grade 8/9 science notes

hey.
i'm in year 11 and currently working at grade 6's for all the sciences.
(bio, chem and physics.)

come results day, i need grade 8's in all the sciences.
i've currently been getting grade 6's by thoroughly reading the topic, for example, and doing a few practise questions (literally the two/ three questions in the cgp book(s).

I also have a tutor. She predominantly gives me questions etc but she also has some reallyyy good notes that are grade 8/9 quality. They are FANTASTIC. However I asked her and she said I'm not allowed to take pictures of them, which is fair enough, because they are hers that she has written/ accumulated over the years.

That got me really motivated however, because before I went into my last lesson I had no idea about equilibrium, but after using her notes I could answer nearly ever question on equilibrium with relative ease, in just two hours.

So, if I had notes of that quality on every topic, I could absolutely smash it, spending two hours on every topic.

But I have no notes, no revision cards or anything.

How do I go about starting this?

I've got a few questions.

Firstly, is it too late? Will I be able to make quality (grade 8/9) notes on every single chem, bio and physics topic by late December/ early January?

How do I go about doing this? Where do I find the notes? I'm guessing I'll use a combination of my GCP book, my Oxford book and CGP? Are those notes detailed enough for a grade 8/9?

anything else I need?

thanks guys, i really need help so this is very much appreciated xx

Reply 1

s.m999

OP

16

bump

Spoiler

Reply 2

Mikos

18

Hi. I got 9s in all my sciences, and at the start of my course, I was getting lower marks than what I wanted, too (6s and such), so I understand where you're coming from.
The resources I used were:
CGP revision guide
Freesciencelessons
CGP workbook
CGP grade 8-9 workbook

In science, knowing the information is not enough. You really need to know how to apply it. Exam question practice is absolutely essential.
Here are a few general tips to answering questions:
-For longer answer questions, make sure you're really shoehorning in all the relevant information and keywords if you have the time (but make sure all the content of your answer is relevant to the question). This will make your answers longer, but it'll ensure you're picking up the marks.
-Underline each part of the question so you truly know what's being asked of you
-Before answering, think, "what does the exam board want from me? What are they looking for me to apply here?". Think about what topic they're asking for.
-In physics especially, be conscious of the units used. Not being aware of this is an easy way to drop marks.
-Another special one for physics, make sure you understand how to apply equations into situations. I found the grade 8-9 targeted books a great way to hone these skills in (CGP should really sponsor me for this post...).

Any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask. :smile:

Reply 3

s.m999

OP

16

Original post by Mikos

Hi. I got 9s in all my sciences, and at the start of my course, I was getting lower marks than what I wanted, too (6s and such), so I understand where you're coming from.
The resources I used were:
CGP revision guide
Freesciencelessons
CGP workbook
CGP grade 8-9 workbook

In science, knowing the information is not enough. You really need to know how to apply it. Exam question practice is absolutely essential.
Here are a few general tips to answering questions:
-For longer answer questions, make sure you're really shoehorning in all the relevant information and keywords if you have the time (but make sure all the content of your answer is relevant to the question). This will make your answers longer, but it'll ensure you're picking up the marks.
-Underline each part of the question so you truly know what's being asked of you
-Before answering, think, "what does the exam board want from me? What are they looking for me to apply here?". Think about what topic they're asking for.
-In physics especially, be conscious of the units used. Not being aware of this is an easy way to drop marks.
-Another special one for physics, make sure you understand how to apply equations into situations. I found the grade 8-9 targeted books a great way to hone these skills in (CGP should really sponsor me for this post...).

Any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask. :smile:

Thanks so much! So you think it's not too late for me to make notes on everything?
It's just when I look at every topic for all three sciences there's soo much and idk if I can make detailed notes for everything by late Dec/ early Jan.

So how did you actually revise? Read the topic and then answer questions?

Thanks :-)

OP

bump

Bump.

Original post by s.m999

Thanks so much! So you think it's not too late for me to make notes on everything?
It's just when I look at every topic for all three sciences there's soo much and idk if I can make detailed notes for everything by late Dec/ early Jan.

