How do you all revise?

I write notes, do past papers ect. But when i've done a topic, i have 30 pages of notes, and it's too much to read over. What should i do?

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Reply 1

username366985

30 pages of 'notes' on one topic is not notes, I'm afraid.

Condense.

And yeah do past papers.

Reply 2

Guinea Pig Lover

Rewrite your notes, without any stupid words like 'the'
Try and fit as much as you can onto a page, maybe use mind maps so you don't need sentences, just key words
I also put my notes onto a dictaphone - I find I can record 12 pages of typed notes in about 20 minutes, which is useful if you're on a long journey or cleaning your room or in the bath or something xx

Reply 3

chadz

Yes 30 pages is too long
how about use websites with video tutorials like
http://kdkchadha.blogspot.com/p/contents-of-this-blog.html
http://a2withkomilla.blogspot.com/p/contents-page.html

Reply 4

sweetascandy

CUE CARDS!! (.....are the key to success :p:

)

Reply 5

ab786

Write notes on revision cards, read textbooks, read exercise books, past papers, sam learning-lol.

Reply 6

TattyBoJangles

I just read the textbook.

I also do past papers, but OCR aren't good for A-Level sciences past papers. They have two on their website -_-
My teacher thankfully sent me the Jan 2011 paper and mark scheme, but that still isn't many papers so I just read the book.

Oh, and did all of the practice / exam questions in the book as well.

I'm not big on making notes.

Reply 7

barrister_2000

Do past papers and read a LOT of mark schemes. :wink:

Reply 8

Pioneero

Do you all write notes first? Before the past papers

Reply 9

Tom26070

Past Papers and write colourful notes :smile:

Reply 10

ok_cub2008

Original post by Pioneero

I write notes, do past papers ect. But when i've done a topic, i have 30 pages of notes, and it's too much to read over. What should i do?

The purpose of writing up stuff is not necessarily to read it again. I NEVER re-read the notes I make. I just make them because writing down what I understand somehow gives my mind an anchoring point.

Reply 11

Fragile_Illusions

I do past papers. For essay subjects I just make perfect plans using text books. It's like notes.. but better. :tongue:

And I make giant A3 summarys of the topics I'm doing. Not to read again, just because to write sets things deep in my memory.

Reply 12

Leeshur

I write out the information, read it aloud several times and answer questions. I also do group-revision with my friends since it's more fun.
Sometimes I'll just say everything I've revised over and over to my mum from memory. If I stumble, I re-read the information. Worked pretty well for GCSE.

Reply 13

Sokka

you don't need notes tbh, just read the book and do past papers - aren't revision guides meant to be notes? o.o

Reply 14

username616640

Original post by Sokka

you don't need notes tbh, just read the book and do past papers - aren't revision guides meant to be notes? o.o

yeah, but before the exam you can't flick through the whole book to remember all the information... that's why I make myself condensed notes to quickly skim through the day (/before) of the exam :smile:

... and I do past papers!

Reply 15

Sokka

Original post by superxo2

... and I do past papers!

oh I see, now it makes more sense :]

Reply 16

chou246

Do notes really help? I've never really bothered with notes (other than the ones i can get from getrevising.com). I've only ever written them for topics i really don't understand.

Reply 17

rofflewaffle

Original post by chadz

Yes 30 pages is too long
how about use websites with video tutorials like
http://kdkchadha.blogspot.com/p/contents-of-this-blog.html
http://a2withkomilla.blogspot.com/p/contents-page.html

Those are you blogs, no? I've seen you link them in nearly all your posts.

But anyway, OP, notes are meant to be something you can look over several times to re-enforce what you have written. I doubt that's possible with 30 pages of them. Condense them as much as you can until you're just writing down the key points for each topic, and then do as many past papers as you can to make sure you can apply the note revision you have done to the exam questions.

Reply 18

username616640

Original post by chou246

Do notes really help? I've never really bothered with notes (other than the ones i can get from getrevising.com). I've only ever written them for topics i really don't understand.

yeah, it's because I have really bad memory.. so I make them. But, sometimes it just feels like I'm wasting my time doing it.

Reply 19

onlineeducator

Original post by superxo2

yeah, it's because I have really bad memory.. so I make them. But, sometimes it just feels like I'm wasting my time doing it.

The act of making notes can in itself be really useful - it forces your brain to sort out key facts and prevents you from "glazing over" during revision. When listening or reading anything related to the GCSEs, Id always advise jotting down the key points even if youre never going to look at them again