What is Active Recall?
Active recall is a study method where you deliberately retrieve information from memory, by answering questions or reciting from a blank page, instead of rereading it. The act of retrieval strengthens the memory itself, which is why recall-based study consistently outperforms passive review in controlled experiments.
Active recall works because memory is strengthened by use. Each successful retrieval makes the underlying memory trace more durable and easier to access next time, an effect that passive exposure does not produce. In a classic experiment by Roediger and Karpicke, students who took recall tests on a passage remembered more of it a week later than students who spent the same time rereading it, even though the rereaders felt more confident.
The advantage is not limited to memorizing facts. Karpicke and Blunt found that practicing retrieval produced better performance than elaborative concept mapping on a later test of science material, including questions that required inference. In the Dunlosky review of ten study techniques, practice testing was one of only two rated high utility.
While reading, active recall can be as simple as closing the tab and writing down what the article argued before checking your highlights. Highlights and notes make this practical: they turn a source into prompts you can test yourself against, rather than a wall of text you reread.