The Student Room Group

The Big A-Level Tips thread! - - 2 pages of tips in first post

So I saw The Big GCSE Tips thread! and I thought what's stopping us making a A-Level tips thread for all the all the end of Year11s wondering how they should approach the A-Levels?

So, post all your tips for coping and getting top grades during AS/A2, whether you've learned from your mistakes or you just found a magical routine to help you get all As in your exams, share the wealth of information :biggrin:

And because it differs between subject, do it in this format:
A-Level [subject] - [tip]

If it's a general tip that can be applied to any subject, in this format:
General Tip - [tip]

That's it, happy posting guys! :woo:

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I've added all the responces into an expand field below so it should be easy for anyone who finds this thread to get advice from any area without having to trawl through the entire thread :yep:

Responses

Pages 1&2 added.

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1
General tip - remember to hand in homework, coursework, essays etc. before the deadline. It saves some trouble, it really does.
Reply 2
Mathematics and Further Maths - You need to have a real grasp of GCSE mathematics to really succeed at A-level in Maths (I'd recommend at least a B). Further Maths you really do need to be capable of an A* at GCSE, I know people who got A's at GCSE in maths, and got A at A-level, but they should have got an A* at GCSE (laziness). For both subjects you really need to be passionate about maths, it is quite a hard subject so don't take it because you think you should. However, saying that Maths is probably the most useful subject to have for all degrees. My top-tip for maths - love the subject, then it will become easier, sounds stupid I know, but you'll do better in a subject you enjoy!

Biology - ah biology, claimed to be the easiest science, and out of physics and chemistry that is probably true. However, that's not to say it isn't hard. It involves quite a bit of memorizing and a firm grip on chemistry, so if you have chosen biology because you want to do a science, but want an easy subject, tough - because there isn't one. I would highly recommend doing chemistry with biology, it will make your life so much easier! Another things is for PE students, you need to be aware that in biology you learn things/new words that you haven't used in PE before, you must use this in the exam, not the PE stuff or you won't get the mark, e.g. bundle of his, is infact the Purkyne tissue! My top-tip for biology is read around the subject, learn new impressive words, e.g. epitopes (immune system)!

Chemistry - my fave subject now, but I hated it at GCSE! Once you begin A-levels they stop treating you like a baby and actually start to explain things. The great thing about chemistry is it is the 'theory' of science and then you can apply things in biology and physics. However, you need to be confident with maths and equations. Again, you need to memorize a lot of stuff for the exams, but it's worth it! My top-tip for chemistry is make revision notes as you go through the school year, it makes it so much easier to revise!

Good luck everyone!!! :smile:
Reply 3
General Tip - Think of A-levels as a race of endurance. Make sure you don't slack off and fall behind the group. Even doing so a bit can set you back significantly, as you need to catch up and you'll likely jeopardise the final result. Of course, if the group is going too slowly for you, feel free to pick up the pace a bit and get ahead. At the same time, make sure you don't exhaust and go a sustainable pace, so that you can go for the sprint finish during your final weeks of revision.

Also, make sure you've perfected your technique. Get a good start and when you're coming to the finish line, make sure you... uhh, dip your head.

It may feel like your only racing against those in your class, but you're essentially racing against everyone sitting that exam. Some of them might have it a bit easier if they've got... privately manufactured trainers or something, but that doesn't mean the race is over!

... Why on earth did I decide to do that all in a racing metaphor :confused:
Reply 4
Jamstar
General Tip - Think of A-levels as a race of endurance. Make sure you don't slack off and fall behind the group. Even doing so a bit can set you back significantly, as you need to catch up and you'll likely jeopardise the final result. Of course, if the group is going too slowly for you, feel free to pick up the pace a bit and get ahead. At the same time, make sure you don't exhaust and go a sustainable pace, so that you can go for the sprint finish during your final weeks of revision.

Also, make sure you've perfected your technique. Get a good start and when you're coming to the finish line, make sure you... uhh, dip your head.

It may feel like your only racing against those in your class, but you're essentially racing against everyone sitting that exam. Some of them might have it a bit easier if they've got... privately manufactured trainers or something, but that doesn't mean the race is over!

