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jessyjellytot14's strive for AAA

jessyjellytot14's AS journey

About me:
I'm currently in year 12 at sixth form studying Maths (Edexcel), Physics (AQA) and Psychology (AQA).
After finishing my GCSEs with results that I wasn't particularly proud of (lets just say I am a perfectionist who happens to be the Queen Of Laziness, and the laziness came back to bite me on results day), I realised that people weren't lying when they said that you will get out what you put in.
As a result, I am determined to get AAA this year. Hopefully this blog will help me to do exactly that, and motivate me (and others) to keep on track by doing even a little bit of work every day!

Spoiler

My December mock grades were:
Psychology- B
Physics- B
Maths (C1) - U
Chemistry- E ( After nagging my head of year for a month, I have now dropped this subject because I somehow grew to hate it and it was having a negative impact on my other subjects and my mental health)

Mock exam re-sits:
Physics - A
Maths (C1) - A

Easter Mock Exams:
Psychology: A

So, with the mocks behind me, I now need to learn from my mistakes which yet again are being too lazy and putting off revising! As for maths, I need to learn how to control my exam anxiety, but I'll have to wait until the next set of mocks until I can put that into practice!

My plans for this blog:
- Record what revision/homework/studying I do each day (I'm sure people will find this SO interesting!)
- Record what marks I get in past papers and class assessments, and write a list of where I lost marks so that I can use this to improve
- Talk about how I think class assessments and exams(!!!) went
- Include tips and advice on revision and exam technique, although this will be more for when exam season gets closer.

Between now (end of June) and next January when the 'Grow Your Grades' starts up again, i'll be continuing my journey on a separate blog so feel free to have a look at that if you are interested or would just like to read about my life (LOL) :wink:

https://anaspiringclinicalpsychologistsjourney.wordpress.com/

(edited 7 years ago)

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Reply 1

Kevin De Bruyne

Original post by jessyjellytot14

I'm currently in year 12 at sixth form studying maths (Edexcel), physics (AQA) and psychology (AQA).

Its kind of scary that exams are only about 3 and half months away and we are still being taught new content. Nevertheless, I am determined to get AAA this year. At the end of year 13, I am hoping to achieve at least A*AA, with the A* being in psychology.

My December mock grades were:

Psychology- B (Very disappointed with this, but I didn't link back to the questions enough)

Physics- B (I made so many silly mistakes and also flopped the waves questions)

Maths- U (I was so focused on getting an A that when I stumbled across a 7 mark question which I couldn't answer, I started panicking and then couldn't complete the rest of the paper properly. I actually did a re-sit today and hopefully I haven't dropped too many marks.)

Maths re-sit - Awaiting the result

Chemistry- E ( I did barely any revision for this as I realised half way through November that I have no interest in chemistry. After nagging my head of year for a month, I have now dropped it :biggrin:

)

So, with the mocks behind me, I now need to focus on getting my exam technique for each of my subjects "on point" as some people would say. I will try to post here at least once a week and update you with the grades I get in class assessments and past papers.

If you ever get stuck on a maths question, take a second to think about what topic it's asking you about, then what kind of question it is, then what information is given in the question. If there's still nothing, no harm in moving on and coming back to see if anything's changed - I still do this in my maths exams at uni!

Best of luck :h:

Reply 2

Mihael_Keehl

If I may offer advice.

In math exams esp GCE A Levels the best thing to do is when you are on a question, completely dedicate as much as you can on that question befroe you move on. Otherwise if you get stuck on more questions as you progress throguh the paper then you may get overwhelmeed.

Reply 3

jessyjellytot14

Friday 29/01/16

Today has definitely not been very productive. I think i'm coming down with something because i've felt exhausted all day and my head feels cloudy. My only lesson on Fridays is double psychology which isn't until after lunch so I had the whole morning free. I was planning on catching up with the physics lesson I missed on Tuesday but that didn't end up happening. After having dragged myself to sixth form, we learnt about Milgram's research into obedience in psychology, which was really interesting even though I was so tired. When I got home, I didn't do much studying but did three past exam questions on core 2 coordinate geometry for maths, as we have an assessment for it on Monday. I'll probably do another one later and do the rest throughout the weekend. The solomon worksheets are currently unavailable so I'll just have to make do with the questions in the textbook and Exam Solutions!