So how did you actually revise? Read the topic and then answer questions?

Thanks :-)

No, it's definitely not too late. If anything, now is the right time to start. However, take into account that your revision won't just stop around January. You should be working consistently to keep the understanding there.

I revised by trying to learn (AND understand) the information, and then by answering questions later. Answering questions not only improves your exam technique, but demonstrates what you don't understand as well as you should.
How you get the info in is really down to you. Personally, I hate flashcards and mindmaps, but others swear by them, so it's up to you how you go about that.

Reply 7

Dylan_Poole1

8

Of course its not too late! I revised for 3 weeks before the exams and did a solid 8 hours a day and came out with three 9s in sciences.

Reply 8

s.m999

OP

16

Original post by Dylan_Poole1

Of course its not too late! I revised for 3 weeks before the exams and did a solid 8 hours a day and came out with three 9s in sciences.

Wow that's incredible, congrats! May I ask how you revised? Were flashcards right for you? What else did you use?

Thanks!

Reply 9

s.m999

OP

16

Original post by Mikos

No, it's definitely not too late. If anything, now is the right time to start. However, take into account that your revision won't just stop around January. You should be working consistently to keep the understanding there.

I revised by trying to learn (AND understand) the information, and then by answering questions later. Answering questions not only improves your exam technique, but demonstrates what you don't understand as well as you should.
How you get the info in is really down to you. Personally, I hate flashcards and mindmaps, but others swear by them, so it's up to you how you go about that.

Thank you so much!
I meant by Jan I'd have finished making the notes so I can start learning them lol!

Thank you! x

Reply 10

Dylan_Poole1

8

Original post by s.m999

Wow that's incredible, congrats! May I ask how you revised? Were flashcards right for you? What else did you use?

Thanks!

just flashcards then exam practice papers

Reply 11

s.m999

OP

16

Original post by Dylan_Poole1

just flashcards then exam practice papers

Thank you!
That is pretty much what I am going to do, and hopefully I can replicate your results!

How did you make your flashcards? Were they hand- written or on a computer? Also where did you find the notes and stuff?

Thanks, sorry for tall the questions lol, you've done amazing :smile:

Reply 12

ash__

6

hi, got A*s in all 3 sciences. (i got a ABB in my mocks in february) and doing bio and chem at alevel now.
i tried making notes at the start of year 11 - and didnt make much progress so i stopped.

dont waste your time making notes imo, all I did was use the cgp to learn the content and then do as many past papers as you can do. if youre making mistakes in particular topics then i'd suggest going back and either making notes on that topic or maybe watching youtube videos on that (i found that youtube videos really helped me)

I was like you, i thought making notes would be the best way to do well but infact this type of learning isn't very effective and you're better off doing past papers and learning mark schemes! make sure you make a note of what topics your making mistakes on and go back and revise that topic before attempting another past paper.

if you really want to make notes, you will have to put a lot of time into it. the cgp books are usually good enough for GCSE and i'd recommend them strongly combined with revision from doing past papers and learning mark scheme answers. flashcards are great for things that you simply have to memorise,like formulas, equations, colours, and can be used to jot down the mark scheme answers for longer answer questions as these tend to come up again and again in papers so it would be really useful to have the mark scheme answer noted down. key words are very important, especially in biology! make sure you include them as its an easy way to get marks!!

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 13

DankBoi

5

Just use my chemistry notes lol: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DE1qQ8PkfV2P3LHBxfHhbWUH_jpW2Ufv/view

Reply 14

s.m999

OP

16

Original post by DankBoi

Just use my chemistry notes lol: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DE1qQ8PkfV2P3LHBxfHhbWUH_jpW2Ufv/view

Hey, thanks for that, I’ll check it out tonight! What grade did you get using those notes and what board are you? Also are you triple science? Thanks :smile:

Reply 15

M-Holloway

9

@s.m999

Thought this might help:
https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5528284#primary_content

message me

OP

Original post by M-Holloway