Flip cards, multiple choice, and typed answers: Encodr's card types explained

Not every fact tests well in the same format. Encodr's feed mixes several card templates rather than committing to one, and each one is chosen deliberately for the kind of recall it forces.

Flip cards

The closest thing to a traditional paper flashcard: a prompt, a tap to reveal the answer, then a self-confirm on whether you got it. These are best for open-ended recall where there's no natural set of alternatives to choose from - "what is the coinsurance clause" doesn't have four clean wrong answers to distract with, so a flip card just asks you to produce the answer honestly and grade yourself on it.

Multiple choice

A prompt with several options, one correct. These work well for testing discrimination between similar-sounding concepts - twisting vs. churning vs. rebating, or HO-3 vs. HO-5 coverage differences - where the wrong options themselves are doing real work by representing the specific misconceptions a student is likely to have. A well-written distractor isn't a random wrong answer; it's the mistake you'd actually make if you half-knew the material. See fill-in-the-blank vs. multiple choice for when each format actually teaches better.

Typed answer and cloze (fill-in-the-blank)

These force you to produce the exact term instead of recognizing it among options, which is a meaningfully harder retrieval task - recognition and recall aren't the same skill, and an exam that asks you to apply a rule to a scenario is testing recall, not recognition. Typed and cloze cards accept reasonable synonyms and abbreviations (ACV and "actual cash value" both count), so you're not penalized for phrasing, only for not actually knowing the term.

True/false

The simplest format, used for testing a specific claim rather than an open concept - useful for the kind of precise, easy-to-misremember facts (is workers comp mandatory in Texas? No) where the value is in pinning down one fact cleanly rather than testing broader understanding.

Why mix them in one feed instead of grouping by type

A session that's all multiple choice trains you to recognize the right answer among options, which is a different and easier skill than producing it cold. Mixing formats in the same scroll means you can't settle into one retrieval mode and coast - each card forces you to actually re-engage with what's being asked. This is also why Encodr's feed doesn't let you filter down to one card type by default; the mix is doing real cognitive work, not just adding visual variety.