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CGP books for A level- good or bad?
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bobbricks
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#1
Would you recommend the CGP books for AS/A2 level?
I will be studying Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry.
If you think they are not helpful, the what other revision guides would you recommend instead?
Edit: A lot of you seem to be recommending textbooks- are there any particular ones you'd recommend?
Edit 2: I found out the exam boards for the subjects at the college I intend to go to in the future
--Edexcel for Maths, Further Maths and Physics
--OCR for Chemistry
I will be studying Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry.
If you think they are not helpful, the what other revision guides would you recommend instead?
Edit: A lot of you seem to be recommending textbooks- are there any particular ones you'd recommend?
Edit 2: I found out the exam boards for the subjects at the college I intend to go to in the future
--Edexcel for Maths, Further Maths and Physics
--OCR for Chemistry
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gdunne42
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#2
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#2
(Original post by bobbricks)
Would you recommend the CGP books for AS/A2 level?
I will be studying Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry.
If you think they are not helpful, the what other revision guides would you recommend instead?
Would you recommend the CGP books for AS/A2 level?
I will be studying Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry.
If you think they are not helpful, the what other revision guides would you recommend instead?
http://www.examsolutions.co.uk/
To do well in maths make sure you fully understand all of the content as you go and do lots of practice from your text book. I don't know anybody who can cram A level maths from a revision guide at the last minute.
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chelseafan
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#3
Yeah for those subjects don't get "reivision guides". They are too condensed. Get texbooks that cover the whole spec in detail.
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thegreenchildren
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#4
I used CGP revision guides along with the exam boards revision guides throughout the year for AS Maths, Biology and Chemistry. I got 3 A's and I thought that the books were very helpful.
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username942174
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#5
Really it depends on your exam board. The CGP books tend to cover a wide range of exam boards which complicates things. However they are nicely laid out with summarisation questions and some funny pics.
From my experience of CGP with CCEA Biology, Physics and Chemistry there is some good information in there but it beats around the bush for the most part. Though this may be less significant with more dominant exam boards like AQA, OCR or EDEXCEL. One example of something bad was the fact that a good chunk of the Medical Physics information which is in AS unit 2 in the CCEA syllabus was actually in the Physics A2 CGP revision guide. Which was slightly annoying.
IMO get an exam board specific revision guide/text book - I think Phillip Allan Updates do good student unit guides with most exam boards, they can be expensive at up to £11 a unit, however Amazon.co.uk does the best price on them - although again, look at other more exam board specific books as these are the only ones I know as they are one of the only CCEA guides. These will be way more beneficial to you, and they usually tell you some things the examiners looks for. Although before making that decision, make sure to check with people who were on different exam boards first and compare that to the exam board you will be on.
Also look into text books and such, though these can be big, bulky and expensive you can usually get them out of the library.
Hope this helps.
TL;DR Get an exam board specific revision guide - although ask people of different exam boards first to get a more clear cut answer.
From my experience of CGP with CCEA Biology, Physics and Chemistry there is some good information in there but it beats around the bush for the most part. Though this may be less significant with more dominant exam boards like AQA, OCR or EDEXCEL. One example of something bad was the fact that a good chunk of the Medical Physics information which is in AS unit 2 in the CCEA syllabus was actually in the Physics A2 CGP revision guide. Which was slightly annoying.
IMO get an exam board specific revision guide/text book - I think Phillip Allan Updates do good student unit guides with most exam boards, they can be expensive at up to £11 a unit, however Amazon.co.uk does the best price on them - although again, look at other more exam board specific books as these are the only ones I know as they are one of the only CCEA guides. These will be way more beneficial to you, and they usually tell you some things the examiners looks for. Although before making that decision, make sure to check with people who were on different exam boards first and compare that to the exam board you will be on.
Also look into text books and such, though these can be big, bulky and expensive you can usually get them out of the library.
Hope this helps.
TL;DR Get an exam board specific revision guide - although ask people of different exam boards first to get a more clear cut answer.
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samiwami
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#6
(Original post by bobbricks)
Would you recommend the CGP books for AS/A2 level?
I will be studying Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry.
If you think they are not helpful, the what other revision guides would you recommend instead?
Would you recommend the CGP books for AS/A2 level?
I will be studying Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry.
If you think they are not helpful, the what other revision guides would you recommend instead?
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Jam'
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I used CGP's Maths book and used it to teach myself as I ha to miss a lot of school for personal reasons and got an A* at A Level.
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crc290
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#8
They are good as revision guides but you shouldn't use them as textbooks. For the most part, they offer a condensed summary of the course and wont contain enough detail required for top grades.
