Just to add a little fuel to the fire...
The mnemonic that I was taught is 'BUMCOFFHHAC' for Brakes, Undercarriage, Mixture, Carb heat (hot), Oil temps/pressures, Fuel, Flaps, Hatches, Harnesses, Altitude, Carb head (cold). Usually done immediately after the downwind call (thought realistically, often during because of traffic).
When I first started this, I would break the checks up into the three pronounceable syllables, BUM, COFF and HHAC, pausing for a good lookout in between each. Its a good 'starter for 10' with the instructor around, but I found that as I did it more and more I would be doing the checks and looking out simultaneously.
llanfairpig, I bow to your vastly superior experience, but I do tend to think that it is easier for us student types to have boxes to tick at this point in our flying career. Your opinion that there should be less boxes to tick seems to be a valid one, but probably one to take up with the instructor community rather than confusing us poor students. At the early circuit stage of my training, if my instructor had told that one of the pre-landing steps was to open the door and jump out, I most likely would have complied
