Error Journal Revision Techniques

Techniques and routines for getting the most out of the error journal (src/errorJournal), using mdBook notes, Anki, and a whiteboard.

Tool roles

Each tool does one job it’s best at. Don’t make them overlap.

• mdBook notes = knowledge source (explanations, error journal, worked examples)
• Anki = retention tool (spaced retrieval of facts, formulas, definitions)
• Whiteboard = generation tool (testing whether you can reconstruct knowledge from nothing)

Revision methods

1. Error journal → targeted drills

   • Most errors are setup errors, not knowledge gaps (wrong distance from pivot, total length instead of extension, missing graph areas).
   • Convert each error into 3–5 similar practice questions and redo them cold a few days later.

2. Active recall with formula conditions, not just formulas

   • For each formula ($P=\rho gh$, $F=kx$, $F=\frac{\Delta p}{t}$), make cards that test what each variable means and what it excludes.
   • Example: Front: “In $F=kx$, what is $x$?” → Back: “Extension = final length − unstretched length. NOT total length.”

3. Spaced repetition

   • Revisit each topic at increasing intervals (1 day → 3 days → 1 week → 2 weeks). Anki handles this automatically.

4. “Read the question twice” protocol (command words)

   • Highlight command words (describe / explain / state / calculate) before writing anything.
   • For “describe energy transfers” questions, always write: X energy → Y energy, because [mechanism].

5. Blurting / brain dumps

   • Study the note, take it away, write everything you remember. Check against the note and mark gaps in red. Repeat until the red disappears.

6. Teach it back (Feynman technique)

   • Explain concepts aloud in simple language (e.g., why pond shape doesn’t affect pressure, why momentum sign conventions matter). If you can’t explain why, you haven’t consolidated it.

7. Diagram-first practice

   • For moments, mirrors, and speed–time graphs, always redraw the diagram and label distances/areas before calculating.

The integrated workflow

1. Notes → Anki (one direction only)

Mine mdBook notes for cards the same day you write or update them:

• One idea per card.
• Make cards out of your errors first. Each “why it’s wrong” line in the journal is basically a card already.
• Use image occlusion for diagrams (speed–time graphs, moment setups, ray diagrams).
• The mdBook stays the “long explanation” — the card only tests the atom. If a card keeps failing, go back to the note to understand, not to re-memorize.

2. Whiteboard for blurting + problem solving

Use the whiteboard at the start of a session, before opening notes:

1. Pick a topic from a “Topics to work on” heading.
2. Write everything you know from memory — formulas, conditions, the trap you fell into last time, a worked example.
3. Check against the mdBook note. Mark gaps in a different colour; photograph the board.
4. Anything missed → becomes (or updates) an Anki card.

Also do full past-paper questions on the whiteboard, timed, no notes — this catches the setup errors flashcards can’t.

3. mdBook as the living record

• After every past paper/mock, log errors in src/errorJournal with why it’s wrong reasoning.
• “Topics to work on” headings double as the session planner — prioritise topics that appear across multiple files.
• Optionally note which errors already have Anki coverage.

Weekly rhythm

The loop: test → journal error → card the atomic fact → blurt the topic on the whiteboard → repeat.