For this weekend, I need to do following:

Maths: Practice exam questions for core 2 chapter 4 for the assessment on Monday (high priority)
Maths: Use Exam Solutions to learn about the factor theorem so I can complete the homework booklet on chapter 1 (low key high priority)
Physics: Make notes on moments and answer the summary questions in the textbook because I missed the lesson (Medium priority)
Physics: Answer questions 7-10 in the electricity homework booklet (low priority lol )
Psychology: Revise what I have learnt so far in the memory topic and also go over research methods, because we have a test on Tuesday woooo :s-smilie:

(high priority ugh)

Reply 4

jessyjellytot14

Saturday 30/01/16

Wow, today I have actually been really productive despite feeling quite under the weather due to my cold. Oh the joys of having no social life! Its like my friends vanish off the planet whenever its not a weekday where we are required to be at sixth form. Or maybe I do...

Anyway, today I have completed:

Maths - Taught myself the rest of core 2 chapter 1 (the factor theorem and the remainder theorem) using exam solutions and answered two past exam questions on it.
Maths - Attempted to do four past exam questions for core 2 chapter 4 but I haven't fully completed them because my energy levels dropped as soon as I saw the complicated diagrams.
Psychology -. I made some flashcards on the main research studies for coding, capacity and duration of memory, as well as the key definitions
Physics - Taught myself about 'moments and torques' using my revision guide and textbook and answered the first summary question.
"There is not a moment to lose. The time for torquing is over". ~ CGP revision guide

Tomorrow, I'm planning on doing:
Maths - Answer four more core 2 chapter 4 exam questions
Maths- Answer three more core 2 chapter 1 exam questions in the homework booklet
Psychology: Make more flashcards for Memory. I'm not sure how much i'll cover yet, but i'll spend at least an hour on it

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 5

jessyjellytot14

Sunday 31/01/16

I haven't done much today apart from answering 3 more questions from my core 2 chapter 1 homework and making some more flashcards on Memory for psychology. Even though I have a test for core 2 chapter 4 tomorrow, I haven't done any revision for it today. Luckily though, the test isn't until period 6 and I have no lessons for period 1 or period 2 so i'm going to drag myself into sixth form in the early hours of the morning to revise for it. So tomorrow, besides going to lessons, I need to:

- Revise for core 2 chapter 4 test by doing past exam questions (To be done during periods 1 & 2 in the sixth form library #ThugLife )
- Revise for Tuesday's psychology test on memory & research methods. I still haven't finished making notes for memory yet though argh!! ( To be done in the evening)
- Answer the remaining four questions in the core 2 chapter 1 homework booklet (To be done in the evening)

I also need to answer a couple of questions on electricity for my physics homework but I'm going to do them tonight instead of tomorrow because I don't really hate myself :smile:

Reply 6

jessyjellytot14

Monday 01/02/16

Today didn't start off being as productive as I planned. Basically, I couldn't sleep for ages last night so when my alarm went off at 6:30 this morning I realllyyyy didn't feel like getting up, so I just slept in until 8 and then chilled until I actually had to leave the house to go to sixth form. So, as a result, I still didn't get any core 2 chapter 4 last minute revision done BUT I actually didn't find the test that bad. Unless I have made silly arithmetic mistakes, I don't see why I won't get at least 80%, although hopefully more.

Also, I got my core 1 mock re-sit result back and I got an A!!!!!!!!! :happy2:

I was only 1 mark into the A boundary though, but its still an A! Hopefully after having practiced as many papers as I can, I will be averaging at 95% or more when it comes to May.

When I got home from sixth form, I completed the rest of my core 2 chapter 1 homework booklet, answered some more questions out of my physics electricity workbook which are really confusing, and did some more psychology revision on memory because its the test tomorrow! :s-smilie:

I have a free period between break and lunch tomorrow so i'll do more revision for it then.
I doubt anyone is reading this but if you are, I hope you've had a good day!!

Reply 7

Kevin De Bruyne

Original post by jessyjellytot14

I have a free period between break and lunch tomorrow so i'll do more revision for it then.
I doubt anyone is reading this but if you are, I hope you've had a good day!!

