I don't make notes for revision, never really have..

Every time there's exams, GCSEs, mocks, end of terms exams, everyone always has stacks of notes that they've made. I never really make notes, I tried and I just find they really don't help me, I feel like I'm wasting my time writing out what's already in the textbooks/handouts. My way of revision (reading over and over, highlighting, saying it over and over again to myself like a crazy person) has always worked for me, but I just wonder what everyone who does notes actually does with them after they've written them? Do you find that writing them helps you learn the content or you just prefer to learn off something you've written up yourself?

I think the main reason I never started doing notes in the first place was because of how awful my handwriting is, but I just think it would take so long for me to type it all up!

Is there anyone else who's not a fan of notes? :colondollar:

Reply 1

Feraligatr

20

Original post by z1ggystardust

Every time there's exams, GCSEs, mocks, end of terms exams, everyone always has stacks of notes that they've made. I never really make notes, I tried and I just find they really don't help me, I feel like I'm wasting my time writing out what's already in the textbooks/handouts. My way of revision (reading over and over, highlighting, saying it over and over again to myself like a crazy person) has always worked for me, but I just wonder what everyone who does notes actually does with them after they've written them? Do you find that writing them helps you learn the content or you just prefer to learn off something you've written up yourself?

I think the main reason I never started doing notes in the first place was because of how awful my handwriting is, but I just think it would take so long for me to type it all up!

Is there anyone else who's not a fan of notes? :colondollar:

With my GCSE's I didn't really make any notes. For A-Levels I've been making notes :tongue:

For GCSE's I relied on practice and textbooks :tongue:

Reply 2

Rubato

14

Don't worry I do the same thing as you. I just find I learn better by reciting and its also quicker than writing everything out over and over.

Reply 3

Flather

13

Original post by zhang-liao

With my GCSE's I didn't really make any notes. For A-Levels I've been making notes :tongue:

For GCSE's I relied on practice and textbooks :tongue:

This

Reply 4

Feraligatr

20

Original post by Flather

This

Good thing or bad...? :redface:

Reply 5

Zaryab.

It depends on what the material is. If it is a hard topic or something I do not understand, I make notes to either breakdown the difficulty or just get my head around it. Although, my personal method of revising is very similar to yours. Reading & repetition. I do not believe that constantly writing out notes is an effective way of learning and remembering important information. Instead, reading the material & understanding it matters more than to just remember it. Comprehension plays a huge role in effective revision.

Reply 6

2710

18

Dw about it. I never made notes from GCSE to my professional qualification and i did okay (although my last exam didnt go too well haha)

A lot of my friends like to re write their work, make fancy notes, but my style is to just do questions, past papers and when i get stuck look at the answers/lecture notes.

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Reply 7

anonymouspie227

20

Well, I'm at uni now and I found that making notes, then condensing them and rereading them helps for long term and short term exam prep, in addition to practice questions.

Reply 8

WesterosWildling

3

Original post by z1ggystardust

Every time there's exams, GCSEs, mocks, end of terms exams, everyone always has stacks of notes that they've made. I never really make notes, I tried and I just find they really don't help me, I feel like I'm wasting my time writing out what's already in the textbooks/handouts. My way of revision (reading over and over, highlighting, saying it over and over again to myself like a crazy person) has always worked for me, but I just wonder what everyone who does notes actually does with them after they've written them? Do you find that writing them helps you learn the content or you just prefer to learn off something you've written up yourself?

I think the main reason I never started doing notes in the first place was because of how awful my handwriting is, but I just think it would take so long for me to type it all up!

Is there anyone else who's not a fan of notes? :colondollar:

Wow this is exactly me. Even the crazy person stuff. My writing is horrendous :smile:

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Reply 9

username1468462

OP

9

Original post by Manexopi

Don't worry I do the same thing as you. I just find I learn better by reciting and its also quicker than writing everything out over and over.

Original post by Zaryab.

It depends on what the material is. If it is a hard topic or something I do not understand, I make notes to either breakdown the difficulty or just get my head around it. Although, my personal method of revising is very similar to yours. Reading & repetition. I do not believe that constantly writing out notes is an effective way of learning and remembering important information. Instead, reading the material & understanding it matters more than to just remember it. Comprehension plays a huge role in effective revision.

Original post by 2710

Dw about it. I never made notes from GCSE to my professional qualification and i did okay (although my last exam didnt go too well haha)

A lot of my friends like to re write their work, make fancy notes, but my style is to just do questions, past papers and when i get stuck look at the answers/lecture notes.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Original post by anonymouspie227

Well, I'm at uni now and I found that making notes, then condensing them and rereading them helps for long term and short term exam prep, in addition to practice questions.

Original post by WesterosWildling

Wow this is exactly me. Even the crazy person stuff. My writing is horrendous :smile:

Posted from TSR Mobile

Thanks guys, so happy there are others out there who prove it works- everyone at school is just like 'what do you mean you don't make notes?!' :biggrin:

Merry Christmas!

Reply 10

username1468462

OP

9

Original post by zhang-liao

With my GCSE's I didn't really make any notes. For A-Levels I've been making notes :tongue:

For GCSE's I relied on practice and textbooks :tongue:

Original post by anonymouspie227

Well, I'm at uni now and I found that making notes, then condensing them and rereading them helps for long term and short term exam prep, in addition to practice questions.

I tried to start making notes and stuff but I just felt I was wasting time I could be using to learn - different learning styles I guess! I'm going to try and make flashcards/do some past papers next week when I've got most of the content down! Merry Christmas guys :wink:

Reply 11

sliceofcake

15

My original notes (handwriting) are so atrocious, if I depend on them for revision I will always fail.

Reply 12

JustBeing

3

lol my writing is bad too! I read somewhere that it's actually a good thing, because when attempting to read your handwriting your brain has to work that little bit harder to figure out what you wrote than if It was perfectly typed up, doing this helps you to memorize better. Anyway, I make notes because I feel I can firstly cut out any fluff in the textbook so i'm not having to scan through things I don't need to memorize. This is important because, textbooks. particularly more wordier ones are attempting to explain things so they add more details, but once you understand something, you just need the main points and don't have to write out extra explanations. Second, I can organise my notes in my own way, structure them better, draw my own diagrams to show I understand. Third, you can put it in your own words more or less so you know you understand it. For me, I feel like I need to make notes, I feel more secure like, evidence of everything I've gone through is right there in my own words, and if the explanation in the book is not so amazing, then I've got my own way of saying it. I do think however, that highlighting key points in a textbook and just going over it so you remember it is a good technique as well. I would recommend you to make questions out of the key parts you're learning because the question acts as a trigger to tell you what to recall, without giving the answer away, so it tests if you've memorised everything, I do this out of the notes I make. You can put these questions on flashcards. For A level, i'd say try making your own notes, but remember you don't have to write every single bit down, condense and select important parts, leave room if you're typing up to draw diagrams on when you print your notes (if you do lol!)

I don't make notes for revision, never really have..

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