What study techniques would A* students recommend that anyone could use?
The Student Room has plenty of members who have already sat their A-levels and walked out with at least one A* – and they've shared the habits that set them up for success.
Here are 58 tips from top students in our community that could help you get the grades you're after.
1. Practice is key
While it's important to spend time memorising all the information you'll need for an exam, you also need to make sure you put it into practice.
Taking past papers and looking at the answers should give you an insight into how the examiners will mark your work, so you can apply your knowledge in a way that will get you the most marks.
| Read more on The Uni Guide: how to use past exam papers to revise |
2. Get the examiners' reports
Examiners' reports are a great resource for sharpening your exam technique.
You can learn how to answer questions and what to avoid, straight from the people who will be assessing your work.
| Read more: how to study effectively for your exams |
3. Relate your subjects to everyday life
A good hack to make quotes or topics stick in your memory is to relate them to things from your everyday life.
So if you're struggling to remember the topic, you can jog your memory by thinking of the association instead.
4. Start early
Starting revision early should give you time to cover every subject at your own pace, which can set you up to feel confident and relaxed ahead of your exams.
| Read more: how to prepare for revision |
5. Practice as you go
Make sure you're feeling confident about your revision topic before you move onto the next one.
While you'll want to revisit the topic again soon, it's worth doing practice questions to see if you're ready to move on.
6. Break down your subject into ordered sections
The thought of tackling a big subject can be intimidating and it can be hard to know where to start.
It can help to break things down and give yourself a few small sections to focus on at a time.
7. Track your revision
Keeping tabs on how much you've revised for each subject should help you know what you need to focus on next.
It can also be motivating to see how much time you've already put in – you should feel like you're progressing.
8. Revise continually
It can be tricky to cover every topic while still returning to areas you've already covered, but it's a good way to make sure you remember everything.
One way to do this is to use flashcards to test your knowledge of topics you've recently covered. And you could do this between covering new topics.
9. Flashcards are lifesavers
Looking for a quick and easy way to test your knowledge? Flashcards could be the answer.
You can keep key concepts, quotes or definitions on the back and see how much you remember. It's worth coming back to them regularly and seeing where you slip up.
| Read more: ace your exams with these revision resources |
10. Enjoy yourself
It's important to have fun and carry on all your usual hobbies alongside revision.
It'll give you things to look forward to as well as time to relax. So when you get back to studying, you should feel recharged and productive.
11. Learn in layers
Rather than just learning the details, try to understand the logic behind the concept.
It can make the concept easier to remember, and you should be able to make your exam answers more convincing.
12. Learn typical question formats
Taking past papers can sharpen your exam technique and help you feel more confident about answering questions.
13. Use repetition
To make your revision stick in your memory, aim to come back to each concept regularly – especially for the areas you're feeling less confident about.
14. Use colour
It can get boring just reading notes over and over again, so aim to make your work more interesting.
Highlighters, sticky notes and flashcards can be great a way to freshen up your revision.
15. Look after yourself
Preparing for exams can be stressful, so don't forget to look after yourself.
Your revision should also be more productive if you're feeling healthy and energised.
16. Keep at it
Consistency is key for revision. Even if you feel like you've covered everything, start going through each topic again.
17. Revise everywhere
It can be refreshing to shake up the way you revise every now and then. You could watch revision videos (check out these YouTubers), make mind maps or stick colourful notes around the house.
| Read more: how do I revise when I'm really lazy? |
18. Motivate yourself
Knowing that you're working towards an end goal can help you stay focused during revision.
Thinking of the grades you'd like to get or the university you want to go to can be a great source of motivation.
19. Stay focused
If you're starting to lose focus with one subject, take a quick break and then work on a different topic instead.
This can help you stay productive – and you can revisit the first topic later on when you're ready.
20. Know your marker
Looking at mark schemes gives you a chance to understand what the examiner is looking for in your answers.
Even if you know the answer to the question, you still need to answer it in the right way to get the most marks.
21. Have clear aims
Setting yourself target grades can motivate you to put in some extra effort, especially if you think you can do better than your predicted grades.
22. Create a timetable
Following a revision timetable can help you stay consistent, focused and organised ahead of your exams.
By knowing what you'll be working on and when, you should feel confident that you can cover everything while still scheduling some time off too.
23. Eat!
Keeping some study snacks by your side can help you avoid getting distracted by the thought of food during your revision.
24. Take breaks
Taking regular breaks is one of the main things that can help to keep you motivated and focused during your revision.
You should feel recharged after spending some scheduled time away from the books.
25. Make it second nature
Some topics will come more naturally to you than others. For the ones that don't click straight away, you'll need to keep practising until you feel confident.
26. Learn model answers
Looking at answers that have gotten top marks in the past can help you learn how to structure your own answers for similar questions.
27. Master answering techniques
When you're taking past papers, the technique for answering questions is just as important as the information you're providing.
| Read more: can you predict exam questions? |
28. Practice makes perfect
Getting top grades is about knowing how to answer questions correctly, so it's worth taking as many past papers as possible and checking your answers against the mark scheme.
29. Check the syllabus
Check the syllabus for each exam you're taking and tick off each topic as you go over it in your revision.