... Why on earth did I decide to do that all in a racing metaphor :confused:

That was a pretty awesome metaphor though :biggrin:
"privately manufactured trainers" - xD
Reply 5
I will begin my A2 year this September.

A-level [Maths] - Don't worry too much about maths AS. Core 1 is only slightly harder than A* level maths at GCSE and Core 2 gets a bit harder than Core 1. Do as many past papers as possible.

A-level [Biology] - I had to spend alot of time doing biology! In fact I spent more time than all my other subjects combined. It's mainly reading through the book and memorising facts. However, it is also about applying these facts to unfamiliar questions in the test, most of the questions are really specific and require keywords to get the top marks. There are not many past papers for this because of the new spec.

A-level [Chemistry] - For me this was the hardest A-level I did. If you do not practice and prepare well before the tests you are screwed. I found chemistry to be a mix of biology, physics and maths! Which is why they call it the 'fundamental' science. It is very conceptual and there quite a few facts to learn. Some of the stuff is tricky and there are always exceptions to some rules. You really have to understand in depth and practice questions in the book to do well.

A-level [Physics] - Surprisingly physics is the science subject with least A's in our year :wink:. It's not so much as learning the book but understanding and applying that knowledge in different situations. You have to manipulate formulae and know how to convert between basic units in your head. I'm studying salters horners physics (edexcel) and some of the questions in the tests are now more wordy. There's alot of understanding and calculations in it.

A-level [Further Maths] - It is basically just more maths modules but they are generally harder, especially the FP modules (apart from the odd edexcel 2009 june FP1 exam). I think for edexcel you have to do FP1 (pure maths module) and two other applied maths modules (could be mechanincs, statistics, decision or a combination of them) for the AS year.

General Tip - Become independent and start revising early. Don't start the year thinking A-levels are so much harder than GCSE's, even though they are :biggrin:. Be confident from the start and motivate yourself throughout the whole year. However much work you need to put in each subject you yourself know, the classic 1-hour of homestudy for every class is crap in my opinion. It also helps if your school does exams in January and June, that way there is not a ton of work load to do before exams in June and you get the chance for resits from the January exams. But try to avoid resits in the first place by doing the work before.

A final note, don't do general studies!

Extra Tip: Make sure you read the questions properly and understand what answer you must give, especially with biology and chemistry, e.g. Describe, Explain, Evaluate, Calculate, Discuss etc, are all at the start of the questions and you must answer as the question asks to get the marks. Also check every page after the test if you have time to make sure you have not missed out any questions (includes back page).
General - If you need to do a resit, get a remark or request a photocopy of your exam paper, it is more than likely that you need to pay for it yourself. Do not miss the deadline for this.
Reply 7
Get it right first time- Resits take the piss!
General Tip - For almost any subject (perhaps not ones like art though), do loads of past papers and learn how to play the exam game. You can know everything there is to know about the human body but if you don't know how to play the biology exam game then you won't do nearly as well!

General Tip - Make sure you understand how UMS points work so you can calculate how many points you are off a certain grade (this becomes most useful coming up to your summer exams at A2)!
Reply 9
sarsi
the classic 1-hour of homestudy for every class is crap in my opinion.



Do you mean that you should be doing more or less than an hour?
chebanana
Do you mean that you should be doing more or less than an hour?


Less, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be working at all.
Reply 11
Hmmm...I was just planning on writing notes on revision cards every night and going over them, doing a ton of past papers and of course, practising for the ELAT :frown: As if it wasn't hard enough...
Reply 12
chebanana
Do you mean that you should be doing more or less than an hour?


