A and A* students... Share your revision tips
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Here's my blog with my Top Ten Tips on Revising 
- I hope it helps! http://wiserevise.blogspot.co.uk/
- I hope it helps! http://wiserevise.blogspot.co.uk/honest to God, im just cramming because i never started early revision. i hope i pull it off
Original post by monica95
But I may drop the psychology or maths one, so I have just the A/S instead
I'm doing Psychology AS now and yes there is an unlimited amount of Case studies etc... however in the exam, you will only need to refer to two or three withing each topic mentioned.
There isn't much coursework, just a reasonable amount of note taking!
My Unit 1 for Psychology AS Level exam is tomorrow at 9:00AM so wish me luck :-)
Original post by monica95
Hi just wondering, (I'm still doing GCSEs at year 11 atm) but considering taking psychology, chemistry, biology and maths. Are u aspiring a career in medicine by the way? Because those a levels seem to suit it. Anyway! Do you find those 3 subjects alone overwhelming that you feel a fourth MATHS one would be too difficult? And how is psychology? Is it really hard? ..I've heard there's impossible amount of case studies and coursework 
Thanks
Thanks
No I'm not an aspiring medic, I just really like science. From what I believe (my dad is a medic) EVERYBODY applying for medicine has the bog standard Chem/Bio/Math/Psychology combination so if you have something different to separate yourself they like that like Chem/Bio/Maths and say a Language or English. Psychology isn't hard at all but it does require a lot of work and you should be careful not to neglect it because your others are hard
Original post by YB101
No I'm not an aspiring medic, I just really like science. From what I believe (my dad is a medic) EVERYBODY applying for medicine has the bog standard Chem/Bio/Math/Psychology combination so if you have something different to separate yourself they like that like Chem/Bio/Maths and say a Language or English. Psychology isn't hard at all but it does require a lot of work and you should be careful not to neglect it because your others are hard
Thanks, I'll remember that
I do like english but I feel it would be too hard for me at college standard. And in a way, pyschology involves a bit of english I've been told, due to writing lots of essays? :L Is that right? lolOriginal post by monica95
Thanks, I'll remember that I do like english but I feel it would be too hard for me at college standard. And in a way, pyschology involves a bit of english I've been told, due to writing lots of essays? :L Is that right? lol
I do like english but I feel it would be too hard for me at college standard. And in a way, pyschology involves a bit of english I've been told, due to writing lots of essays? :L Is that right? lolYes! It does at A2. I'm writing up 3 essays right this minute! AS though, not too many essays. A lot of writing and explaining studys and findings and such. If you are doing the AQA board you will be learning about attachment, studies and explanations for it. Memory aswell, the models or studys also. Then you learn about research methods which I think is really easy.
Gene Technology doesn't seem to be as bad as I had thought. It's ok to understand but the exam questions are confusing 
Will get it done by this weekend though.
Will get it done by this weekend though.
In case anyone still has exams, which I'm guessing are mostly over now, I would just like to punctuate the importance of past papers (where available) and practice questions. There is no faster way to attain understanding of the material. Also, check if there is a specification document on the exam board website so you can cover any particularly weak areas you are worried about. When I did A level Chemistry, I ignored most areas of the textbook and focused on areas I had difficulty remembering, and I usually found the best way to remember those was to summarise the key points and attempt over and over to repeat from memory. My advice mostly applies to Science A-levels.
Past papers are the key, and think of questions that you won't be able to answer in an exam and then work on answering it as it may come up. Also get other people to test your knowledge. Remember, exams are not remembering stuff but applying it
I am a C grade student. Which is due to my disability, it has affected me in many ways of my learning.
I disagree with most of the stuff that's been said on here.
I'll just say what I think of most of the stuff
Memorising is an absolutely essential part in life. I think it is one of the best and effective ways of doing anything. What do you think, do Martial Artists just practice like that and start fighting? No, years of hard work and memorising come into practice. I do agree you must and MUST revise early before your exam. I got 88/100 in my Science GSCE and that was just a C. Past Papers are good, but find the exact ones according to your exam board, It really helps. I wouldn't get random papers out as of yet.
And I think,the best way , if you're answering questions, really you should write answers which then improves your grade. You know what you are doing. You have a good way of answeing questions. Index cards are crap. So is listening to music. Use background music and nothing else. Use the internet for your revision as it is certainly one of the best places anyone can find to revise.
Index cards, postit notes, Bah! A utter disgrace. It is better to read the textbook as it contains the information. None of that works, you must pratice and read I have so much hatred against you A* and A students cause you people get it early preiditiced and you feel you are on top of the world. Your work is cut-easy for you lot. And I am stuck in the C grade. You know getting a C is a utter disgrace, shameful. I work hard for the exams and all I get are just Bs and Cs.
