Students who got A*s at A-level explain study, learning and revision tips that everyone can follow

This is our longest list of revision tips yet, and they all come from The Student Room members who have already sat their A-levels and walked out with at least one A*. 

These 58 easy-to-use tips will help you to maximise your revision, whether you're studying maths and science subjects or English, history and other essay-based subjects.

Dip in and take what feels useful. Good luck in your exams!

"Getting your hands on past paper questions and answers is very important. You're able to make connections between different areas of the syllabus. This is very important when it comes to A/A* questions. 

"So put down those revision cards and mind-maps once you've learned them. There's no point going over something a million times – you need to practise using it.

At least two weeks before exams, start concentrating on past papers. Do each one at least twice. With each one, trawl through the mark scheme and ensure you understand everything there. This gives you a better idea of how to think through an exam question. 

"I rarely just know the answer, I have to think about it and work it out in the harder questions. That's what you need to be able to do to get the high grades."

– dmccririck

Read more: how to use past papers to ace your exams

"I studied three essay subjects. All required some form of factual memory, but I essentially focused on revising exam technique rather than the actual knowledge. If you are studying sciences, maths, anything that you can't make up during the exam, then the following may well be useless to you.

"But my big, big number-one gold-star neon-sign advice that I would give to everyone (and I genuinely believe is the only reason I got my A* in English Language) is read the examiners' reports. Then read them again. 

"What baffles me is that, year upon year, the exam boards make public a document that is – wait for it –written by the people who are going to mark your papers. And in it, they tell you what they like to read. They also give you examples of what not to do. 

"Exam-technique wise, this is essentially the most useful and important resource you have. Utilise it. Be all fancy and print them off and highlight key points and make spider diagrams. Stick them on your fridge. Memorise them then eat the paper. Whatever.

Just make sure, if you're doing an essay subject, you walk into that exam knowing that, for the last five years in a row, examiners have given high marks to pupils who offer criticisms to viewpoints, or who relate to personal research, or whatever. 

"Yes it's learning for the test which opens a whole pedagogical can of worms, but c'est la vie. These exams are important so ignore your own educational philosophy and learn to please the Higher Powers (examiners)."

– thompsonic7

Read more: how to study effectively for your exams

"This may sound crazy, but it works. My best friend and I were both studying Tess of the d'Urbervilles in English lit and had to learn as many quotes as possible from the book for the exam. To revise-without-revising, we would teach each other relating our conversation to the book. 

"Example:
Her: I'm so hungry, now I know how Tess felt when at Flintcomb-Ash with nothing but hard root veg.
Me: Ugh same, when will my Alec (pizza) return from Brazil (the oven).

"And so on. Try to make it funny. You're socialising, you're learning, you aren't bored. It's win win."

– thompsonic7

"It might sound clichéd (I'm sure all teachers say it) but there's nothing worse than the feeling of panic and stress created by trying to cram revision.

If you start weeks in advance you'll get a good pace and it means you can go to teachers for help on topics you don't quite get.

I started very gentle revision (making notes) around late March/early April time for my June exams."

– britchick

Read more: how to prepare for revision

"It's a good idea to do practice questions on topics as you go along with your revision, rather than do a bunch of them at the end of revision.

You might have interpreted something wrong when revising, or not quite nailed exam technique, so save half of the papers for 'going along' with revision and half to test your knowledge by the end, so you know where to go back and what to revise more."

– britchick

"Breaking down the exam into lots of little sections makes revision less daunting, and you'll know exactly where you stand in terms of how much you've done.

"For my exams I broke down a module into 20 sections or topics and so it didn't seem like much of a chore to start the next one, as they didn't last long. Then, before I knew it, I'd whizzed through the module without it being much work."

– britchick

"I'm not one for making and sticking to timetables, but I found this actually really worked.

I drew up a table in Excel and had columns for subject, date, topic, number of hours studied, cumulative number of hours studied for that subject and next topic to revise.

I even colour-coded each subject so I could see how much I had done for each, at a glance.

The benefit of doing this was that I could directly compare the number of hours I'd spent revising one subject to another, and which one I should spend longer on.

Of course, some subjects may require more hours of revision than others, but I found this to be a good guide."

– britchick

Read more: the revision timetable you'll actually stick to

"Don't leave it a few weeks before an exam.

Revise the stuff you're learning as you learn it. Go home from school and make flashcards and posters and so on.

That way, when you come to the exam period, you already know most of it and it's just brushing up on final details.

Don't frantically cram for an exam. There's no point – it won't go in."

– DavidMRoper

Read more: 18 procrastination-busting tips to stop stalling your revision

"Get a question wrong? Flashcard it, and then test yourself later on.

This is useful for when you're constantly forgetting definitions and stuff like that. This was my preferred choice at A-level."

– DavidMRoper

Read more: ace your exams with these revision resources

"When I was revising for my A-levels, I went to the cinema, played sport and did lots of other things to benefit revision.

Why? Because when something funny or enjoyable happens, you tend to remember the stuff that happens around it.