Congrats on your A :tongue:

I hope you get the hang of confusing diagrams!

Flash clards are a great idea too :borat:

Reply 8

jessyjellytot14

Original post by SeanFM

Congrats on your A :tongue:

I hope you get the hang of confusing diagrams!

Flash clards are a great idea too :borat:

Thank you!! And I'm learning to decipher the confusing circle geometry diagrams- they didn't throw me off too much today! :smile:

Reply 9

Kevin De Bruyne

Original post by jessyjellytot14

Thank you!! And I'm learning to decipher the confusing circle geometry diagrams- they didn't throw me off too much today! :smile:

Oh wow, that's pretty good :h:

as circles can get pretty confusing. I like your avatar by the way :biggrin:

Reply 10

jamestg

Original post by jessyjellytot14

Thank you!! And I'm learning to decipher the confusing circle geometry diagrams- they didn't throw me off too much today! :smile:

CIRCLE GEOMETRY AKA ONE OF THE MOST DISGUSTING CHAPTERS OF AS MATHS

It makes me hate my guts lmao.

Congrats on your A and mock grades, even if you're slightly disappointed they're only mocks and they can act as a bridge to get to the grades you want :smile:

Reply 11

jessyjellytot14

Original post by SeanFM

Oh wow, that's pretty good :h:

as circles can get pretty confusing. I like your avatar by the way :biggrin:

Thanks, I like my avatar as well haha :tongue:

Reply 12

jessyjellytot14

Original post by jamestg

IKR!!! I find surds really disgusting as well tbh even though they're supposed to be the easiest part of core 1 :colonhash:

Reply 13

jessyjellytot14

Tuesday 02/02/16

Well today has been nice :smile:

In maths, we were answering questions on the factor and remainder theorem but i'd already completed all of the questions so I got told to have a look at chapter 2 and I answered some questions on the sine rule.
In physics, we learned about superconductivity which I have been taught since year 10 but I never seem to remember it. This time around I will have to though!
In my free period, I revised for the psychology test in the library using my notes and flash cards.
In double psychology, we did the test on memory and research methods for the first hour. I don't think i've done the best to my ability because I struggled to finish it all in the time we were given. Time management is something I need to work on with psychology... At the moment, it takes me about 25+ minutes to write a decent essay, but in the exam, I will only have 15< minutes to do so :s-smilie:

. I didn't even write a conclusion! Also, my wrist felt like it was about to die.
In physics, we learnt how to answer "2 support" questions on moments or whatever which I thought I understood, but when I tried to answer some questions out of the textbook later, they did not make any sense!

Therefore, tomorrow, I need to:
- Physics - Attempt the moments questions again
- Maths - Answer more questions on the sine rule
- Psychology - Answer the homework sheet we got given last week on conformity & obedience

Reply 14

Tank Girl

Hello @jessyjellytot14 :smile:

Great start to your blog! :woo:

Ergh! Timed essays are the worst...

Time management is something I need to work on with psychology... At the moment, it takes me about 25+ minutes to write a decent essay, but in the exam, I will only have 15< minutes to do so

What I find helpful is writing a plan first (which always seems counterproductive given the time constraint), but even spending a few minutes jotting down a few bullet points helps me keep focused.
Also, try not to be too clever, just get facts down, and an argument put across, no need wasting time with flowery language or clever sentence structure.

(And you just have to power through the wrist pain, I have no idea how to stop that!) :smile:

Spoiler

Reply 15

jessyjellytot14

Original post by Tank Girl

Hello @jessyjellytot14 :smile:

Great start to your blog! :woo:

Ergh! Timed essays are the worst...

What I find helpful is writing a plan first (which always seems counterproductive given the time constraint), but even spending a few minutes jotting down a few bullet points helps me keep focused.
Also, try not to be too clever, just get facts down, and an argument put across, no need wasting time with flowery language or clever sentence structure.

(And you just have to power through the wrist pain, I have no idea how to stop that!) :smile:

Spoiler

Thank you!!! :smile:

I used to always write plans during GCSE but for some reason I stopped when it came to AS level. I will definitely start getting into the habit of writing them again though!

