How useful is making your own revision material for GCSEs?

I have mocks in under 3 weeks and realistically I don't think I'll be able to make proper flashcards and revise them in that time (or I could, but I'd feel like I was wasting time).

Is it bad if I just use other people's notes and test myself on those? Or should I just make all the materials anyway? I theoretically could...I'm just not sure whether it'd be the best use of my time.

Thanks so much!

Reply 1

ESATprep

the process of making your revision notes is very effective for your improvement. You have to do hard thinking about how to structure your flashcards, what to include or exclude, and how to explain it in your revision. That is an underrated step in learning. If you can't or won't do those, studying someone else's notes is better than nothing. But at least try to edit or change those notes to better fit you. The more you do that, the more helpful those notes become.

Reply 2

LJMUStudentReps

Official Rep

Original post

by bunniastri

I have mocks in under 3 weeks and realistically I don't think I'll be able to make proper flashcards and revise them in that time (or I could, but I'd feel like I was wasting time).
Is it bad if I just use other people's notes and test myself on those? Or should I just make all the materials anyway? I theoretically could...I'm just not sure whether it'd be the best use of my time.
Thanks so much!

Hi,

If you feel you’d benefit from making your own active recall resources like flashcards or mind maps, that’s usually the best approach, as it helps you understand and remember the material better. I personally prefer doing that for myself.

However, if you’re short on time, it’s fine to use other people’s notes, just make sure you actively engage with them. As mentioned above, you can edit or summarise to make them your own, then work through topic-by-topic questions before moving on to past papers.

Hope this helps,

Tayba
Student Rep

Reply 3

Kingston Eve

Official Rep

Original post

by bunniastri

I have mocks in under 3 weeks and realistically I don't think I'll be able to make proper flashcards and revise them in that time (or I could, but I'd feel like I was wasting time).
Is it bad if I just use other people's notes and test myself on those? Or should I just make all the materials anyway? I theoretically could...I'm just not sure whether it'd be the best use of my time.
Thanks so much!

Hey @bunniastri,

Although creating my own revision material at GCSE helped me a lot in terms of content memorisation, it's important to make best use of the limited time you have. If you only have a few weeks to study for your mocks, focus on making revision materials for the topics you struggle most with and use external materials for the topics you feel confident in already.

Make sure to dedicate some of your revision time to completing past paper questions and improving your overall exam technique; learning content is important, but so is time management! 🙂

Best of luck for your mocks!
Eve (Kingston Rep).

Reply 4

Thala10

Original post

by bunniastri

I have mocks in under 3 weeks and realistically I don't think I'll be able to make proper flashcards and revise them in that time (or I could, but I'd feel like I was wasting time).
Is it bad if I just use other people's notes and test myself on those? Or should I just make all the materials anyway? I theoretically could...I'm just not sure whether it'd be the best use of my time.
Thanks so much!

Hello, I also have mocks in 3 weeks 😆 What I do is I mostly do exam questions and build up on my exam technique (using Save My Exams/PMT) and when I'm not doing exam questions, I read revision notes from either CGP Revision Guides, Save My Exams or PMT (BBC Bitesize is too basic) and then blurt out from memory. Note-taking I found out was a time-wasting process, as it just adds to your workload and doesn't really do anything but blurting (whether in the form of writing or talking) will most likely help and I am trying this now (hopefully it works for both of us!). Good luck for your mocks!

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