Is it worth making flashcards for a level bio and chem?

Basically the question. Currently a Year 12 student - haven't been making any flashcards since the start of the year so I'm already quite behind.

Reply 1

K1yon.p

I think making a few flashcards wont hurt, I too am a year 12 student and have been making them consistently since the start of the year! It has already saved me, I've had many exams already, each of which I did quite well due to my flashcards! But when making flashcards, yes use the textbook, but make sure to include as many exam styled questions as you can from pmt or something, and if there are some exam styled questions which you don't understand make sure to ask your teacher about them. Obviously flashcards aren't everyone's cup of tea, but I'm simply carrying on what I did for gcses which I found worked for me the best. You may find a different revision method works better for you!

Reply 2

username7297041

Original post by unsure-student

Basically the question. Currently a Year 12 student - haven't been making any flashcards since the start of the year so I'm already quite behind.

Oh, absolutely, because who doesn't want to spend hours making tiny cards when you could be, I don’t know, actually studying or living your life?
But honestly, flashcards can be a game-changer. Picture this: you, effortlessly aceing your exams because you invested a bit of time upfront. It's almost like the universe rewarding you for your diligence.
So yeah, dive into those flashcards. Embrace the joy of having stacks of paper all over your room. Future you will thank you while breezing through A-level Bio and Chem.

Reply 3

always-anxious

Original post by unsure-student

Basically the question. Currently a Year 12 student - haven't been making any flashcards since the start of the year so I'm already quite behind.

Yes flashcards are a great way to memorise content. It's my main revision method. You have time to catch up on making flashcards since you're in year 12 so no need to worry about being a bit behind :smile:

I'm in year 13 now and I'm grateful I made revision flashcards in year 12 because now I don't need to catch up with them now. Personally I prefer digital flashcards (like anki or quizlet) because a-level bio and chem are content heavy (I do bio not chem) so I find it useful to have all my flashcards online in one place but you may have different preferences. If you have any other questions feel free to let me know I'd be happy to answer :smile:

Reply 4

unsure-student

Original post by unsure-student

Basically the question. Currently a Year 12 student - haven't been making any flashcards since the start of the year so I'm already quite behind.

Thankyou to everyone for the responses 🙂 It seems like creating flashcards would be quite beneficial. The only thing is, I'm worried that it will take up a lot of my time when I could be doing some practice questions instead, and it's quite tiring if I'm being honest. I made flashcards for some of my subjects at gcses, but they were exhausting tbh, especially for science where I had like 200 flashcards each subject. But I'm also a bit of a perfectionist, so I like the safety of having flashcards to rely on. The textbook I have for bio right now is a bit outdated though (I do OCR) and our teacher recommended we don't use our textbooks for revision.

Does anyone have any ways of being more efficient at flashcard making? I've heard of people using anki

Reply 5

always-anxious

Original post by unsure-student

Thankyou to everyone for the responses 🙂 It seems like creating flashcards would be quite beneficial. The only thing is, I'm worried that it will take up a lot of my time when I could be doing some practice questions instead, and it's quite tiring if I'm being honest. I made flashcards for some of my subjects at gcses, but they were exhausting tbh, especially for science where I had like 200 flashcards each subject. But I'm also a bit of a perfectionist, so I like the safety of having flashcards to rely on. The textbook I have for bio right now is a bit outdated though (I do OCR) and our teacher recommended we don't use our textbooks for revision.
Does anyone have any ways of being more efficient at flashcard making? I've heard of people using anki

If you don't want to make your own flashcards, you can get shared decks which are flashcards other people have made. I know these are available on anki.

I use anki for my flashcards and it's very useful because it uses spaced repetition so you're not reviewing every single flashcard, just the ones that need reviewing.

To keep with flashcards I update my flashcards after each lesson where I learn new content. If you want to make your own flashcards it may be beneficial to start catching up on them now so you can get into a routine of updating them regularly sooner.

Doing a mix of practice questions and flashcards is useful because you're learning the content as well as learning how to apply the content. I find it useful to write the markscheme answers on flashcards as that ensures I'm learning exactly what the examiners are looking for.

Hope this helps :smile: