Of course you should do syllabus dot point notes. While there is a practical skill based component of the course (diagrams, algorithms etc.), there is also the theoretical component (social and ethical issues, development cycle and its components) which will probably take up most of your notes and does take up a fair chunk of the exam. On your first question, the syllabus is generally the same. What I would recommend to avoid doing questions which will no longer be tested is go through review all your notes then start doing the past papers, if you come across a question which you can't do because you haven't come across the content before, check the syllabus to see if it is still on there.
Btw what textbook are you using?