It just feels bad. You A* students will have no clue in what I'm saying. Why so? Because I'm comparing you to the Aristocrats, and we the commoners. What a company will do is accept all the A* students, remove the B and C grade students. Same with Collages, University and many other places. Remove the C grade and B grade students for they are too '' stupid and irresponsible.''
I am just saying how I feel with the A and A* students. They must understand how the B and the C grade students fell.
And I wrote this answer to a 10 mark History question, now would this be an A* star answer? You are the A* students, so you tell me. You are clearly after all, the Brains, the clever people, The Great Rulers of Society.
Which of the two uprisings do you think was the greater threat to the USSR? Explain your answer.
Hungary greatly raised a significant threat to the USSR. Nagy had been encouraged by the Austrian State Treaty of 1956 to become neutral. He also got rid of censorship, allowed free elections and got rid of Russian signs. He wanted to make Hungary a democracy and get rid of the Communist system which hadn't prospered at all in Hungary. Khrushchev allowed the reforms and withdrawed Soviet troops from the country. Nagy announced the leaving of Hungary from the Warsaw Pact. This was too much for Khrushchev however as it emerged fears that if Hungary left the Warsaw Pact, very soon other countries would soon demand to leave the Warsaw Pact. Therefore making the position of the USSR weak and it would crumble leading to an end of Soviet control in the Eastern Block, and that in turn, would leave it to be open for invasion. This was something Khrushchev, like Stalin , were determined to prevent. He ordered Soviet Troops to invade Hungary. There was fierce resistance, over 35,000 Hungarians died and four thousand executed. The rebellion was crushed in 5 days. Nagy was executed and replaced by Janos Kardar. It t took six months to crush the rebellion in whole. 200,000 Hungarians fled to Austria. It was shown as an warning to other countries to not test the strength of the USSR.
Czechoslovakia even caused a great threat to the USSR. Dubcek had been a loyal Communist but wanted to reform it, something he called '' Socialism with a Human face.'' This was because over the last 20 years, the Communist system hadn't worked as the Soviets would have hoped. Dubcek wanted to get rid of it. Therefore the uprising was done by intellectuals not people. They demanded free elections and a 2nd political party. He also got rid of censorship and put in freedom of the press. Which then began to print the truth about the Soviets which had been delivering propaganda for those 20 years. Political Commentary was now allowed grilling the communist politicians. He assured Brezhnev that he would not leave the Pact as Imre Nagy's Hungary had done. What was more disturbing for the Soviets was that the Czechs were willing to trade with the West and were now being influenced by them. They were greatly alarmed at this. They told the Czechs to reinstate censorship and Brezhnev was put under pressure under leaders like Ulbrict and Golmoka to resist the reforms. They feared that these Czech '' Ideas'' would weaken the Communist Block and therefore demanded the same things from the pact as Hungary had done. Brezhnev told Dubcek to get tighter control. For the Soviets, time had run out. They invaded Czechoslovakia. The Czech people were horrified. They had been loyal to the USSR and therefore were shocked at the invasion, they did not want to leave Communism , rather what they wanted was a tweak in how it was run. Only 47 Czechs including Dubcek were arrested. He was replaced by Gustáv Husák. This lead to the Brezhnev Doctrine. All countries in the Pact would have a one party state and it would remain Communist. If those rules were defied, the Soviets would intervene in.
In conclusion, the Prague Spring and both the Hungarian Uprising were of significant threats to the USSR, But the Prague spring raised more of a threat. Both Leaders wanted to have a more democratic country. Nagy with his ideal of a democractic country and Dubcek with his vision of a democratic communism. Both had uprisings but one was with force and one was with peaceful meanings. Both has also threatned the position of the USSR and the leader of the Warsaw Pact. And it showed the Soviets hadn't been strong as they'd hoped. It had almost lead to the crumble of the Warsaw Pact, had their reforms been allowed. Other countries demanded the same and the USSR would have crumbled. In conclusion, the Prague Spring was more sigificant as it showed the that the USSR wasn't that strong to deal with reforms and therefore resorted to force.
I disagree with most of the stuff that's been said on here.
I'll just say what I think of most of the stuff
Memorising is an absolutely essential part in life. I think it is one of the best and effective ways of doing anything. What do you think, do Martial Artists just practice like that and start fighting? No, years of hard work and memorising come into practice. I do agree you must and MUST revise early before your exam. I got 88/100 in my Science GSCE and that was just a C. Past Papers are good, but find the exact ones according to your exam board, It really helps. I wouldn't get random papers out as of yet.
And I think,the best way , if you're answering questions, really you should write answers which then improves your grade. You know what you are doing. You have a good way of answeing questions. Index cards are crap. So is listening to music. Use background music and nothing else. Use the internet for your revision as it is certainly one of the best places anyone can find to revise.
