Anki is a powerful tool that can help maximize your DAT scores. In the tutorial below, you will learn how to download Anki Decks, make Anki Decks and complete Anki Decks.

Follow this step-by-step guide on how to download the software in a way that allows you to sync progress across devices.

After you have downloaded and opened Anki, it is time to begin creating cards!

1. First, click "Create Deck" at the bottom of the application window.

2. We are going to create several subject decks to get started studying for the DAT. Create the following decks:

3. Now, make each subject a subdeck under “DAT” by dragging it over “DAT.” Your setup should look something like the image below.

With this setup, you can study each subject individually or all together.

Do not forget, DATCrusher has free pre-made decks for Biology and Chemistry. In conjunction with these great decks, I still recommend creating separate decks for cards you will personally make throughout your content review and full-length test reviews. In a future article, I will outline an entire workflow that incorporates both personally made flashcards and Crusher's pre-made decks.

4. Now to create a new card for the biology deck, click on the "Biology" Deck. You should see a screen like this.

5. Click "Add" on the top screen. A new window will pop up with two text boxes that look like this:

6. From here, type in what you want the prompt/question to be in the "Front" box and the answer in the "Back" box.

7. To add the card to the deck, click "Add" at the bottom right of the window (Hotkey = Ctrl/Cmd + Enter). The text boxes should have cleared, indicating the card was added to the deck. Now, if you go back to the "Biology" deck page, you will see the card you created next to "New."

Now that we have created a card, let’s go through how to complete the cards we created.

1. Click on "Study Now." You should see the card we just created.

2. Once you answer the question in your head, click "Show Answer," at the bottom or "Spacebar." I recommend using the Spacebar to speed up your cards/hour. Once you click spacebar, the answer will pop up.

3. Here is where the spaced repetition algorithm comes into play. At the bottom of the window, you should see several buttons. Note: I have one extra button than the default.

According to how well you knew the answer, click the corresponding button. The time above the buttons will indicate how long until the next presentation of this card. Also, number keys correspond to pressing each difficulty button (i.e. 1 = Again, 4 = Easy).

Click "Good" and return to the "Biology" deck page. You will now notice that the card has moved from "New" to "Learning," indicating you have seen the card already but are still learning it. After you get that card correct a certain number of times in a row (for the default settings, two times), the card will be moved to the "To Review" section. Don’t forget to click “sync” at the top of the application to keep your progress updated!

Congratulations! You now have a foundational understanding of Anki and can begin using this powerful software to maximize your DAT studying! Be on the lookout for future articles where I go into greater depth on the ins and outs of Anki to help you elevate your studying to even greater heights! Good luck and study hard!

Article was written by Davied Sanchez
​UNC Adams School of Dentistry