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Zorg
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#9
(Original post by gdunne42)
I wouldn't recommend any revision guides for maths . . . a good syllabus specific text book combined with loads of past papers and this web site should be all you need
http://www.examsolutions.co.uk/
To do well in maths make sure you fully understand all of the content as you go and do lots of practice from your text book. I don't know anybody who can cram A level maths from a revision guide at the last minute.
I wouldn't recommend any revision guides for maths . . . a good syllabus specific text book combined with loads of past papers and this web site should be all you need
http://www.examsolutions.co.uk/
To do well in maths make sure you fully understand all of the content as you go and do lots of practice from your text book. I don't know anybody who can cram A level maths from a revision guide at the last minute.
Maths requires you understand all the principles and apply them. It's not about regurgitating facts.
For the sciences the CGP guides are good for an overview of what needs to be learnt, they do not carry enough detail though. Not for the top marks anyway.
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Minotauro
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#10
I found them to be a great help for the sciences, but with maths there is no alternative do just sitting own and doing a tonne of questions
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XO*
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•Ball•So•Hard•
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#12
(Original post by bobbricks)
Would you recommend the CGP books for AS/A2 level?
I will be studying Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry.
If you think they are not helpful, the what other revision guides would you recommend instead?
Would you recommend the CGP books for AS/A2 level?
I will be studying Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry.
If you think they are not helpful, the what other revision guides would you recommend instead?
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bobbricks
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#13
A lot of you seem to be recommending textbooks- are there any particular ones you'd recommend?
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QwertyG
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tpxvs
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#15
I wouldn't recommend any revision guides for maths/f.maths. Sticking to the textbooks provided by your school/college should be enough along with lots of past papers.
For the sciences, yeah they are useful. Just get hold of as many resources as possible, it wont ever teach you "wrong" things (unless there is the odd error here and there) so any info is good info. What would be better is an exam board specific revision guide. However, a combination of 2-3 revision guides along with the textbooks recommended by your exam board and lots of past papers and online resources (google the code of your exam eg. g495.. and concentrating in lessons/resources from teachers all combined should be more than sufficient. good luck.
For the sciences, yeah they are useful. Just get hold of as many resources as possible, it wont ever teach you "wrong" things (unless there is the odd error here and there) so any info is good info. What would be better is an exam board specific revision guide. However, a combination of 2-3 revision guides along with the textbooks recommended by your exam board and lots of past papers and online resources (google the code of your exam eg. g495.. and concentrating in lessons/resources from teachers all combined should be more than sufficient. good luck.
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Secret.
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#16
(Original post by bobbricks)
A lot of you seem to be recommending textbooks- are there any particular ones you'd recommend?
A lot of you seem to be recommending textbooks- are there any particular ones you'd recommend?
Get the Nelson Thornes/Collins ones specifically endorsed by your exam board
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cyn_purple
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#17
No, CGP books are great for understanding the basics but it's doesn't cover al the stuff you need to know.
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FunkeyMunkey
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Don't listen to people telling you not to use it. Its practically all I used for Biology and Chemistry and I got A's in them luckily. I didn't like the big text books because they have a lot of extra information that was not in the syllabus, but obviously you should use them from time to time. I loved my CGP books (edexcel) because they followed the syllabus to the exact! Seriously without them I would not have done well. I hope you know what I mean by syllabus btw, you go on the exam board website and you can print it
But don't use it for maths, it would be pretty useless, maths you just gotta use the regular text book and do lots of exam practice papers..!
But don't use it for maths, it would be pretty useless, maths you just gotta use the regular text book and do lots of exam practice papers..!
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WhiteEars
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#19
CGP books for Chemistry and Maths were a GODSEND! Not so sure about Physics - I hated that subject so I don't think it would have done anything for me.
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Zorg
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#20
(Original post by FunkeyMunkey)
Don't listen to people telling you not to use it. Its practically all I used for Biology and Chemistry and I got A's in them luckily. I didn't like the big text books because they have a lot of extra information that was not in the syllabus, but obviously you should use them from time to time. I loved my CGP books (edexcel) because they followed the syllabus to the exact! Seriously without them I would not have done well. I hope you know what I mean by syllabus btw, you go on the exam board website and you can print it
But don't use it for maths, it would be pretty useless, maths you just gotta use the regular text book and do lots of exam practice papers..!
Don't listen to people telling you not to use it. Its practically all I used for Biology and Chemistry and I got A's in them luckily. I didn't like the big text books because they have a lot of extra information that was not in the syllabus, but obviously you should use them from time to time. I loved my CGP books (edexcel) because they followed the syllabus to the exact! Seriously without them I would not have done well. I hope you know what I mean by syllabus btw, you go on the exam board website and you can print it
But don't use it for maths, it would be pretty useless, maths you just gotta use the regular text book and do lots of exam practice papers..!
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