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

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:

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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!

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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.

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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!

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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

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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!

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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.

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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)

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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.

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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.

It's better if you guys mark most of the papers yourself and give the occasional paper to your teacher to mark, just to make sure that your marking and the teachers marking is consistent. I am saying this because, when you are marking past papers, you tend to take in the mark scheme answers, sometimes without even knowing. Allowing the teachers to mark as many past papers as they can is not effective as the paper will just be followed by a series of ticks and crosses and these wont be of much use to you. Also, use the mock tests/ end of unit tests in class as a good indication of how well you know the content. I know so many people who cheat on these tests to score a high mark but its completely pointless. Just do these tests honestly and track your progress, use your teachers to go through any past paper questions you are unsure of etc. My final point is, if you work hard enough and revise effectively, regardless of how hard the exam is, you will do well.
The rest of the information I completely agree with though.

Reply 501

Green Bubblegum

If anyone needs help for A2, pm me. I got A*AAB in Geo,Bio,Chem and Phy.

A2 is hard trust me , you need to be prepared!!

Reply 502

nukethemaly

11

Original post by LegendX

It's better if you guys mark most of the papers yourself and give the occasional paper to your teacher to mark, just to make sure that your marking and the teachers marking is consistent. I am saying this because, when you are marking past papers, you tend to take in the mark scheme answers, sometimes without even knowing. Allowing the teachers to mark as many past papers as they can is not effective as the paper will just be followed by a series of ticks and crosses and these wont be of much use to you. Also, use the mock tests/ end of unit tests in class as a good indication of how well you know the content. I know so many people who cheat on these tests to score a high mark but its completely pointless. Just do these tests honestly and track your progress, use your teachers to go through any past paper questions you are unsure of etc. My final point is, if you work hard enough and revise effectively, regardless of how hard the exam is, you will do well.
The rest of the information I completely agree with though.

Yeah that does make more sense :smile:

Reply 503

LegendX

15

Original post by nukethemaly

Yeah that does make more sense :smile:

I'm glad it does! Well done on your improvement btw, takes a lot of work and determination to score well and turn things around esp. if you didn't have a good foundation at AS.

Reply 504

Cheskahb

4

I got AAB in my as exams, the B was in English Language I got an A in the coursework but a C in the exam and I honestly don't know where I went wrong, I did everything my teacher told me to do and practically re wrote my mock (it was relatable) which she said was a definite A and used it to show the rest of the class what to write in the exam. I really want my exam back to see where I went wrong...

Reply 505

nukethemaly

11

Original post by Cheskahb

I got AAB in my as exams, the B was in English Language I got an A in the coursework but a C in the exam and I honestly don't know where I went wrong, I did everything my teacher told me to do and practically re wrote my mock (it was relatable) which she said was a definite A and used it to show the rest of the class what to write in the exam. I really want my exam back to see where I went wrong...

Order a photocopy of your exam and go over it with your teacher.

Reply 506

Maahela

I have lost all hope. I feel like I'm gonna sit home for the rest of my life, after the result. ._.

Reply 507

livvs-squivvs

I was lucky enough to get the marks I wanted, pretty much, but I was pretty shocked at some of my friends' marks who really didn't get what they deserved. By the looks of things, there were way too many disappointed people at results day, and I've heard a lot of buzz that they're being steadily more harshly marked to push more people into clearing - I've no idea why, though. I don't know about anyone else, but at my school there seemed to be more harsh marks in the sciences than in anything else...

It seems so unfair, though, because these are the grades we have to apply for Uni on, and loads of people just got their plans for the next couple of years shredded. :frown:

Reply 508

hau28

19

Original post by MeganRok

Some for having AEE or anyone with more than 1 fail :frown:

Seriously so harsh

An E is a pass

Reply 509

hannah60000

19

Original post by hcu95

An E is a pass

However, in many schools a C/D is a pass, which permits students from year 12 to continue to year 13. Especially, if that is the subject they want to take to A2.

(edited 10 years ago)

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

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