I don't like to dictate how long really :p: Only you should be doing the amount of work that is right for you, that satisfies you and your targets. If you think about it, you could have 4 lessons a day, which according to some teachers is 4 hours homestudy later in the day...far too much.
Personally, I spent about an average of 1/3 of an hour of homestudy compared to one hour of class time. But I drained a lot more time doing biology rather than maths.
I also think that doing the Arts subjects are more demanding although not as difficult (although I would crumble in the face of an English literature paper).
General tip: If you're doing 3 A-Level subjects, do 15 hours a week of independent study (outside of class). Do 20 hours a week if you're doing 4 subjects. If you use as many 'free periods' as possible to study, then you won't have to do as much at home.
Reply 14
General - Work hard. DO question papers + exercises from books (it really helps..). Stay motivated. Make revision notes early, it will make revisions very easy.. And maintain a schedule...
Try as hard as you can in the first year. The exams are so much easier than in the second year , and by doing well in the first year will make the second alot easier for you.
Reply 16
French: Don't forget the simple things. The subjonctif is not as big a deal as your french teacher will make it out to be, it is easy. Read the paper online in french [ libération ftw]. Practice speaking as much as possible. Learn French slang/ swear words. The essay paper is a bitch.

Textiles: Not as free as you think it would be. To get a B in your cwk do the following on repeat for several months. observational drawing---> explain---->sample based on observational----> explain--------> repeat process with linked observational drawing ad infinitum. Just make sure everything is explained in excruciating detail and that everything is linked and has a reason. I leant the hard way that it doesn't matter how good your final piece is, if the book work isn't there, done the way they like it, you're screwed

English:
read the bloody set texts before you do the exam. [ you will be surprised at the number of people who don't] you can pretty much ignore your teacher, you should be analysing the texts in depth by yourself, the teacher on plays a vital role when it comes to practice essays and even then you should be able to spot a good A level essay after a few peer marking exercises. For synoptic units, I cannot stress the importance of wider reading. The key is not reading whole books [ you only need to read one or two] but rather extracts and knowing the context around them. To revise for the war unit this year I used the extracts given in past papers and a selection of poems. Also for essays remember context---literary techniques---character analysis---meaning. I didn't find it that different from GCSE, you just need to go into more detail.

Art: you can goof off and still get a C at AS just make sure you explain everything you do in depth. Even if you suck at drawing by the end of AS you will be amazing by the end of the year if you are drawing regularly.
Work hard from the start, resits mess everything up.

Even on modules that are easy revise lots. I got 76/100 on c1 maths due to the fact it was relatively easy so i didnt revise. I then went and got low a's on the rest of the modules and another 76 on core 3 and missed an a by a couple of marks, would have got an a if i revised properly for c1.

Work hard at coursework. Exams are easy to mess up, even if it is just a few marks lower than you expected. Good coursework could mean a lot, work hard to get every last mark, don't just settle for the grade you want at the end of the year, it is the only time that you can get some help from your teacher and others make use of this.

English lit - people seem to find this subject really tough. I have always found essay writing really easy which i guess gives you more time for planning, and coming up with good quotes etc. I think my advice would be just to do every piece of homework that you are set to the best of your ability. Writing lots of good quality essays improves your writing style and if you include lots of quotes you will remember them for the exam. Also i would advise when revising for the final a2 exams not trying to remember every line in the book, you need a lot of quotes but pick ones that fit well with certain themes and characters, perhaps some that fit with more than one theme and character so rather than remembering say three you only need that one.

And just generally during your a levels get involved in stuff going on around your college, everything you do can help with your personal statement if you are thinking of uni. And it will help with your confidence if you are a little shy.
Reply 18
General Tip- give all homework in on time and stay motivated. I know plenty of people who simply aced their GCSE's and when it came to as-levels, they only got C's, D's E's and even U's. Don't get complacent and too over-confident. Don't revise at the last minute and revise along the way, however boring and tedious, and unsociable it may sound- it helps tons during exam time when you've got lots of revision. Learning along the way helps especially for fact-based subjects, such as Biology, (I haven't done this subject but my friends have told me there's loads to remember!) and Psychology, (which I do) can be aced if everything is remembered and regurgitated in the exam- well, that's my opinion. Oh yes, work hard and play hard! get as many extra-curriculars done as you can. It'll pay off!!

Hope I helped and all the best to those who have read this. :smile:
Reply 19
General Tip
Become an exam pro. Not only do ALL the practice papers available, search outside the box for questions. Also, get into a good regime early. For me I made sure I got enough sleep before morning exams. When I felt a dip in energy when revising I ate energy bars to keep me going. If all else fails, retake anything you don't do well on, managed to pull my grades up from ABBC at AS to AAAB at A2 (History, English Lit, Biology, Chemistry)

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