked with the cloze deletion function in the editor), the review automatically enters cloze mode — regardless of the active/passive toggle.

The card shows the text with one hidden term at a time, replaced by [...]. The process is:

1. Read the sentence with the blank and try to recall the hidden term
2. Press Show to reveal the answer
3. Rate yourself: Remembered or Forgotten

If the card has multiple cloze terms, each term becomes a separate step in sequence. The SM-2 algorithm is updated at the end with the worst result among all steps.

How to Switch Between Modes

The active/passive toggle is always visible in the upper right of the review screen. You can switch modes at any time by pressing Tab on the keyboard.

Cloze mode cannot be selected manually: it activates automatically on cards that contain cloze markers and is not affected by the toggle.

You're not forced to choose just one mode for everything: you can use passive mode for a quick first pass and then come back with active mode on the flashcards you rated "Barely" or "Not at all".

Touch Gestures and Shortcuts

If you use Keeplet on mobile, you also have gestures available:

• Swipe right → card remembered
• Swipe left → card forgotten
• Swipe up → skip the card
• Tap → show the answer (passive mode only)

From desktop you can use the keyboard:

• Key 1 — in passive mode: Perfectly; in active mode (after completing the ordering): Remembered
• Key 2 — in passive mode: Not at all; in active mode: Forgotten
• Key 3 — skip the card in both modes
• Tab — toggle between active and passive mode

Which One to Choose?

You don't have to choose once and for all. The most effective strategy is to use both:

1. First weeks of studying a topic → active mode to firmly fix new concepts
2. Maintenance on topics already mastered → passive mode for quick sessions
3. Real weak spots → switch back to active mode until confidence grows

Keeplet tracks the accuracy for each flashcard, so you can always see which concepts you've truly consolidated and which still need work.

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