[luqman15]

Hey, I'm planning on getting a head start on my A levels but have no clues to what books are best to use; as i missed the new student starter day. So can anyone tell me what boks are great to buy to get As in:


Biology AQA


Chemistry AQA


Law AQA


Psychology AQA



Thanks the (public is great)

[jennifex]

Umm. CGP revision guides? Tbh I wouldn't worry, you'll have plenty of time in september. Just have a break over the summer! You'll probably just end up reading lots of things you don't need if you do self directed study before you've had any teaching.

[CJG21]

Head Start To AS ______ By CGP. Recap everything you may have forgotten from year 10/11 in the subjects.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Head-Start-C...ref=pd_sim_b_1

[Tortious]

(Original post by luqman15)
Hey, I'm planning on getting a head start on my A levels but have no clues to what books are best to use; as i missed the new student starter day. So can anyone tell me what boks are great to buy to get As in:

Law AQA

For Law, I can recommend the AS book by Liz Sherratt - it's very readable. Alternatively, there might be one written specifically for AQA, but I haven't used it.

I'd steer clear of anything by Jacqueline Martin since she's a practising barrister and tends to assume a level of knowledge which you won't have as a beginner. I've also found a few errors in her books.

[Dobrzynski]

Don't bother with head start books, just get the actual CGP revision guides. I'll do Biology, and I've ordered this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/AS-Level-Bio...2528991&sr=8-1

Amazon are doing a sale so your saving a few quid too. Just get others like this one for the rest of your subjects.

[CJG21]

(Original post by Dobrzynski)
Don't bother with head start books, just get the actual CGP revision guides. I'll do Biology, and I've ordered this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/AS-Level-Bio...2528991&sr=8-1

Amazon are doing a sale so your saving a few quid too. Just get others like this one for the rest of your subjects.

I don't think a revision guide is helpful for learning, only for recap of what you already know.

[Dobrzynski]

(Original post by CJG21)
I don't think a revision guide is helpful for learning, only for recap of what you already know.

You should just be doing a run through of the syllabus and getting a feel of the course. Teachers will teach you the things, and in revision time the book will be useful.

[luqman15]

Thanks for the helps and tips, any of you starting A levels

[CJG21]

(Original post by luqman15)
Thanks for the helps and tips, any of you starting A levels

I am. I'm doing chemistry and biology like you.

[TheHoodatron]

Which syllabus of AQA Psychology are you doing? If it's 'A' then I'd highly recommend studying from these textbooks:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Complete...2695310&sr=8-4

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Complete...2695299&sr=8-3

especially at A2 since there's a lot of material to cover, although it may depend on the quality of your lectures (mine involved very superficial coverage as they were relying on a lot of work outside of school.)

EDIT: These books are now outdated - the "Third Editions" have been published and you should get those because they will have the updated syllabus.

[luqman15]

Which websites would you guys recomened.

[journeyofeducation]

can you get cgp books for other subjects at A level? I've been looking and the only ones I've found are sciences, maths and psychology when I'm taking geography and french and english lit as other subjects too!

[A7d8i6l]

Buy the AQA endorsed books from either amazon or WHsmith.!!



This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

[The Polymath]

(Original post by A7d8i6l)
Buy the AQA endorsed books from either amazon or WHsmith.!!



This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App

Agreed, it's what most people do. They're not great textbooks but your teachers will probably follow them and you can always get a CGP/alternative revision guide closer to your exam. Tbh you don't even need to make a headstart. I would strongly recommend spending this time doing 'outside reading' instead.

During summer after year 11 I read loads of philosophy books, researched fields of interest etc. so that during sixth form I could develop those and make a very educated decision when it came to university choices. The further reading and development is so important for top universities - often not directly but also indirectly as it will make you more rounded and interesting. Sounds like a cliché, but it's where most people fall down for top unis - you always hear about people who got 20 A*s and didn't get an offer -it's because they didn't demonstrate real enthusiasm and didn't read around.

As for your A-level work, I don't see why you can't wait till September and then if you really want to keen it then over half term make polished notes like I did.

[LogicGoat]

(Original post by CJG21)
I don't think a revision guide is helpful for learning, only for recap of what you already know.

I completely disagree. I think the CGP revision guides are great for self teaching - explain everything in concise and simple terms but, contrary to popular belief, don't cut down on any information that's needed

[laura1234]

The CGP revision guides are really good as they do versions for each exam board. They won't teach you everything you need to know but will give you a good overview of key things you'll need to know, they're not particularly expensive. I don't think they're any more than about £8 on amazon. Other revision guides which are good are the ones the exam boards have written themselves, but they are normally split up into seperate units and can be more expensive. Revision express are good too but they cater for all exam boards so there are things in them that you don't need to know (it's clearly shown which pages are for which exam board though).

[laura1234]

(Original post by journeyofeducation)
can you get cgp books for other subjects at A level? I've been looking and the only ones I've found are sciences, maths and psychology when I'm taking geography and french and english lit as other subjects too!

You can get them for pretty much every A level subject imaginable. They should have them all on Amazon. You can 100% get them for english lit as I had one and it was really useful

[SophF_rth]

(Original post by Tortious)
I'd steer clear of anything by Jacqueline Martin since she's a practising barrister and tends to assume a level of knowledge which you won't have as a beginner. I've also found a few errors in her books.

Oh damn, I ordered a Jacqueline Martin book. Which came today!

[HighwayUnicorn]

Don't waste your money getting the major textbooks because you're school will give them to you in September. Just get CGP and skim over them. Also try and find the official revision books from the subject.

Also these books are really good for biology, I think they have them for chemistry too: http://www.amazon.co.uk/A-level-Biol...318453&sr=8-30

Find the ones for your unit.

[bruno10]

(Original post by TheHoodatron)
Which syllabus of AQA Psychology are you doing? If it's 'A' then I'd highly recommend studying from these textbooks:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Complete...2695310&sr=8-4

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Complete...2695299&sr=8-3

especially at A2 since there's a lot of material to cover, although it may depend on the quality of your lectures (mine involved very superficial coverage as they were relying on a lot of work outside of school.)

Hey, thanks for these links. Helped a ton!!