AMA I got an A* in A Level Psychology

Hey

What exam board did you do?

AQA

hi i have looots of quesions \\\

how do u manage to remember so much content ? do u think making notes is helpful ?
what revision guides do you use , are they enough to get A* ?
do u need further reading to get A* in psychology a level ?

1. I remembered loads of content by revising old material continously throughout the year, instead of coming back to a topic a month before the exam having not touched it for 7 months, if that makes sense?

2. Revision notes is helpful but don't just copy the textbook - summarise things on notecards or on a much smaller page (I used symbols for things too). With studies, try to make the whole thing three sentences long (E.g. A study by [researcher] involved [what happened]. They found that [results]. [Link back to the question) - this doesn't apply to the specifically set studies that have whole pages dedicated to them like Milgram and Zimbardo etc), makes them easier to remember - plus, revising the whole thing and then summarising it to so little means that the card can trigger more info than you've written on it, you've just written the most important things!

3. I only used the textbooks, I did AQA and theirs is really good. I think it's more worthwhile to summarise the information yourself than use a resource that's already done that, plus, they're just not as good and detailed in the first place. Just makes more sense to use the textbook from the exam board who are marking your paper.

4. You don't need further reading. Examiners are just marking papers based off of a mark scheme, they're essentially just ticking boxes. Therefore, if you find extra information it could a) not coincide well into the mark scheme, and b) could be a waste of your time. I memorised a few extra studies for the schizophrenia topic I did because it interested me, and I think I used one of them in a 16 marker.

Also:
- Please, please revise research methods. It's so dull, it really is, but it's also relatively easy. They put it throughout all three papers so not revising it could lose you some precious marks.
- Use past paper questions, find a bunch online, they're everywhere. Also, see if your college/sixth form has Exampro, that's a great resource. For research methods, past paper questions are really important because the topic is very systematic really. The scenarios they give differ but the way you apply your research methods knowledge is very much the same.

Hope I helped!

firstly, thats so good secondly, how did you find revising for it, I kinda give up cauz theres so much to learn: especially if you havent done it at gcse (me) & any advice for a year 12 doing psych rn?

thank you so so much it helped a lot !
sorry i have 1 last question

for past pares when did u start doing them ? i guess now is a bit early right ? would 3 months before AS exams be good or should we do it even earlier, thank you !

Hi do you have any advice between converting AS revision notes to A2 worthy ones?
How would you recommend turning a 12 mark essay into a 16 mark essay? Any tips of the overall A2 psychology course would also be grateful!

I'd say start in January, I started before that in A2 though - it's good to just get into the habit so you won't be overwhelmed with loads at the end of the year since you'll have loads to do with your other subjects!

Thank you

I didn't do it at GCSE either, so that's not really a disadvantage!

Lots of content is just part of what you sign up for with A Level Psychology, giving up just means you'll fail and there's no point in doing it at all - think about it that way.

Use your teacher, they're there to help you so if you're stuck on something or you need help with a question, ask them!!! It will benefit you so much (if they're a good teacher at least, but try anyway). That brings me to my next point, do loads of past paper questions - do they get tedious? Yes. Are they likely to be similar to the questions in the actual exams? Yes. Will they make you draw upon your knowledge, and thus realise what you need to prioritise in revision? Yes. They are absolutely worth your time - especially research methods. ALSO, don't ignore research methods, the section is boring and dull but research methods is also around 30% of your overall grade and is very, very easy. Also, constantly consolidate your knowledge, don't leave a whole topic alone for 5 months and then have to cram it two weeks before your exams.

Come back if you need help, and I can also help mark 12 markers.

thanks so much, i know who to go to if I ever need help aha just wanted to ask are there any websites that you found useful for revision past papers anything psychology related ? I've got simplypsychology at the moment...

My teachers had Exampro so that was helpful, see if yours have that. I used a lot of the questions in the AQA textbook and asked my teacher to mark them (as well as the ones on the page, the online textbook has tabs with letters and in the bottom right corner there's one with the letter P, click on it and they come up - can't screenshot it for some reason)

thx, yea i cant copy and paste them to a document either , i find myself not having enough time to do the practise questions though , i will go back over and do them if i have more time, the content just teaches so quick