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Can cgp biology aqa revision guide get you an a*?

ok so I use the nelson thornes oxford guides for chem and bio and they're sick but for biology I have a spare cgp one given to me aswell as the nelson thornes oxford one.
personally I hate cgp bc too much writing on a page but I don't have time to make notes for bio so I need a guide I can memorise and get an a/a* with.
nelson thornes oxford are difficult to memorise as the information is more what you would make notes from instead of copying out?
has using a biology cgp guide for aqa gcse science ever got anyone a*? I know they've got people a's but what about the star???
(ps yes I know past papers are vital but I'll focus on them once I know content)
HELP ME THANKS X
(edited 7 years ago)

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Avatar for Mikos
Mikos
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If you're doing the AQA exam boards, all the information you need will be in that book. If you memorise the book, you definitely are in with a chance of A*, however, it's important to do things like practice questions too
Original post by Mikos
If you're doing the AQA exam boards, all the information you need will be in that book. If you memorise the book, you definitely are in with a chance of A*, however, it's important to do things like practice questions too


that's great !! thanks so much
Original post by childishgambin0
ok so I use the nelson thornes oxford guides for chem and bio and they're sick but for biology I have a spare cgp one given to me aswell as the nelson thornes oxford one.
personally I hate cgp bc too much writing on a page but I don't have time to make notes for bio so I need a guide I can memorise and get an a/a* with.
nelson thornes oxford are difficult to memorise as the information is more what you would make notes from instead of copying out?
has using a biology cgp guide for aqa gcse science ever got anyone a*? I know they've got people a's but what about the star???
(ps yes I know past papers are vital but I'll focus on them once I know content)
HELP ME THANKS X

BUMP
I only used the CGP Guides for Biology GCSE (AQA) and got an A* last year. It has all the content but, as mentioned before, you'll still need to practice exam question.

You mentioned it has too many words on the pages. I would recommend making your own notes from it or using it along with the official specification to only learn the relevant sections.
(edited 7 years ago)
There's no way of knowing you'll get an A*, regardless of which books you have. Put in the time and the effort and you'll have a higher chance of getting an A*!
I definitely would recommend CGP for science though. Make sure you do lots of past papers too.
Original post by JammieDodger27
I only used the CGP Guides for Biology GCSE (AQA) and got an A* last year. It has all the content but, as mentioned before, you'll still need to practice exam question.

You mentioned it has too many words on the pages. I would recommend making your own notes from it or using it along with the official specification to only learn the relevant sections.


congrats on the a* and thanks! I don't have time to make notes unfortunately because of how many other subjects I'm studying right now but I'll deffo check against the spec and practice applying what I learn
Original post by LeCroissant
There's no way of knowing you'll get an A*, regardless of which books you have. Put in the time and the effort and you'll have a higher chance of getting an A*!
I definitely would recommend CGP for science though. Make sure you do lots of past papers too.


true point i suppose! thanks for the advise, i will!
I had one for Edexcel, and it definitely helped me out (got A*), but my teacher was also good.
Original post by Bean sprout
I had one for Edexcel, and it definitely helped me out (got A*), but my teacher was also good.


congrats on the a* ! would you say emmorising a guide is fine or should you be referring to a teacher and classwork to? i kinda messed about during bio last year:/
Original post by childishgambin0
congrats on the a* ! would you say emmorising a guide is fine or should you be referring to a teacher and classwork to? i kinda messed about during bio last year:/


For me personally I would say classwork and homework were least important, but I never messed around. I would usually learn the theory by listening to the teacher, and use the revision book to memories all the terminology or anything I forgotten in class.
Original post by Bean sprout
For me personally I would say classwork and homework were least important, but I never messed around. I would usually learn the theory by listening to the teacher, and use the revision book to memories all the terminology or anything I forgotten in class.


Ah ok thank you!
My teacher told me once that it would be difficult to get above a C from just using cgp revision guide's, but from my experience they are great for helping to memorise key things so carry on using them for sure
Original post by William2813
My teacher told me once that it would be difficult to get above a C from just using cgp revision guide's, but from my experience they are great for helping to memorise key things so carry on using them for sure


I got an A* using them. They're great for learning content. Obviously exam papers are very important for learning how to answer the questions. Do as many as possible.
Original post by benjaminfinch
I got an A* using them. They're great for learning content. Obviously exam papers are very important for learning how to answer the questions. Do as many as possible.


I should have noted this was for A level Biology xD but I did use them at GCSE too and they had everything i needed to learn
Original post by William2813
I should have noted this was for A level Biology xD but I did use them at GCSE too and they had everything i needed to learn


Sorry I meant GCSE. However, I think the principles are still essentially the same. Use the textbook to get the information and just make sure you do lots of exam practice to see different ways the information is used and how to apply the information. :smile:
Original post by William2813
I should have noted this was for A level Biology xD but I did use them at GCSE too and they had everything i needed to learn


a level bio nah I could never hack that! just trying to get through gcse!
thanks tho, I need them mainly for content so should b fine
Original post by benjaminfinch
Sorry I meant GCSE. However, I think the principles are still essentially the same. Use the textbook to get the information and just make sure you do lots of exam practice to see different ways the information is used and how to apply the information. :smile:


did you get your a* from using the textbook or revision guide?! (thank u btw, I'll deffo practice questions) :smile:
Original post by childishgambin0
did you get your a* from using the textbook or revision guide?! (thank u btw, I'll deffo practice questions) :smile:


As I said, it was GCSE. And I used the revision guide.

The textbook is possibly better for A level but use it in the same way.
Original post by benjaminfinch
Sorry I meant GCSE. However, I think the principles are still essentially the same. Use the textbook to get the information and just make sure you do lots of exam practice to see different ways the information is used and how to apply the information. :smile:


Defintely! I still use my cgp book, its easy to get straight forward information then just expand on it if required :smile:

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