Consolidating content - revision method

Consolidating Content Guidance V2.mp4

Consolidating Notes Guide

Check out this video first!

The brief 5 minute video to the left explains to you why we consolidate notes and also what consolidating notes means!

Consolidating content means simply to combine a number of things into a more effective format

Other departments might call it 'reducing' or simply just 'note-taking'.

Some students luckily do not need to do this. They can be given a textbook with lots of information and just by reading that information they can retain it and apply it when being tested. If you are one of those students then this page is perhaps a waste of your time. However, this particular skill seems to be quite rare. After all, if for most people reading pages is all that it takes to learn effectively then there would be little point to having a teacher; we could all just teach ourselves.

Students study lots of subjects in school and finding a way to reduce all the information into something that is effective for them alone is crucial if they are to fulfil their potential.

Students in music have to routinely consolidate content for the particular topic they are covering and are then tested on that topic to see if their note-taking has worked.

They then go one step further and are made to complete single exam questions that are related to that topic they have made notes for.

Many students actually do not know how to consolidate information and they either just copy the information, reduce it too much that they learn very little from their notes or they even create notes that they do not understand when they look back much later on.

Hopefully the guide below and the examples will help students to do this effectively.

Key points when consolidating pages from the CGP Study Guide

  1. If you know it then don't make notes for it

  2. Detail is not necessary - as long as you can understand it when you read it

  3. Try to reduce the key sentences, points and explanations to approximately 5 words

  4. Aim for 1 page from the CGP book reduced into 1 page of notes in your small exercise theory book. You might even be able to reduce it to 1/2 a page in your theory book

  5. Pack your notes in tightly, ALL OVER THE PAGE. Use the margin, the header and you don't have to write in the usual left to right layout, instead try across the page, on every line, top to bottom, any format that you like.

Take a look at the example below....

Section 7 - Rhythms Of The World.pdf

Revision Summary Questions

So, think you've consolidated your notes well enough?

One way to check this is to answer the 'Revision Summary' questions which are on the last page for each CGP study guide topic. You can find the revision summary questions to each topic HERE. Note that you have to check your answers by checking the pages - there is no answer page for the revision summary questions.

Click HERE to be tested with the revision summary questions for each topic

Topic Tests

If you want a harder series of tests then click HERE for tests created by Mr Laviolette for each topic

You will need to email your answers to Mr Laviolette to be able to find the answers