I remember how an MRI machine works because my cat fell down the stairs while I was learning it! Use colours, use music – experiment with it."

– DavidMRoper

"Learn the principle behind something, and not just the facts.

Get a general understanding of the topic first without trying to get all the details first time round.

Plan to cover all the material three times, with each time adding slightly more detail, and you'll pick it up in no time."

– DavidMRoper

"It's no good memorising a ton of facts if you're not going to be able to answer the question correctly.

Exam boards use similar styles of questions every year and therefore past papers will get you best prepared."

– joshgoldman

"If you spend an evening learning something don't leave it and come back to it in several weeks.

Look over it again briefly the next day, then again in three days, then again in a week, two weeks and so on."

– Alkain1607

"Lots of colour helps liven up notes and makes them look more interesting."

– Alkain1607

"Don't fret over the exam, make sure you get a normal amount of sleep – and eat healthily, too."

– Alkain1607

Read more: here's our guide to dealing with exam and revision stress

"I did science A-levels and for me the key thing was just to do as many past papers as I could get my hands on.

If I'd done them all and still couldn't answer every question, then I'd go and do them all again."

– E13

"I'm quite lazy and don't like writing revision notes.

But for formulae I had to learn I'd write them on bits of paper and stick them on the bathroom mirror, or indeed any bit of wall that I'd be likely to be standing in front of."

– E13

Read more: how do I revise when I'm really lazy?

"I stuck a picture of Trinity Hall (from where I'd got an offer) in front of my desk to motivate me to actually do some work."

– E13

"If I got fed up with one subject, I'd procrastinate by studying something else, instead of doing nothing at all."

– E13

"The strategy that helped me most was to completely familiarise myself with mark schemes.

That way, you become familiar with terms that examiners look for and can instantly remember key words when you come across a related question."

– thenumber2goose

"I have set the grades I’m aiming for – these push me to work harder than the school’s target grades, especially as I have some low target grades."

– Mr. Macky

"The best thing my mum ever did for me was make me set up a revision timetable.

I wrote out every topic within every subject I needed to revise then guesstimated how many sessions of 50 minutes I would need to revise that topic.

I then put this into a timetable so when it came down to revising I would not spend ages just flicking through any book finding something to revise but would know exactly what area I was to cover in that time period."

– strawberryjellybaby

"Get someone to bring you snacks so you don't have the distraction of continually taking breaks in search of food."

– strawberryjellybaby

"Don't confine yourself to study all day.

Take a break of around 10-15 minutes every hour, where you go chat to family or watch TV so when you sit down for the next session your head is clear of what you previously studied and you are ready to move on."

– strawberryjellybaby

Read more: five revision myths that will stop you getting top grades

"For maths: practise, practise, practise and practise until you can factorise, integrate, differentiate in your sleep, until you become unconsciously competent.

Do not be afraid to try out STEP, AEA or British Olympiad level questions (of course, not IMO level as that's way beyond most A-level students' level).

"Good starters are the Euclid Maths Competition and Australian Maths Competition). These competition questions may seem beyond the scope of A-levels but they train you to think out of the box."

– hotheadhacker

"For biology, practise past years after you have a good grasp of the course content. Learn from the model answers to see what examiners want. If you're lucky, you might get a repeat."

– hotheadhacker

"For physics, practise past years as well. Learn the answering techniques from past years.

The calculations required for physics are simple, just be careful. I cannot over-emphasise the importance of past years, as styles might be similar."

– hotheadhacker

Read more: can you predict exam questions? 

"At A-level you gain the A* grade not necessarily on your knowledge but on your ability to answer the exam questions perfectly. Do all the past papers and exam style questions from previous years that you can find: twice or thrice each."

– foolscap

"If you're unsure what will come up in an exam, get a copy of the syllabus off the internet and literally tick off every single thing on the list."

– foolscap

30. Use distillation

"I got A*s in two essay subjects, so for me it was lots of writing. I wrote very detailed plans, and every time I rewrote them I reduced the amount of detail. Eventually it was just basic prompts. I'd then try to write the essays from memory and check it against the essay plans."

– TitchTheAntiHero

31. Make mindmaps

"I personally found it helpful to create a large number of massive posters/family trees of historical figures, colourful mindmaps, and so on, and plaster them all over my family dining room (where I study) so I was surrounded by my work."

– robynm93

Read more: six amazing apps to help you revise

32. Break it down into bite-sized chunks

"I also found it useful to stick small pieces of information (law cases) all over my room so that, as I was going about daily tasks, I would read small snippets of information."

– robynm93

33. Change your focus

"I tried to break up my work by listening to podcasts from Radio 4 and elsewhere. I personally found the 'In Our Time' program useful for my classics paper on Augustus."

– robynm93

34. Revise smart

"There's no point reading a textbook for eight hours a day if you don't take anything in. Use revision guides, close the book and recall the information, write down notes, use memory techniques and – most importantly – do past papers."

