Before you revise from any notes, worksheet or video, check five things:
- Who made it.
- Which code and year it targets.
- When it was last updated.
- What evidence it gives.
- Whether it matches your own syllabus.
This page gives you the checklist and a filled example.
A five-minute check can save a week of learning content that your exam does not ask for, or missing content that it does.
The checklist
Copy this table and fill one row per resource.
| Check | What to look for | Yes / No / Unknown | Where I found it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Author | A named person or organisation, with a way to tell who they are | ||
| Subject code | The exact four-digit code, not just “IGCSE Science” | ||
| Exam year | A stated year or range, for example “for exams in 2026 to 2028” | ||
| Date | A publication or last-reviewed date | ||
| Evidence | Worked reasoning, units and method shown, not bare answers | ||
| Match to my syllabus | Topics in the resource appear in my current syllabus content list |
Score it simply.
Five or six “Yes” answers means the resource is safe to use as a main source.
Three or four means use it as a second source. Fewer than three means treat it as unverified and do not rely on it alone.
How do I find my syllabus code and year?
- Ask the exam centre (usually your school’s exam officer) for the exact code and the series you are entered for.
- Open the Cambridge subject page for that code and find the syllabus for your exam year. Use the Cambridge IGCSE subject catalogue to find it.
- Write the code and year at the start of your notes.
The syllabus and exam-year navigator on this site helps you line these up. If the combination is unknown to it, it gives you a checking list rather than guessing. Registration and entry are between you and your centre.
Filled example
A student downloads a PDF called “IGCSE Chemistry Revision Notes” from a file-sharing page.
| Check | Finding | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Author | No name; uploaded by a username | No |
| Subject code | Footer says 0620 | Yes |
| Exam year | Not stated | Unknown |
| Date | “2019” on the cover | Yes |
| Evidence | Shows a worked titration calculation with units | Yes |
| Match to syllabus | Student compares the contents page with the current 0620 syllabus; most chapters match but the electrolysis section uses a different order and two terms are not in the current content list | Partly |
Verdict: 3 Yes, 1 Partly, 1 No, 1 Unknown. The resource is a second source. The student keeps the notes for the titration method, marks the two unmatched terms as “check with teacher”, and does not study the electrolysis section from this PDF.
Notice that the verdict is not “good” or “bad”. It says how to use the resource and what to verify.
Red flags to write down
- A promised grade, or a claim to be official with no link to Cambridge.
- A set of answers with no working.
- “Predicted papers”, which no one outside Cambridge can legitimately provide.
- Screenshots copied from a textbook or past paper with no acknowledgement.
- A code that does not match your entry, for example 0625 physics notes when you are entered for Combined Science 0653.
If a resource fails several checks, close it and go back to your class materials. Your Cambridge syllabus is always the reference point. Our subjects list shows where to start for each subject.
Next step
Record the verdict at the start of each resource you keep. When you use it for practice, log wrong answers in a mistake log, and check which skills a resource actually exercises using the formula and unit checklist for calculation work. More sheets are on the resources page.
Checking notes against the syllabus is easy to do wrongly alone. In an online one-to-one lesson, a teacher can go through your notes and past-paper sets with you and mark which sections belong to your current syllabus.