Index cards, postit notes, Bah! A utter disgrace. It is better to read the textbook as it contains the information. None of that works, you must pratice and read I have so much hatred against you A* and A students cause you people get it early preiditiced and you feel you are on top of the world. Your work is cut-easy for you lot. And I am stuck in the C grade. You know getting a C is a utter disgrace, shameful. I work hard for the exams and all I get are just Bs and Cs.
It just feels bad. You A* students will have no clue in what I'm saying. Why so? Because I'm comparing you to the Aristocrats, and we the commoners. What a company will do is accept all the A* students, remove the B and C grade students. Same with Collages, University and many other places. Remove the C grade and B grade students for they are too '' stupid and irresponsible.''
I am just saying how I feel with the A and A* students. They must understand how the B and the C grade students fell.
And I wrote this answer to a 10 mark History question, now would this be an A* star answer? You are the A* students, so you tell me. You are clearly after all, the Brains, the clever people, The Great Rulers of Society.
Which of the two uprisings do you think was the greater threat to the USSR? Explain your answer.
Hungary greatly raised a significant threat to the USSR. Nagy had been encouraged by the Austrian State Treaty of 1956 to become neutral. He also got rid of censorship, allowed free elections and got rid of Russian signs. He wanted to make Hungary a democracy and get rid of the Communist system which hadn't prospered at all in Hungary. Khrushchev allowed the reforms and withdrawed Soviet troops from the country. Nagy announced the leaving of Hungary from the Warsaw Pact. This was too much for Khrushchev however as it emerged fears that if Hungary left the Warsaw Pact, very soon other countries would soon demand to leave the Warsaw Pact. Therefore making the position of the USSR weak and it would crumble leading to an end of Soviet control in the Eastern Block, and that in turn, would leave it to be open for invasion. This was something Khrushchev, like Stalin , were determined to prevent. He ordered Soviet Troops to invade Hungary. There was fierce resistance, over 35,000 Hungarians died and four thousand executed. The rebellion was crushed in 5 days. Nagy was executed and replaced by Janos Kardar. It t took six months to crush the rebellion in whole. 200,000 Hungarians fled to Austria. It was shown as an warning to other countries to not test the strength of the USSR.
Czechoslovakia even caused a great threat to the USSR. Dubcek had been a loyal Communist but wanted to reform it, something he called '' Socialism with a Human face.'' This was because over the last 20 years, the Communist system hadn't worked as the Soviets would have hoped. Dubcek wanted to get rid of it. Therefore the uprising was done by intellectuals not people. They demanded free elections and a 2nd political party. He also got rid of censorship and put in freedom of the press. Which then began to print the truth about the Soviets which had been delivering propaganda for those 20 years. Political Commentary was now allowed grilling the communist politicians. He assured Brezhnev that he would not leave the Pact as Imre Nagy's Hungary had done. What was more disturbing for the Soviets was that the Czechs were willing to trade with the West and were now being influenced by them. They were greatly alarmed at this. They told the Czechs to reinstate censorship and Brezhnev was put under pressure under leaders like Ulbrict and Golmoka to resist the reforms. They feared that these Czech '' Ideas'' would weaken the Communist Block and therefore demanded the same things from the pact as Hungary had done. Brezhnev told Dubcek to get tighter control. For the Soviets, time had run out. They invaded Czechoslovakia. The Czech people were horrified. They had been loyal to the USSR and therefore were shocked at the invasion, they did not want to leave Communism , rather what they wanted was a tweak in how it was run. Only 47 Czechs including Dubcek were arrested. He was replaced by Gustáv Husák. This lead to the Brezhnev Doctrine. All countries in the Pact would have a one party state and it would remain Communist. If those rules were defied, the Soviets would intervene in.
In conclusion, the Prague Spring and both the Hungarian Uprising were of significant threats to the USSR, But the Prague spring raised more of a threat. Both Leaders wanted to have a more democratic country. Nagy with his ideal of a democractic country and Dubcek with his vision of a democratic communism. Both had uprisings but one was with force and one was with peaceful meanings. Both has also threatned the position of the USSR and the leader of the Warsaw Pact. And it showed the Soviets hadn't been strong as they'd hoped. It had almost lead to the crumble of the Warsaw Pact, had their reforms been allowed. Other countries demanded the same and the USSR would have crumbled. In conclusion, the Prague Spring was more sigificant as it showed the that the USSR wasn't that strong to deal with reforms and therefore resorted to force.
Original post by The Marshall
x
People like Sir Alan Sugar and Richard Branson didn't get A's, and look where they are now.
There are many graphic designers, fashion designers, nurses, techicians, teachers etc etc who didn't get A's.
Hating those who do well academically will not help you in any way, try to learn from it and be inspired instead of cursing it.
