An AS Blog - GROW YOUR GRADES 2017.

Good luck with your revision! . Chemistry is a very difficult subject, so try not to feel too downhearted about it at this stage. Practice makes perfect!
I LOVE the formatting of your posts by the way- they look so pretty!!

GOOD LUCK !! You do similar subjects as I do ! Be sure to check my blog out too x

Hello there!

Reeeeally liking this! To say you've had so much time off you're certainly doing very well to stay on top of things! I'm sure you'll do really well in your exams and get the grades you want

I'm in Year 12 too, although our subjects are a little bit different. Feel free to post on my GYG if you want to, we can motivate each other to get work done

Best of luck with everything!

Hey @senrab15,

Sorry to jump in here, but hopefully I have some advice that might help. I did my Irish Leaving Certificate (the Irish equivalent to A levels) in 2012 and then went on to study at Surrey. I also did Biology and Geography for my exams, and got an A in both. The courses might be a bit different for A level than they are for the Leaving Cert, but hopefully I have some advice that will be of help to you

First off, I really wasn't a fan of 'traditional' studying (just sitting there reading a book for hours on end). I didn't really 'study' as such until January/February of my final year, except for class tests/Christmas and summer exams. What I focused on was doing my homework as if I was actually answering each question in the exam. I thought about what the marking scheme would be, and what points I needed to make in order to give a 'full marks' answer to the question. In Ireland we do 7 subjects for Leaving Cert, so often I'd spend a good 3-4 hours a night completing my homework, with more time spent on it at the weekend.

For my geography case studies, I found it really useful to take each case study and do about 10-20 bullet points summarising the key information from the case study. The bullet points might only have been a word or two....just enough to jog your memory on a point. This worked fairly well for biology too.

For me, getting good grades in your exams is about knowing what the examiner wants from you - do you need to include a diagram with your answer, what key points do you have to mention to get full marks, how much detail do you need for a 10 mark question versus a 15 mark question etc.? It's also helpful to distinguish between the different words used in a question eg. compare, contrast, deduce, evaluate. There's a nice explanation of the different 'question words' on the AQA website here.

Hopefully your teacher will be going through the structure of the exam with you already. If not, then ask them to, even if it means having to stay behind at the end of class for a few extra minutes. Same advice for if you don't understand something completely - most teachers are more than willing to meet you for a couple minutes at lunch or after class to help talk you through bits you don't understand. After all, how their pupils perform during exams can reflect a lot on them as teachers!

Maybe this will be of some use to you, or maybe not.... To be honest, everyone has their own methods of studying, you just have to find out which method works best for you and go with that

I also saw that you have received our prospectus! Just wanted to know if you have any feedback on that - we're always keen to know how we can improve As you're interested in veterinary medicine, our new vet school might be of particular interest. We have Open Days coming up this summer (30 June and 1 July), and I'm always happy to answer any of your questions about the uni, applications, what it's like to live in Surrey etc

I hope this helps you in some way!

All the best,
Ashley