Is my revision method bad?

I just had an assembly in school about useful revision methods and such because we have our 2nd set of mocks when we come back. They talked about how highlighting and reading from a book is useless and ineffective but that's basically what I do. I recently found this method after my 1st mocks which were decent so I have no evidence that it works. I think it works well though. Imo most people try convince themselves that they're revising by making notes but then by the time they're done making all the notes, there's no time to practice.

What I do is find or get textbook PDFs of every subject (since textbooks teach and do basically everything with more details that revision guides (like how to answer, examples, etc.) and then find the specification/PLC for them. I only use textbooks and PDFs because most of my teachers are horrible so I have to teach myself things and because PDFs allow me to highlight, edit, add text etc on adobe acrobat. Anyways, I then look at the spec/PLC and highlight the things from there which is on the spec. This way, when I want to revise a topic, I go to the page and see the highlighted things, memorise them with my good memory and then quiz myself with the spec. After this, I do many exam questions provided by the textbooks and from online too. I think it's better as I can use what's already provided without having to make hundreds of notes and cards.

What do you think? Is this ineffective like the teachers say?

when I want to revise a topic, I go to the page and see the highlighted things, memorise them with my good memory and then quiz myself with the spec. After this, I do many exam questions provided by the textbooks and from online too. I think it's better as I can use what's already provided without having to make hundreds of notes and cards.

It sounds like it is working for you, and you sound like you're putting in a lot of effort. Keep it up

yes! this is what i do and it works for me. everyone is different, schools can give out the wrong information a lot of the time.

Honestly, your method sounds very systematic and if you prefer it who really cares. I think when teachers talk about the ineffectiveness of reading and highlighting, they’re talking about people passively reading the textbook, not taking anything in, and saying that’s enough.

I prefer to make summary notes, but that’s only because my class notes are disorganised and rewriting them in a clear and concise way helps me learn it. I also make flashcards based on the summary notes to test myself, but I don’t stress if I don’t have time to make them because the summary can be enough.

Revision, at the end of true day, only works if it’s tailored to you. There’s no right way to revise (hell, I know people who only skim the textbook before the exam and get a decent score - not suggesting this btw).

Good luck on your exams!!

Is this GCSE or A level? How many subjects are you doing?

It's great while your memory is strong enough -- at some point the amount of material you need to memorise may increase and your method may need modification(s).