# Cloze

> Fill-in-the-blank cards, and how one note becomes several.

## What & why

A **Cloze** card is a sentence with a blank the learner fills in. Instead of a
separate question and answer, you write one piece of text and mark the words to hide.
It shines when the sentence _around_ the blank is what gives the answer meaning — a
fact in context, a term inside its definition.

You mark a blank with `{{c1::…}}`. The `c1` is the blank's group; give different
blanks `c1`, `c2`, `c3` and each becomes its own review card. An optional **extra**
field adds context that shows on the back.

## The rule

> Blank out the word worth recalling — not every word in the sentence. The visible
> text has to give a fair chance at the hidden one.

## Bad → good

A real fact from the **Science Facts** catalog deck. Tap a card to reveal the answer.

**Before — Too much hidden — nothing left to recall from.**

> **Q:** The {{c1::mitochondria}} is the {{c2::powerhouse}} of the {{c3::cell}}.
> **A:** mitochondria · powerhouse · cell

**After — One meaningful blank; the sentence still supports the answer.**

> **Q:** The {{c1::mitochondria}} is the powerhouse of the cell.
> **A:** mitochondria

## One note, several cards

This is the part that surprises new creators: **a single Cloze note can expand into
several review cards** — one for each blank group. Write this once —

> The three states of matter are `{{c1::solid}}`, `{{c2::liquid}}`, and `{{c3::gas}}`.

— and the learner gets **three** cards, each hiding one state while the others stay
visible. That's powerful, but it means your review counts grow faster than your notes.
A deck of 30 Cloze notes with two blanks each is 60 cards to study. Plan the number of
blanks on purpose; don't scatter them and get surprised by the workload.

If you find yourself wanting many blanks in one sentence just to save typing, that's
usually a sign the material wants to be several [Basic](https://www.deckberry.com/creators/guide/card-types/basic/)
cards instead.

## When it applies

Use Cloze when context carries the meaning: a date inside the event it belongs to, a
term defined by the sentence it sits in, a step named within its process. Skip it when
the answer could be several different words that all fit the blank — that ambiguity
makes an honest pass/fail impossible, and a [Basic](https://www.deckberry.com/creators/guide/card-types/basic/)
card serves better.

## Related

- [Which card type to use when](https://www.deckberry.com/creators/guide/card-types/which-to-use/)
- [Basic](https://www.deckberry.com/creators/guide/card-types/basic/)
- [One card, one fact](https://www.deckberry.com/creators/guide/deck-craft/one-fact/)
- [Common mistakes & anti-patterns](https://www.deckberry.com/creators/guide/tips/anti-patterns/)

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[Read this guide on Deckberry](https://www.deckberry.com/creators/guide/card-types/cloze/)