The Big A-Level Tips thread! - - 2 pages of tips in first post

-Try your best in your coursework ALWAYS. It's one of the easiest things to do well in if you are willing to put in the work.
- Do pay attention in classes.
- English Lit- read the texts (although I knew people who didn't and still managed to get As
-Italian or any other language- Listen to foreign radio over the Internet, watch youtube clips in tha lang and read the news in that language. The more practice the better. If you can go to that country if your school offers trips or whatever. I went to Italy twice during my year and year 13 and my speaking and listening skills improved tremendously.
- Learn to master the exam technique in your subjects!
- If you're doing essay subjects (I did English Literature, Religious Studies and History) practice writing essays in timed conditions and then give them to your teacher to mark!
- Work hard in AS as it makes it easier for going into year 13
- If you don't get such great ASs resits are your answer! They can pay off tremendously and you can improve eg I have a friend who got a D in History As and moved up to a B. I know someone who moved up from a U in an English module to an A.
-Find out what revision method works for you early on. If you liked coloured revision cards in GCSE and they worked for you carry on using them!.
-Pukka Pads can be your best friend.
- Finally revisie as you see fit, just because someone else like revising a week before the exams it doesn't mean it'll work for you.
- Make sure you get along with your teachers, they'll be more willing to write you a lovely reference !
- Try not to neglect some subjects in favour of others which you prefer. I loved revising for History but revising for English made me feel physically sick but it had to be done!
-Ermm work hard! I found it a huge jump at first but I gradually got used to it.

Very helpful, thank-you . You made me laugh with the fact that revising for English made you feel physically sick! HAHAHAHA. I can totally empaphise with you there. At GCSE level English Literature I found revising for the subject boring.

Maths- If you don't understand something then ask straight away, because if not its most likely to lose you those crucial marks in the exam. Past papers and understanding how to do each question are the key to doing well in this topic in my opinion. Of course, you need to enjoy maths .
Biology- I found some parts were very very interesting e.g. biochemistry and others like evolution were so waffly and boring to revise as well. Stick to the specification and revise nothing outside of what you need for the exam. Go through each part of the specification and bullet point and learn what you need for the exam and you'll have a decent chance because there aren't many past papers in this subject.
Chemistry- If you understand each concept, and are willing to put in the work to remember all the different conditions for some reactions then you should do very well. Practicals can be either your worst enemy or best friend and theres not much preparation you can do for them. Again, I hated this at gcse, but I love it now .
History- I didn't realise how much work this needed. Make spider-diagrams, condense class notes and read around and link each topic. Most importantly perfect your essay technique, it took me ages to understand what was expected of me in this as its so different to what I was used to at gcse.

History- I didn't realise how much work this needed. Make spider-diagrams, condense class notes and read around and link each topic. Most importantly perfect your essay technique, it took me ages to understand what was expected of me in this as its so different to what I was used to at gcse.

Thanks for all the tips everyone, I've compacted them all in to a word document for reference/kick up the backside

It took a while (well actually it took AAAGES), but I've organised them all into the first post.
I'll be adding in pg3 when we reach pg4 (5 replies left)

Btw, anyone have any tips for Product Design? I'm kinda going into it blind next year and I don't really know what to expect! 0_o

I didn't take it personally but from what I heard it's alot harder than it looks because it's a very broad subject, so definitely not easy- think it'll be basically, don't get behind in the work as with most project based subjects

Oh noes, not another hard one xD
Sounds like all the subjects I've chosen are going to be really tough from what people have been telling me then (maths, fmaths, physics, chemistry & product design), for the next two years I'm going to be drowning in work!

Ouch, yep I would agree, you definitely haven't chosen 'soft' subjects. Can I ask why you chose Product Design when your other subjects are very exam based? At least if you keep the coursework under control throughout the year in PD it won't be too bad when it comes to revision, but you'll realise how much you can handle within the first couple of weeks so it's not a live or die choice right now