Good luck
Sleep for 10 hours or 6-7 if you have an exam the next day.
take lots of time to relax and not get stressed before an exam
Go mad on past papers and not only those, but mark schemes. I find it helps to check the website of the exam board I'm with - often they'll have specimen papers and resources I didn't even know existed. Also if you can, buy textbooks written by the exam board you're with and keep going over them. Use websites like "Quizlet" to keep things fresh. Get on with it!
Good luck!
Good luck!
i think what you could do is firstly do a test paper without revision and then look at the areas you get stuck on and revise that
make sure you look at past papers and markschemes
ask your teacher for model answers so you are able to see how to answer the question
look at the things you dont understand and use different sources because it helps to have a broader understanding on the topic
hope this helps!!
make sure you look at past papers and markschemes
ask your teacher for model answers so you are able to see how to answer the question
look at the things you dont understand and use different sources because it helps to have a broader understanding on the topic
hope this helps!!
Original post by Vanny17
I worked very hard for my As level exams but came out with very bad grades. I read during every break/ lunch and sometimes 4 hours straight. I worked through EVERY past papers, made revision notes, cut out on social life and always read before every new chapter. My teachers and students said I had potential to get AAAB grades. How come I messed up? Please tell me what I did wrong. Share your revision tips as well! Please. My subjects are biology, chemistry, Religious Studies and sociology. Thanks.
I make revision cards on every topic and simplify the subject matter. Then read each revision card outloud again and again and start closing my eyes and continuing to try and recite what I wrote without looking, if I forget again I go open my eyes refresh my memory and close my eyes and try again.
Do this until I have it all remembered perfect. Then I read the topic in the actual book again (in all its detail- which I left out in my simplified revision cards). Then go have a tea or go for a walk. Come back half an hour later and jot everything I remember down on plain piece of card. Cross reference what I remembered with the text see if I forgot anything.
happy revising!
Prevention:
Concentrate during lessons, and when you can't/don't read it later otherwise you'll never learn it. Revision is to rejog memory, not completely re-learn everything (which is bloody hard tbh)
Try and read over bits you've forgotten before the next lesson or just read over notes in general throughout the year so it sinks in (especially if you don't do January modules)
Cure:
Adjust it to how you work best. I know lots of people who re-write all their notes but tbh this isn't as helpful as people think. Work at what you're not good at/have gaps in knowledge.
Essay subjects: plan/practice essays will make you read over course content and take things thematically rather than remembering everything learnt in lessons.
Maths: Erm, practice. note down where you lost marks. Don't make the same mistakes again. Attempt questions you didn't get again in a few weeks and see if you've improved.
Try and set time targets, to complete certain sections by a date. and don't leave everything up to the week/day before the exam!
Mark Schemes and Examiners Reports are your friends.
Concentrate during lessons, and when you can't/don't read it later otherwise you'll never learn it. Revision is to rejog memory, not completely re-learn everything (which is bloody hard tbh)
Try and read over bits you've forgotten before the next lesson or just read over notes in general throughout the year so it sinks in (especially if you don't do January modules)
Cure:
Adjust it to how you work best. I know lots of people who re-write all their notes but tbh this isn't as helpful as people think. Work at what you're not good at/have gaps in knowledge.
Essay subjects: plan/practice essays will make you read over course content and take things thematically rather than remembering everything learnt in lessons.
Maths: Erm, practice. note down where you lost marks. Don't make the same mistakes again. Attempt questions you didn't get again in a few weeks and see if you've improved.
Try and set time targets, to complete certain sections by a date. and don't leave everything up to the week/day before the exam!
Mark Schemes and Examiners Reports are your friends.
I started revising for all my extremely hard exams about a month ago and at the time I knew it all very well (about a B standard) however I left it thinking i'd remember it all by the time I'd get to the exams AND NOW I CAN'T REMEMBER A THING!!
How can I retrieve all the information from my brain I know it's there somewhere!
How can I retrieve all the information from my brain
I know it's there somewhere!Original post by YB101
I started revising for all my extremely hard exams about a month ago and at the time I knew it all very well (about a B standard) however I left it thinking i'd remember it all by the time I'd get to the exams AND NOW I CAN'T REMEMBER A THING!!
How can I retrieve all the information from my brain I know it's there somewhere!
How can I retrieve all the information from my brain
I know it's there somewhere!Just go through all your notes and do some past papers
My checklist;
1. After studying a topic, spend a little time understanding the implications of the facts and what a potential exam question might be.
2. Regard revision as an integral, ongoing part of the course.
3. Practice past papers under examination conditions.
4. Organise your notes and other course materials as you obtain them.
5. Plan your revision carefully and include some time with your study group.
1. After studying a topic, spend a little time understanding the implications of the facts and what a potential exam question might be.
2. Regard revision as an integral, ongoing part of the course.
3. Practice past papers under examination conditions.
4. Organise your notes and other course materials as you obtain them.
5. Plan your revision carefully and include some time with your study group.
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