OrbitChoose what deserves a card
Read a short passage for understanding first. Identify its central claim, the terms you need to explain, and any distinctions your course expects you to make. Leave decorative examples and repeated wording out unless they are part of the learning objective.
For lecture notes, turn a heading into a question, then check whether the answer underneath is complete. For a textbook, use the learning objectives and end-of-section questions to decide what to test. Keep the source handy while checking your answers.
Turn a broad note into specific questions
Suppose your note says: “Evaporation occurs at a liquid’s surface. Higher temperature and greater surface area can increase its rate.” A card that asks “Explain evaporation” is difficult to grade consistently.
Split it into: “Where in a liquid does evaporation occur?” — “At the surface.” Then: “With other conditions held constant, how does greater surface area affect evaporation rate?” — “It increases the rate.” Add a separate why-question once you understand the explanation. These are example cards; match the wording and detail to your course.
Keep the question and answer easy to check
Test one main idea per card. State the conditions needed for a precise answer. Replace vague prompts such as “Advantages?” with a subject and a request, such as “Give one reason to repeat a measurement.” If several answers are valid, write the accepted alternatives on the back.
Keep essential context even when shortening a card. Definitions, mechanisms and exceptions may need separate prompts. For a formula, include what the symbols mean and practise a worked problem separately. For vocabulary, include a sentence when an isolated translation would be ambiguous.
Paste a checked set into Orbit
Create an account or sign in, open the library and choose Paste cards. Use one question and one answer per row, separated by a tab. Select or create a deck, inspect the preview, and import only when the pairs look right. If the paste loses its tabs, use the CSV option with properly quoted fields.
Orbit flags incomplete rows and skips exact duplicate pairs in that import workflow. Fix the source text when a row is invalid. Keep a copy of your checked text until you have confirmed that the cards appear in the intended deck.
Use AI drafts as a starting point
You can ask your own ChatGPT account to draft questions from a passage and then compare every answer against it. Ask for one idea per card and for uncertain information to be flagged. Edit or remove unsupported claims before importing. Direct saving through the Orbit plugin is still awaiting public availability.
Review your first few cards immediately. If an answer is too long to assess, revise the card before making more like it. The most useful feedback is whether the question tests understanding and has an answer you can judge reliably.