That way, you'll be able easily track your progress while making sure you cover everything.
30. Use distillation
For essay-based subjects, write detailed plans and then re-write each paragraph as short prompts.
When you're in the exam, the paragraph prompts should be an easier way for you to remember and follow the structure of your original plan.
31. Make mind-maps
Rather than just sticking to class notes, try making mind maps or flashcards to test your memory in more creative ways.
| Read more: six amazing apps to help you revise |
32. Break it down into bite-sized chunks
It can be overwhelming to think of all the information you need to remember for your exams.
But breaking each subject down to individual topics and tackling them one at a time can make your revision more manageable.
33. Change your focus
In between taking past papers or writing notes, try listening to a revision podcast or watching videos to shift your focus while staying productive.
34. Revise smart
After you've finished revising a topic, give yourself a quick test to see what you've learned and what you still need to work on again before you move on.
35. Learn by topic
Timetables can be a great way to keep you organised and focused, but they're not for everyone.
Instead, you could work on a subject until you're ready to finish rather than timing yourself.
36. Create a Grow your Grades blog on TSR
Try sharing your revision progress on a Grow your Grades blog on The Student Room.
Regularly updating your blog can give you accountability and motivation to stay on top of your work.
37. Take your time
Cramming the week before an exam can quickly refresh your memory on each topic, but it can be a lot of pressure – especially if you feel underprepared.
Starting revision early and going at your own pace can be a good way to avoid extra stress.
38. Cram!
Going slow and steady with your revision should help you get prepared, but it's still worth cramming before an exam as well.
Cramming doesn't have to be unnecessary pressure – you can do it to refresh and test your memory before the exam.
39. Make sure you're actually revising
Don't worry if you're struggling to focus after a period of revision, just take a break and get back to it.
You should feel more productive once you're refreshed and ready to focus again.
40. Wake up early
Try waking up early and getting started on revision in the morning. This can be especially useful if you find yourself usually putting off revision as late as possible.
You'll get your work out of the way earlier so you can have time to yourself during the day, without feeling guilty that you haven't revised yet.
41. Find a quiet place to study
You can revise anywhere you feel comfortable, but you might find it easier to revise in a quiet environment – like your bedroom or the college library.
42. Don't revise with music
Revising with music can help you stay focused, but make sure you're not listening to something that will distract you.
If you think your favourite music might steal your attention during revision, try something without lyrics, like ambient or classical.
43. Get a good night's sleep!
A consistent sleep schedule should get you feeling refreshed and ready to revise or take an exam.
The occasional bad sleep during your revision period won't have much of an effect, but make sure you get an early night before an exam.
44. Predict the questions!
Once you've looked at the syllabus and know all the topics that could come up, think of the kind of questions that might be asked for each one.
45. Become a memory champ
Coming up with memory tricks can be useful shortcuts for remembering lots of information – like names, dates or quotes.
One way of doing this is the loci method. Think of a room in your house or a route you walk a lot and place the information you need to remember within that environment.
So you could associate a poster on your wall with a quote for an essay. When you think of the poster in your room, you might find it easier to remember the quote as well.
46. Take it in
Instead of just reading notes, try to rewrite them until the information sticks with you.
This can make it easier to recall the topics when you revisit them later on or when you're taking past papers.
47. Relax
Just like it's a good idea to timetable your revision, schedule plenty of time away from revision as well.
It'll give you time to absorb everything you've learned as well as making sure you don't burnout ahead of your exams.
48. Find what helps you
There are loads of different ways to revise, and some will feel more effective to you than others do.
So try a few different methods and see what works best. Maybe you like watching videos or flashcards more than going over your notes.
49. Use graphs
For visual learners, it could be worth making diagrams to memorise your work.
When you're in an exam, you might be able to picture the diagram to remember key concepts.
50. Don't panic!
While it's good to work towards goals like getting top grades or going to a specific university, try not to put extra pressure on yourself to achieve them.
51. Quality over quantity
Try not to overdo your revision – there's a chance you could burn out before your exams.
Instead, sticking to a manageable timetable can get you properly prepared for your exams – as long as you stay consistent.
52. Keep motivated
The idea of having to revise every day for a few months might not be great, but it could be worth it in the long run.
And it short be rewarding to know that you've done something hard, especially if you get the grades you wanted.
53. Remove distractions
One of the hardest things about staying focused is managing distractions, especially social media.
If you're constantly tempted to check your phone during revision, it might be worth leaving it in another room until your next scheduled break.
54. Stay active
Exercising can help to take your mind off revision, while also keeping you active alongside long periods of sitting down.
55. Reread your old essays
For essay-based subjects, take a look at your previous work and see where you got the most marks as well as where you could have improved.
Sharpening your essay-writing techniques should help you make the most of all the quotes and information you're remembering for your exam.
56. Take note(s)
Revision doesn't need to be complicated, it can be as simple as reading your notes and rewriting them.
57. Take an interest
A genuine interest in the subject you're studying should make revision feel like less of a chore, which could help you put extra effort in.
58. Understand
There's a lot of information you need to absorb when you're preparing for exams, but make sure you understand each topic properly before you move on.
