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Best way to revise Further Maths - review notes?

I've just started A-level Maths + Further Maths. My notes in my book aren't hugely neat, and have a load of questions and other stuff everywhere.

Is it worth writing short revision notes for each topic (e.g. FP1 complex numbers) with a few very clear examples, for quick review? Or is this useless for maths, particularly as for most of it you perhaps only have to 'get it' once? I'm doing all my modules at the end of U6, so we keep switching between different modules.

Has anyone had any experience of writing maths notes for review? Did it work, or should it be avoided?
Reply 1
Original post by petrus123
I've just started A-level Maths + Further Maths. My notes in my book aren't hugely neat, and have a load of questions and other stuff everywhere.

Is it worth writing short revision notes for each topic (e.g. FP1 complex numbers) with a few very clear examples, for quick review? Or is this useless for maths, particularly as for most of it you perhaps only have to 'get it' once? I'm doing all my modules at the end of U6, so we keep switching between different modules.

Has anyone had any experience of writing maths notes for review? Did it work, or should it be avoided?


I wrote notes for maths when i was first going through the topics, but I had no intention of using them for revision purposes, I just found writing things down as i went through it helped me understand a bit more :smile:
Reply 2
Spend more time practising exam questions. I wouldn't spend too much time making notes, just make sure you understand the concepts and then practise.
Reply 3
Original post by Trapz99
Spend more time practising exam questions. I wouldn't spend too much time making notes, just make sure you understand the concepts and then practise.

Thanks for the reply.
I guess there are also pre-prepared quick notes out there anyway - e.g.
http://www.physicsandmathstutor.com/download/Maths/A-level/FP1/Worksheets-Notes/OCR%20FP1%20Revision%20Notes.pdf
it works differently for different people. My rule of thumb is if I already knew it and worked out without reading further/watching further (textbook+exam solutions) no need to make notes. If I needed to read/watch further make notes. If i got I was right but had to think about i/was unsure make notes.

I always try to see if i can work it out even if never covered the topic before, before I just read/watch. I think this is a better way of doing things. Mind you I have basically just started so my method might change later.
Original post by petrus123
I've just started A-level Maths + Further Maths. My notes in my book aren't hugely neat, and have a load of questions and other stuff everywhere.

Is it worth writing short revision notes for each topic (e.g. FP1 complex numbers) with a few very clear examples, for quick review? Or is this useless for maths, particularly as for most of it you perhaps only have to 'get it' once? I'm doing all my modules at the end of U6, so we keep switching between different modules.

Has anyone had any experience of writing maths notes for review? Did it work, or should it be avoided?


If notes work for you then okay, but I really do not think that it's a particularly effective way of revising for maths. There really isn't that much you've got to remember, it's just a matter of practising. Do as many past papers as you can.
Reply 6
Which exam board are you doing?
I did edexcel and I was predicted a D in further, when it came to revising I made revision cards using the summaries at the end of each chapter in the textbooks and read them in my spare time. I did all of the past papers, and anything I got wrong I would add to a revision card. Whenever I didn't understand something, I would always go back and teach it to myself using the textbook. I found that my teachers often used different methods to the textbook, and if you don't understand their way of teaching you can just look at it in a different way. I have friends who did badly because when it came to revising they only did the topics that they didn't understand, whereas you should do entire past papers to get a real feel for it, and to spot your mistakes. Because I reviewed all of my mistakes using the revision cards, I found it easier to remember them when I did the exam, and I had several checks that I did on my answers. I came out with an A in further.
Original post by petrus123
I've just started A-level Maths + Further Maths. My notes in my book aren't hugely neat, and have a load of questions and other stuff everywhere.

Is it worth writing short revision notes for each topic (e.g. FP1 complex numbers) with a few very clear examples, for quick review? Or is this useless for maths, particularly as for most of it you perhaps only have to 'get it' once? I'm doing all my modules at the end of U6, so we keep switching between different modules.

Has anyone had any experience of writing maths notes for review? Did it work, or should it be avoided?


Best way to become better at maths is to 'do maths'. Write notes if you think it helps you, but that time would be better spent on doing questions.
Reply 8
Original post by solC
I wrote notes for maths when i was first going through the topics, but I had no intention of using them for revision purposes, I just found writing things down as i went through it helped me understand a bit more :smile:


OK, thanks! I missed this earlier...
No - revision cards have never helped anyone I know with maths. Practice makes perfect.
Reply 10
Original post by Lauren99
Which exam board are you doing?
I did edexcel and I was predicted a D in further, when it came to revising I made revision cards using the summaries at the end of each chapter in the textbooks and read them in my spare time. I did all of the past papers, and anything I got wrong I would add to a revision card. Whenever I didn't understand something, I would always go back and teach it to myself using the textbook. I found that my teachers often used different methods to the textbook, and if you don't understand their way of teaching you can just look at it in a different way. I have friends who did badly because when it came to revising they only did the topics that they didn't understand, whereas you should do entire past papers to get a real feel for it, and to spot your mistakes. Because I reviewed all of my mistakes using the revision cards, I found it easier to remember them when I did the exam, and I had several checks that I did on my answers. I came out with an A in further.


Wow, that's an amazing story! I'm doing OCR.

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