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Psychology a-level study tips

Hi! I am a year 13 Psychology student and I would love to hear any study tips from previous students id you have any :smile:
Reply 1
Original post by jazzy101015
Hi! I am a year 13 Psychology student and I would love to hear any study tips from previous students id you have any :smile:

Hii what exam board did you do? I did OCR Psychology last year so I had core studies and stuff. For the core studies I summarised every study onto half a side of A4 each and wrote the main points down e.g sample and setting etc.
For the applied options I wrote notes on each section and again summarised them as much as possible so I could just expand on the main points in the exam.
I basically just did a lot of summarising in tables and comparing all the different studies to each other. I also did a few practice papers and asked my teacher to mark them so I didn't miss any points.
Original post by Ro-Z.707
Hii what exam board did you do? I did OCR Psychology last year so I had core studies and stuff. For the core studies I summarised every study onto half a side of A4 each and wrote the main points down e.g sample and setting etc.
For the applied options I wrote notes on each section and again summarised them as much as possible so I could just expand on the main points in the exam.
I basically just did a lot of summarising in tables and comparing all the different studies to each other. I also did a few practice papers and asked my teacher to mark them so I didn't miss any points.


Hi!

I’m not OP but could you give any advice on learning the evaluations?

Thanks! :biggrin:
(edited 3 years ago)
Reply 3
Original post by 5hyl33n
Hi!

I’m not OP but could you give any advice on learning the evaluations?

Thanks! :biggrin:

Ill be happy to give advice but could you please clarify what the evaluations are of? Haha I haven't done A levels in 6 months so my brain is a bit fuzzy at the moment.
Original post by Ro-Z.707
Ill be happy to give advice but could you please clarify what the evaluations are of? Haha I haven't done A levels in 6 months so my brain is a bit fuzzy at the moment.


I just realised you said you did OCR but I do AQA so I’m not sure if you also have evaluations. For example, giving the strengths and weaknesses of a topic or research studies? Does that ring any bells? :biggrin:
Reply 5
Original post by 5hyl33n
I just realised you said you did OCR but I do AQA so I’m not sure if you also have evaluations. For example, giving the strengths and weaknesses of a topic or research studies? Does that ring any bells? :biggrin:

Ooh yes it kind of rings a bell haha. I just presented the research studies and what the question is likely to ask about in a table and labelled whether they were weaknesses of strengths. It helps to learn the main weaknesses and strengths for each topic/study instead of learning them all because it saves time and effort too. The main points are the ones you can use the most examples for and haven't come up on any recent exams. I hope that answers your question?
Original post by Ro-Z.707
Ooh yes it kind of rings a bell haha. I just presented the research studies and what the question is likely to ask about in a table and labelled whether they were weaknesses of strengths. It helps to learn the main weaknesses and strengths for each topic/study instead of learning them all because it saves time and effort too. The main points are the ones you can use the most examples for and haven't come up on any recent exams. I hope that answers your question?


Thank you! :biggrin:
Reply 7
Original post by Ro-Z.707
Hii what exam board did you do? I did OCR Psychology last year so I had core studies and stuff. For the core studies I summarised every study onto half a side of A4 each and wrote the main points down e.g sample and setting etc.
For the applied options I wrote notes on each section and again summarised them as much as possible so I could just expand on the main points in the exam.
I basically just did a lot of summarising in tables and comparing all the different studies to each other. I also did a few practice papers and asked my teacher to mark them so I didn't miss any points.


My exam board is AQA! But thank you so much for your reply it's very useful, especially in the current situation :smile:
Reply 8
- Condense everything, use buzz/trigger words and bullet point your notes so that you can blurt them. Blurting is super effective (for me at least), when I need to memorise content. Also, if you struggle with AO3, explain them to yourself out loud until they become super obvious, logical evaluations rather than simply trying to memorise without understanding. You're more likely to remember this way.

- Be smart about what research evidence you're going to use and memorise only those. For example, Shallice and Warrington's KF patient can be used as contradicting research for the MSM of memory but can also be used to support WMM of memory, etc.

- Make 16 mark essay plans on every topic and revise from those

- For AO3 have 3 strong discussions rather than 5 weak, brief points. So supporting research and then ao3 the support. Contradicting research and then ao3 that. And then extras like issues and debates, implications, ethical issues, alternatives, etc.
Hi

My younger sister is doing her A level in psychology. Based on that fact I can list some tips here.

Read some relevant articles and make brief notes on human behaviour. Be smart about the amount of research that you do. Make sure to carefully read the case studies and ask questions too based on that information.

Read beyond the text and have discussions as well. Draw up two or three short essay plans in advance on your laptop and edit them as and when required too. Keep up to date with all coursework assignments in addition.

Jot down some notes. Visit a library for more ideas or purchase the recommended textbook online. Be open minded about your future possible career options in terms of working in the industry on top of that. Research a few job vacancies online to see if you would like it.

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