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Should I start making notes for A-Levels?

I am in year 12 taking Maths further maths physics chemistry and chinese. I see how making in chinese will help me. But I dont really see why people would make notes for chemistry and physics other than definitions as people have books of notes which contain so much information. But I cant help but think that almost all of the information is included in the textbook.

When I made notes in GSCEs, I would write it down and never look at it again. How would I actually go about revising from notes because I feel these subjects rely more on practice.

Anyone who has had success making notes within STEM, please answer.
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AyyJeh
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Original post by One autumn leaf
I am in year 12 taking Maths further maths physics chemistry and chinese. I see how making in chinese will help me. But I dont really see why people would make notes for chemistry and physics other than definitions as people have books of notes which contain so much information. But I cant help but think that almost all of the information is included in the textbook.

When I made notes in GSCEs, I would write it down and never look at it again. How would I actually go about revising from notes because I feel these subjects rely more on practice.

Anyone who has had success making notes within STEM, please answer.

Writing down notes are good practice for going back over content and understanding what has been 'taught'. If you understand the teaching at the time, then I guess you don't need to worry and we all envy your ability to understand everything at first.

If thats the case, try past papers, example questions from textbooks or ask your teacher for extra questions. Some people find tackling questions with solutions is the best way to remember information (it works well for me as a 2nd year engineer at uni, so may work well for you in your STEM subjects)
Making notes is a great way of revising.
Blindly copying a book isn't overly useful (although it will have some stick) , but rewriting what you have read in your own words is extremely useful. It creates mental cues and awareness which in turn will aid in information recall.

For Biology I would: Read the block of information, Copy down what I had read in my own words to ensure I have understood it, Highlight the key words and then finally test my knowledge by answering a question on it.
Original post by One autumn leaf
I am in year 12 taking Maths further maths physics chemistry and chinese. I see how making in chinese will help me. But I dont really see why people would make notes for chemistry and physics other than definitions as people have books of notes which contain so much information. But I cant help but think that almost all of the information is included in the textbook.

When I made notes in GSCEs, I would write it down and never look at it again. How would I actually go about revising from notes because I feel these subjects rely more on practice.

Anyone who has had success making notes within STEM, please answer.

I tutor A-level maths, further maths, chemistry and physics, so I can tell you, without the slightest doubt, that taking notes in these subjects is a complete and utter waste of time. The textbooks almost always explain things clearly, and include examples. By far the best way to revise and consolidate your knowledge is by doing problems and past papers.

In fact, I really despise the way they teach STEM subjects at Dame Alice Owens School. From what I can see it looks like students spend between a third and a half of every lesson taking notes on stuff that is far better explained in the textbooks. What a criminal waste of valuable lesson time!

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