Quizlet 101: A beginners guide and how to get started

Quizlet is proud to partner with real students to showcase authentic voices on our blog. This guest post is by Trevor Mahoney, a Finance and Management Information Systems major at Santa Clara University.

Quizlet is a compact, easy-to-use way to practice material you need to learn. Using Quizlet's features can help you take your academics to new heights. But for new Quizlet users, it can be easy to become overwhelmed with all the new study tools at your disposal.

We don’t want that, so we’ve written this guide covering the ins and outs of the free version of Quizlet.

Before you begin studying

The first thing new Quizlet users should do is gather the content they need to learn. On Quizlet, you can use this information to create study sets, which are essentially a bunch of terms and definitions. Think digital flashcards.

There are two ways to get study sets on Quizlet:

• Make one yourself.
• Find a set someone else has made.

Most of the information in a biology class, for example, doesn’t change from year to year. So using someone else’s study set is a great way to save time, and Quizlet has some robust sets available from past students and teachers. If your material is more specific, however, then making your own may be the best choice.

How to make a study set

To make a study set, click “Home” on the Quizlet site, and then the “Create” tab in the top left corner of the screen. Select “Study set” from the drop-down menu and follow the prompts. You can type in your terms and definitions, or import your content.

All Quizlet users can make text flashcards and add images from Quizlet’s free image library. However, Quizlet Plus users can also make diagram study sets, which have interactive images that display information when you click different points on them. These study sets are great for studying geography or anatomy, among other things. (Want to see some examples? Check out these sets.)

Types of study modes

Once you have a study set, you’re ready to start learning. On Quizlet, there are seven different study modes to choose from: Flashcards, Learn, Write, Spell, Test, Match and Gravity.

Each of these study modes presents the material in different ways. Try out a few (or all of them!) to see which ones work best for you. Here are the four most popular:

Flashcards

Flashcards are the classic study method on Quizlet and are great for basic or quick material review sessions. Users can zoom in on images, and click the card to see the associated term or definition.

You can also click “Play” and Quizlet will slowly run through the study set, switching between term and definition at a leisurely pace. To mix things up, you can easily shuffle the terms in the study set, or turn on audio and listen to the information. And if there are terms that need more review, Quizlet allows you to star them so that you remember to return to them later.

Learn

Learn mode creates an adaptive study plan that guides students from basic review to mastery. To complete a Learn session, a user must correctly answer every term in a set twice.

Learn presents the information in various ways, including multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank options. When you answer correctly, Learn moves that card to the “familiar” column. Otherwise, it stays in the “remaining” column.

Throughout the session, Learn will repeat the cards. When you get a card right twice, it will be moved to the “known well” column, and won’t be presented again.

This study mode harnesses progress checkpoints, spaced repetition and machine learning to help you master the material you need to know.

Test

Test mode is a great way to simulate an exam or quiz. This mode offers fill-in-the-blank, multiple-choice, matching and true/false questions to help you prepare for your exam.

As with a real test, you don’t get to see your results in real time. You must complete the entire test before seeing your score. You can also choose specific questions from your set to better simulate your test day.

A new version of the test will be created from your study set each time, ensuring you get maximum exposure to all the material. Using Test after Learn or Flashcards is a great way to quiz yourself and see your progress.

Match

Finally, Match falls under the “Play” category. In this mode, a mix of terms and definitions will appear on screen and your job is to match the pairs as quickly as possible.

A timer will be running and you can check your score on the leaderboard. This is a great feature for those who love a little competition.

Curious about our other three study modes? Learn more about Write, Spell and Gravity here.

Sharing and organizing your study sets

Keeping your information and study content organized can help promote better studying and a clear mind. Quizlet allows you to create folders for each of your classes, giving you easy access to the study set you need when you need it.

For those who study best with others, Quizlet offers sharing features that can help. By joining or creating a class on Quizlet, you can make study sets visible to others in the group or gain access to study sets within your classes.

Rather than studying alone, try working with friends or classmates to excel together!

Studying on the go

You don’t need a computer to take your studying to the next level. Quizlet has a free mobile app for iOS and Android that syncs with the website, making it easy to sneak in a quick review session anywhere.

Boost your studying with Quizlet today

Studying can be challenging, but Quizlet is designed to help you sort your content and start learning or reviewing more effectively. We hope this guide helped you better understand some of Quizlet's features.

Happy studying!

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Trevor Mahoney is wrapping up his last year at Santa Clara University where he studies Finance and Management Information Systems. He has been an avid reader his whole life, which evolved into a passion for writing while he studied abroad in New Zealand last year. He is currently searching for a post-college job and hopes to work at the intersection of business and technology.