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Is it just me or are the AS marks really harsh this year?

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I got BCDD at AS and came out with A*AB at the end of A2 after resitting some AS modules. Dont underestimate yourselves. You're ALL capable of getting amazing grades
Reply 481
Avatar for anil1
anil1
11
Original post by Smko
Hey guys just wanted some advice :smile:
In History I got a B overall (Really happy) but in one exam I got an A and the other I got a C... I'm 4 ums off an A overall, do you think it's worth getting a remark in the paper I got a C in? (Thought I had done better in that paper tbh ) .

In History do remarks usually go up? :smile:


This is my EXACT situation for Sociology! Somehow, I got a C in my June examination. I think i'm going to go for broke and get it remarked.
Original post by 24hoursmiles
OCR, you?

I did OCR history as well and somehow managed to get a D in the source paper 55/100 ( i did germany btw) history A, which dragged my grade down :frown: I think Ocr marked it harshly.
Reply 483
Avatar for Smko
Smko
Original post by theblackreaper
I did OCR history as well and somehow managed to get a D in the source paper 55/100 ( i did germany btw) history A, which dragged my grade down :frown: I think Ocr marked it harshly.


hey My germany source dragged me down too.. :s-smilie:
I doubt that the marking has been exceptionally harsh this year. But if it makes you feel any better about your marks...
Original post by Ben Kenobi
I doubt that the marking has been exceptionally harsh this year. But if it makes you feel any better about your marks...


My marks weren't bad per se, I but judging from all my friends' grades (and they're good or if not good, not bad students), it might've been just a -little- bit harsh this year.
Original post by n00bfi
My marks weren't bad per se, I but judging from all my friends' grades (and they're good or if not good, not bad students), it might've been just a -little- bit harsh this year.

Well, you should not rely on kind UMS conversion. Just revise well and you will do well in your exams as difference in UMS conversion is negligible each year. As for me, I did not have any problems with my Physics unit retake this year. Got full marks in the end.
Original post by Ben Kenobi
Well, you should not rely on kind UMS conversion. Just revise well and you will do well in your exams as difference in UMS conversion is negligible each year. As for me, I did not have any problems with my Physics unit retake this year. Got full marks in the end.


...UMS conversion...? Where did UMS conversion come into this?

I think I may have confused you by saying "My marks weren't bad per se" :P

Let me rephrase that: "My grades weren't bad per se".

And I don't have any problems thus far with my A Levels but thanks for the advice :P
Original post by n00bfi
...UMS conversion...? Where did UMS conversion come into this?

I think I may have confused you by saying "My marks weren't bad per se" :P

Let me rephrase that: "My grades weren't bad per se".

And I don't have any problems thus far with my A Levels but thanks for the advice :P

Lol I did not give any advice. Just was saying that if people knew all their stuff from the textbook then the exams should have gone fine as the exam boards are supposed to test what is in the syllabus. By the way I was not specifically targeting you. :tongue:
Original post by Ben Kenobi
Lol I did not give any advice. Just was saying that if people knew all their stuff from the textbook then the exams should have gone fine as the exam boards are supposed to test what is in the syllabus. By the way I was not specifically targeting you. :tongue:


oh ok nvm then
Reply 490
Avatar for a5a09
a5a09
5
There are people complaining AS is really harsh EVERY YEAR......
Which might just be suggesting the fact:

AS is SUPPOSED to be harsh every year, lol. Stop the QQ please <3
I got 5 Cs, I thought at first I was just making excuses but many people feel they did better than their marks showed. I got high As in my mocks and past papers. Just devastated. I wanted to become a mechanical engineer, I don't even know if i'll make it into university.
I got DDDE for my AS levels and last week I received my A2 results which were A*A*AA in Maths, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics respectively. It's about how you approach these results, I took it as a big wake up call, and worked my butt off ever since I saw those god-awful results. Having absolutely no social life, and nights of sleep paid off in the end :smile:
Original post by nukethemaly
I got DDDE for my AS levels and last week I received my A2 results which were A*A*AA in Maths, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics respectively. It's about how you approach these results, I took it as a big wake up call, and worked my butt off ever since I saw those god-awful results. Having absolutely no social life, and nights of sleep paid off in the end :smile:


Could you please elaborate how you managed to get from DDDE to A*A*AA?
Original post by im so academic
Could you please elaborate how you managed to get from DDDE to A*A*AA?