– RobertWhite

35. Learn by topic

"I don't recommend timing yourself, you'll typically not concentrate as much. You'll be under a false impression at the end of the allocated time that you actually did something.

Instead I recommend setting yourself a specific topic or subject to learn, and to finish once you've done it. Timetables work for some people, but I personally hate them."

– RobertWhite

36. Create a Grow your Grades blog on TSR

“I finally decided to create [a Grow your Grades] blog because I wanted to keep a track of my progress and decided sharing it with the community here would be a good idea because I could get awesome advice from some of the nerdy people here!"

– y.u.mad.bro?

Read more: how to join Grow your Grades (and why you should)

"Set yourself plenty of time to revise. Stress causes some people to work harder (I tend to) but for others it causes them to work less, get stressed out and distract themselves through seeing friends, watching TV or writing pointless revision timetables."

– RobertWhite

38. Do cram, it works

"This doesn't mean you shouldn't revise properly, but when it gets near the exam, cram as much as you can, write down the information without looking at a book. It has been proven to work for passing exams."

– RobertWhite

Read more: seven things to do the night before and morning of an exam

39. When you revise make sure you're actually revising

"There's no point staring at a book doing nothing; if you find you've stopped concentrating, get up, have a drink and a bite to eat, do some exercise (I had a skipping rope) and then get back to revision."

– RobertWhite

40. Wake up early

"This way you'll still have lots of the day to look forward to! You are also able to learn and concentrate for longer periods in the morning, so make sure you use it!"

– RobertWhite

41. Find a quiet place to study

"It could be your room, your garden, the library, wherever. Make sure you have a peaceful setting (I like to revise in my garden)."

– RobertWhite

42. Don't revise with music

"Classical music is fine, but if you listen to music you're familiar with you might as well not revise. It may help you stay concentrated, but you will not learn as much. It's better to ball yourself through revision than spend double the time doing the same thing while listening to music."

– RobertWhite

43. Get a good night's sleep!

"You will not be able to revise as effectively without this."

– RobertWhite

"Don't limit yourself to revising for those questions, but it is likely at least one of them will come up. For one of my exams ALL of my predictions came up."

– RobertWhite

45. Become a memory champ

"Use the method of loci! Especially in exams where you're meant to remember many names/research. In a psychology/law exam I can remember hundreds of names with some effort the week beforehand. It takes time to get used to the technique but it's well worth it in the end. This is the technique memory champions use in competitions."

– RobertWhite

46. Take it in

"Read a paragraph and write it out from memory after. I NEVER moved on until I memorised everything from that paragraph."

– 05kubann

47. Relax

"A chilled-out revision atmosphere helped me. I started revising a month before the exam, doing a small amount each day. During the last week, I simply did a 30-minute session then listened to some music or watched TV for about 15 minutes. Then I went back to revision."

– 05kubann

Read more: seven things to do in the last week before an exam

48. Find what helps you

"I wrote up all my notes on the computer as I can't revise from my own handwriting. It doesn't seem real and I can't remember the information."

– 05kubann

49. Use graphs

"Sometimes diagrams help you remember more as you can visualise it in the exam."

– 05kubann

50. Don't panic! 

"I just said to myself, if I don't get all As and don't get into Birmingham, I will simply go to my second choice and still enjoy myself because I will still be going to study the subject I want. Don't let any university status put you down - everywhere's good. You just need to put in the effort to succeed."

– 05kubann

"Think of the freedom that one has if you work hard and get the grades to go to your firm university."

– tehforum

52. Keep motivated

"Think of short term losses in terms of getting up and working for eight hours a day, then the long term gains associated with getting A*s. Employers will probably take notice of them at some point, especially for meritocracies such as law."

– tehforum

53. Re-read your notes to remember everything

"Even if you think you know it, re-read it again."

– tehforum

54. Practise specifics

"For Spanish I did LOTS and LOTS of grammar practice online and in grammar books I'd bought. I learned vocab and I also made notes of what I would say if certain questions came up in the speaking exam to do with my culture topics and practised them."

– S_123

55. Reread your old essays

"For English I wrote down quotes on note cards and tried to learn as many as possible: there are some that can be applied for many different themes. I read through lots of my previous essays and other essays. I read up on general themes and practised essays. I also reread all my texts which I think was very useful."

– S_123

56. Take note(s)

"For geography I just made notes and learnt them as much as possible. I don't think there's much of a system with geography revision. It's pretty much take notes and learn them. I found a lot of the stuff I learned in geography interesting though so I could remember a lot of the things I'd written in pieces of homework almost a year before."

– S_123

57. Take an interest

"My best advice to anyone is to take subjects you are genuinely interested in. What helped me get A*s in maths, physics and biology was the fact that the topics we discussed were genuinely fascinating. That made me pay attention in class and remember the material."

– theandyguthrie

58. Understand

"The key to learning is understanding, not cramming. I didn't do loads of intense revision, but I would often find myself making links in my head to help me solve problems in the future."

– theandyguthrie

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