What is spaced repetition and how do you use it to study?

Spaced repetition means coming back to a topic several times with growing gaps in between, instead of reading it over and over in one sitting. In short: learn it today, recall it tomorrow, recall it again a few days later, then wait a week. Each time, push yourself to remember before you check the answer. In this post I’ll show you how to turn this into a simple routine, whether you’re preparing for the LGS (Turkey’s high school entrance exam), the YKS-TYT (the first stage of the university entrance exam) or the ALES (the exam for graduate programmes).

One of the things my students say most often is: “I study, but a week later it feels like nothing stuck.” Most of the time that isn’t laziness. It’s that the review happens at the wrong time and in the wrong way.

Why does a topic crammed in one evening fade so fast?

When you read the same topic three times in one evening, the third reading feels very familiar. That familiarity feels like learning. But recognising something isn’t the same as recalling it. On exam day the book isn’t open; you have to pull the information out of your own head.

That’s the idea behind spaced repetition. Trying to remember something just as it starts to slip takes effort, and that effort is what makes it stick. The whole trick is reviewing neither too early nor too late.

Recall, don’t reread

The second half of spaced repetition is how you review. Rereading your notes feels comfortable but does little. Instead, ask yourself a question first, try to answer it in your head or on paper, and only then check.

Close the notebook: After studying a spelling rule or a type of sentence error, close your notes and write down everything you remember on a blank sheet.
Question cards: Write a question on one side of a card and a short answer on the other.
Write your own question: Take the logic of a reading question you solved and turn it into a new question in your own words.

The moments when you can’t remember aren’t failures. They show you exactly what to focus on next time.

Build a simple review calendar

You don’t need a complicated app. This is the plain schedule I suggest to my students. After learning something new, try to recall it:

the day after you studied it,
about three days later,
about a week later,
two to three weeks later.

These gaps aren’t strict rules, just a starting frame. If a topic comes back easily, stretch the next gap; if you struggle, step back and shorten it. Keep the schedule in a planner, on a wall calendar or in a notes app. What matters is that every day you already know the answer to “what am I reviewing today?”

Sort your cards into boxes

If you use flashcards, three boxes or envelopes make things much easier:

Box 1: New cards and cards you got wrong. Check them every day.
Box 2: Cards you recalled correctly once. Check them every few days.
Box 3: Cards you recalled correctly several times in a row. Check them once a week.

A card you remember moves up a box; a card you forget goes back to Box 1, wherever it was. That way your time goes to what you actually find hard, not to what you already know.

What to review when studying Turkish

Not everything fits on a card, and it helps to know that. In Turkish exam preparation, these topics suit spaced repetition best:

spelling and punctuation rules,
word meaning and easily confused concepts, such as subjective and objective statements,
types of sentence errors, each with one short example,
the “next time” notes for recurring mistakes from your error log.

Reading comprehension, on the other hand, grows through regular practice rather than cards. You can still space it out: re-solving a passage you struggled with a week ago, without looking at the answer, is a good way to see your progress.

Topic coverage and the number of questions can change between exams and from year to year, so check the latest MEB or ÖSYM guidelines when you build your review list.

Common mistakes

Saving all review for the final week: Rereading everything once before the exam isn’t a substitute for spaced review.
Writing cards that are too long: Keep one question and one short answer per card.
Giving up after missing a few days: That’s fine. Pick up where you left off and spread the backlog over a few days.

A short note for parents: quizzing your child with their cards can be one of the most enjoyable ways to review together. When they get a card wrong, try “Shall we think about it once more?” instead of correcting straight away, so the effort of remembering stays with them.

A small exercise to try this week

Pick one Turkish topic you studied this week and make ten cards from it. Put them all in Box 1. Test yourself tomorrow, three days later and a week later without peeking at the answers, and each time mark the corner of every card you got right. At the end of the week, see which cards are still in Box 1: those are the topic of your next study session.

If you’d like to set up a review routine that fits your own exam and schedule, feel free to leave me a short message through the contact form. We can talk about what would work best for you or your child.

Guide

LGS Turkish Study Guide