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CGP Books, Good Or Bad?
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I've had mixed reviews about them, i've got a CGP book for my A2 Business Studies (OCR Marketing Option) & people have said they are for people who are aiming at C grades.
I'm aiming to get an A in my business studies next year so i was wandering should i buy another revision book?
I'm aiming to get an A in my business studies next year so i was wandering should i buy another revision book?
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#2
I can only speak for the OCR Chemistry one - I didn't find it very useful. There was too much information crammed into the pages for my liking, it didn't really help me in anyway. I bought a different revision guide and found it much more useful, because it managed to break down each concept into simple points, making it easier to understand and remember. My friends stopped using the CGP books after a while as well, for the same reason.
Take a look at different revision guides and see which one suits you best. My local library had a couple of revision guides stacked in a corner.
Take a look at different revision guides and see which one suits you best. My local library had a couple of revision guides stacked in a corner.
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#3
Never use them solely for revision or as a official study textbook. 
I always find them helpful for when I have revised a topic and I can turn to a specfic page of the topic and it can summarise things for me. Also if there are important things missing, I just add to it with a pen. It never seems to contain enough information.. But yh, just add to it, so when your out and about, you can see the notes and even your own.
I always find them helpful for when I have revised a topic and I can turn to a specfic page of the topic and it can summarise things for me. Also if there are important things missing, I just add to it with a pen. It never seems to contain enough information.. But yh, just add to it, so when your out and about, you can see the notes and even your own.
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#6
My teacher swore by it for A Level Physics on AQA as the textbook went into too much detail apparently
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#7
(Original post by Angury)
I can only speak for the OCR Chemistry one - I didn't find it very useful. There was too much information crammed into the pages for my liking, it didn't really help me in anyway. I bought a different revision guide and found it much more useful, because it managed to break down each concept into simple points, making it easier to understand and remember. My friends stopped using the CGP books after a while as well, for the same reason.
I can only speak for the OCR Chemistry one - I didn't find it very useful. There was too much information crammed into the pages for my liking, it didn't really help me in anyway. I bought a different revision guide and found it much more useful, because it managed to break down each concept into simple points, making it easier to understand and remember. My friends stopped using the CGP books after a while as well, for the same reason.
; I did OCR Salters Chemistry, and used the CGP guide, and it was honestly the only reason I got an A - I can say that assuredly because I had a 30% attendance and I never looked at the textbook due to it being absolutely crammed with wordy paragraphs, explanations that didn't makes sense, and surplus info. The CGP guide seemed to have everything on the syllabus, and nothing more.That said, a CGP guide will need to be supplemented with practice - lot's of past papers and made up questions. It will also vary by subject. But yeah I wouldn't write them off completely, and definitely not when used in conjunction with other sources.
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#8
I almost only revised with them for GCSE, but I don't think they help at all with A Levels... I bought a Maths one for AS and it was pretty hopeless - there was way too much crammed together on a page!
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#9
(Original post by chloemo14)
See I completely disagree
; I did OCR Salters Chemistry, and used the CGP guide, and it was honestly the only reason I got an A - I can say that assuredly because I had a 30% attendance and I never looked at the textbook due to it being absolutely crammed with wordy paragraphs, explanations that didn't makes sense, and surplus info. The CGP guide seemed to have everything on the syllabus, and nothing more.
That said, a CGP guide will need to be supplemented with practice - lot's of past papers and made up questions. It will also vary by subject. But yeah I wouldn't write them off completely, and definitely not when used in conjunction with other sources.
See I completely disagree
; I did OCR Salters Chemistry, and used the CGP guide, and it was honestly the only reason I got an A - I can say that assuredly because I had a 30% attendance and I never looked at the textbook due to it being absolutely crammed with wordy paragraphs, explanations that didn't makes sense, and surplus info. The CGP guide seemed to have everything on the syllabus, and nothing more.That said, a CGP guide will need to be supplemented with practice - lot's of past papers and made up questions. It will also vary by subject. But yeah I wouldn't write them off completely, and definitely not when used in conjunction with other sources.
(Original post by CLARA_)
I almost only revised with them for GCSE, but I don't think they help at all with A Levels... I bought a Maths one for AS and it was pretty hopeless - there was way too much crammed together on a page!
I almost only revised with them for GCSE, but I don't think they help at all with A Levels... I bought a Maths one for AS and it was pretty hopeless - there was way too much crammed together on a page!
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#10
For my AS Level geography the CGP guide was the only thing I used for revision, and I came out with 94%, so I guess it depends alot on the subject and also what type of reviser you are... My main revision technique is reading the textbook a few times on the days leading up to exams, and then doing a couple of past papers to see what I need to read over again.
I would say the most important thing is just understanding what you are taught and not getting left behind, then when it comes to exams there won't be any topics you will have to learn from scratch, you can just refresh your memory.
I find most textbooks that are given out in class have far too much detail and using them can just complicate things.
I would say the most important thing is just understanding what you are taught and not getting left behind, then when it comes to exams there won't be any topics you will have to learn from scratch, you can just refresh your memory.
I find most textbooks that are given out in class have far too much detail and using them can just complicate things.
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Would there be any particular text book brands that anyone reccomends? I mean, i like the CGP books, i've just heard an awful lot of bad stuff about them... I agree with the fact that alot is crammed into one page for my syllabus, i may need to get a text book that has compacted it down a little, because i am good with the memory stuff, it's just in A level Business i need to learn to have excellent essay writing skills and be able to interpret the facts on the syllabus and anaylse, evaluate, and basically have a logical answer.
Is there any good books on essay writing or any revision book brands that help with the writing too?
Is there any good books on essay writing or any revision book brands that help with the writing too?
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#13
I use Cgp books for science and they are pretty good for revising what you've learnt. They're not good to study from thought therefore I advise you to get a textbook or something.
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#14
(Original post by sammey9091)
I've had mixed reviews about them, i've got a CGP book for my A2 Business Studies (OCR Marketing Option) & people have said they are for people who are aiming at C grades.
I'm aiming to get an A in my business studies next year so i was wandering should i buy another revision book?
I've had mixed reviews about them, i've got a CGP book for my A2 Business Studies (OCR Marketing Option) & people have said they are for people who are aiming at C grades.
I'm aiming to get an A in my business studies next year so i was wandering should i buy another revision book?
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#15
i hated the CGP books, i always felt there was too much crammed onto one page and i found i learnt better from books with more colour and they were pretty dull 
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#16
I'd say good at GCSE, bad at A level. I found they oversimplified concepts and ignored key elements that are intrinsic in solving harder problems (working at a C level is probably about right). Once you get to a level I'd recommend using a course textbook and making your own set of notes from there.
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#17
I used the CGP book for Science and got what I expected to get, so I guess it's OK. But I used one for History, and it didn't tell you a thing about exam technique or time management and I ended up messing up the most important part of the exam, and now I have to go and ask to resit it.
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#18
CGP are good for the basics but you can't soley rely on them for exam revision. The revision guides written by exam boards are by far the best I have ever used (if your with AQA they endorse there own revision guides for every subject they do). As they tell you exactly what they are looking for in the exam. They are more expensive than CGP but worth the investment.
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Thank you, i'm gonna try and track down an OCR Business Studies A2 book now! 
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#20
(Original post by sammey9091)
Thank you, i'm gonna try and track down an OCR Business Studies A2 book now!
Thank you, i'm gonna try and track down an OCR Business Studies A2 book now!
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