Reply 16

jessyjellytot14

Wednesday 03/02/16

To say I've only had two lessons today and had lots of free time, I haven't really done that much work. I didn't do anything in my first two frees. After break, I had maths and we started chapter 5 of core 2 which is The Binomial Expansion. We started off learning the Pascal's triangle method which I found really confusing and all of the expanding and multiplying of terms you're expected to do is ludicrous! Although I understand the methodology of it now (after having watched the same ExamSolutions video like 5 times), I much prefer the idea of just sticking to the nCr method, which we are going to go over in tomorrow's lesson but I thought i'd give myself a head start to avoid confusion again. In my second maths lesson with the other teacher, we answered a booklet on the sine rule, the cosine rule and finding the area of non right-angled triangles. I wasn't as productive as I could have been because I had a really bad stomach ache.
Luckily I felt better in the evening, so I consolidated my understanding of using the nCr function for binomial expansions and attempted a mechanics questions on moments, but I got stuck on the second part and its getting late so I'll just carry on tomorrow.

Reply 17

jessyjellytot14

Thursday 04/02/16

Today has been quite unproductive but I think that's because I haven't been planning ahead much recently. However, I went into sixth form early this morning because apparently one of the senior staff wanted to have a meeting with me about my "future" but when I arrived, the office was empty. Typical! Nevertheless, I went into the library and practiced using the binomial expansion nCr function method for maths. In my maths lesson, we got taught exactly that, but I already knew how to do it. In physics, we answered more questions out of our electricity work book. Our teacher told us that we are all doing a re-sit of the mock exam next Tuesday, regardless of what grade we got in the original! Well, I know what i'll be doing at the weekend...

Anyway, my to do list for tomorrow is:
- Maths - Core 1 June 2010 past paper
- Physics - Revise for the mock re-sit

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 18

jessyjellytot14

Friday 05/02/16

Well, today has been sort of productive. In double psychology, we learnt about *fetches notebook to see what we learnt about* the social-psychological factors of obedience. So this is mainly about the agentic state where we believe ourselves to be acting for an authority figure, and the autonomous state where we are free to behave according to our own principles. In my free periods, I completed a Core 1 June 2010 past paper for maths and got 88% which isn't fab, but I made so many silly mistakes. These mistakes include:
. Not realising that the completed square can be used as an f(x) graph transformation.
. Forgetting to differentiate a term.
. Not realising that when you have a number in front of a pair of brackets, you can divide the other side of the equation by that number to get the bracket on its own. (It takes a genius to know this. That is my justification. :tongue:

)
. Not realising that all I needed to do to find a pair of coordinates was use the quadratic formula for the equation I had already worked out.

So basically, I didn't realise anything! I still need to do some physics revision but I really can't be bothered. I really have to though, if I want to get a decent grade in the mock re-sit. Arghh. I think i'll just go through the flashcards I made on the particles topic as I have designated today as the 'particles day'. Tomorrow is the 'quantum phenomena day' and Sunday is the 'waves day'.
Later on, I'm also going to find out all of my exam dates and write them down in my planner so I can hopefully start planning some hardcore revision soon.

Reply 19

jessyjellytot14

Saturday 06/02/16

I don't have much to update on today because I haven't really done much :colondollar:

. I've been putting off doing physics revision all day; the menacing pile of flash cards have just been intimidating me. I went through a few of them, but not as many as I should have. I have however drew out a grid that I will use nearer exam time, where I write in what grade I get for each past paper and colour code it pink, yellow or green depending on what percentage I get. I'll post a picture of it tomorrow. I want to start doing past paper questions for physics now, but we are still being taught the electronics and mechanics topics so I can't. *Sighhh* How am I actually supposed to revise for this physics mock resit?
Later on, I completed the Core 2 chapter 2 homework/assessment booklet which was just the sine rule, cosine rule and area of a triangle. Doing maths related things requires hardly any motivation for me because I actually enjoy doing it! I really wish I picked further maths instead of chemistry last September... because then I would still be doing 4 AS' now and the further maths modules look so interesting!

In order to make tomorrow more productive, I am going to:
- Maths - Finish exercise 5c in the Core 2 textbook on using the nCr function for binomial expansion
- Physics - Spend at least an hour revising for the mock resit, even if this involves making a gangsta rap about quantum phenomena
- Psychology - Finish writing up notes on how anxiety can affect eyewitness testimonies