I posted this on another thread but I'll post this here too for convenience. I practically did everything I've mentioned here:

For any science students (especially Biology and chemistry) and Maths, it's very very easy to be hard-working and knowing your stuff, but still ending up on a C, what AS students don't realise is how big a jump A-levels are from GCSEs (especially in terms of marking). A-levels don't just require knowledge, they require tactics, you need to understand WHAT the question in your exam paper is asking and HOW you should answer it. So it's not about what you know, it's about WHERE you put it and HOW you present it! Exam technique is really important as well as knowing your specification inside out!

This is what I did to go from DDDE to A*A*AA:


•

Keep yourself organised, don't set yourself the amount of hours you'd revise in an evening, instead set yourself targets (say to yourself "okay I'm going to finish making notes for this chapter today") and stick to them!

•

Make notes according to your exam board's specification. Honestly literally know your specification inside out. This is especially important for anyone doing OCR chemistry and Edexcel Biology.

•

For maths: I used examsolutions and I did textbook chapters a lot before starting on past papers to make me confident. After I did past papers I tallied which topics I kept losing marks on then I looked up questions in past papers specific to that topic and did them all!

•

For Edexcel Biology, the examiner reports are a BIG life-saver. They not only show you the answers previous candidates have written but also how many marks they achieved for it (these can be found on the official Edexcel website). Biology mark schemes are usually very basic, so examiner reports help you in perfecting your exam technique

•

For OCR chemistry: I did OCR (B) so this is what I used: http://www.rswebsites.co.uk/science/...pers/Index.htm, I literally did every past paper ever. With OCR chemistry you'll slowly start to understand that their papers are really repetitive but their mark schemes are REALLY specific. So it's a good idea to memorise the big 6 markers for which the mark scheme never changes. Also, if you can find yourself something similar to what that link has to offer then that would be helpful!

•

Obviously, give yourself a break every now and again, but don't keep delaying targets. You don't want work piling up.

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Get your teachers to mark your past papers as much as possible.

•

Watch YouTube videos for anything you don't quite understand in Biology or chemistry (you'd be surprised at the amount of education crap on YouTube)

•

I cannot stress enough how important it is for you to make your own notes. I mean, it's good to find online notes, but reading through them didn't really help me a big deal.

•

Try CGP revision guide for Edexcel Biology, they really did help me, but NEVER rely on revision guides to cover everything (especially for OCR Chemistry). Make sure you look through the specification and tick off stuff that you know!




That's all I can think of right now, sorry it's a lot of reading but I hope it helps someone.
My English Literature exam result downright stunned me (in a bad way.)

It was the lowest grade I've ever received and yet I tried my hardest.

I got A's in the coursework so I knew I was capable.

I have no idea what happened but it's reassuring to see that others feel the same.
Reply 497
Avatar for CJKay
CJKay
19
Original post by Ben Kenobi
I doubt that the marking has been exceptionally harsh this year. But if it makes you feel any better about your marks...


Just what I was thinking. Pretty sure everybody makes this complaint during their A-Levels, at least before they realise it's been done every year before them.
The people complaining are probs the same people who mess about and waste time during free periods instead f revising and getting their homework done
The fact that current year 12 students will have to take all our exams in Summer will be stressful on top of resits.

Say we did unit 4 for chemistry from September till December. From January till May we learned Unit 5. We may have forgotten parts of unit 4, how could we revise to retain the knowledge of Unit 4 through out the year?

I wasnt allowed to do january exams last year I feel this could of been a factor in my results.

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