A and A* students... Share your revision tips

I worked very hard for my As level exams but came out with very bad grades. I read during every break/ lunch and sometimes 4 hours straight. I worked through EVERY past papers, made revision notes, cut out on social life and always read before every new chapter. My teachers and students said I had potential to get AAAB grades. How come I messed up? Please tell me what I did wrong. Share your revision tips as well! Please. My subjects are biology, chemistry, Religious Studies and sociology. Thanks.

(edited 11 years ago)

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Reply 1

theseeker

I think this is a great thread. I hope, we get some responses.

revise a lot

4 hours straight? Your concentration will drop after about an hour straight, so do it in short burts, taking breaks to watch TV, play games etc in between. Also worth noting that it's all well and good knowing the content to regurgitate during the exam, but it's another to understand it so that you can answer new questions on the material.

Reply 4

username244734

I find that if you really understand something, you won't need to revise it as much. I make sure that, throughout the year, I understand what we're doing and what's going on. I think I'm lucky in the sense that I seem to get stuff quite quickly, so I don't have to work too hard to get stuff stuck in my head. I make links between things, even if we don't have to, just in my head. When it comes to revising, I'm just refreshing my brain because most of the connections and links between things have already been made, if you get me.

I don't know if that helps. I think revision is quite a personal thing as everyone is going to learn in different ways.

Reply 5

username324526

Victor-PP

*suscribes*

yes, because that is a word :awesome:

OP, revise. soz. read over what you've written. close your eyes. repeat it. draw diagrams. read it again. make sure you understand it. read it some more. all that ****. there's no easy way or everyone would have straight A*s.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 6

Wardy23

As someone who got an A* an A and a C I can tell you that reading some notes from the years lessons doesn't work (results in a C) and that past papers work (result in an A* and an A).

DO PAST PAPERS!!!

I hope I've made that clear.

Reply 7

Christian100

Alright, this how I did it, I rewrite notes from class and I write them 7 to 9 times. I do this until they stick in my head. However I did this a month before the exams.

Reply 8

jaheen22

Don't work for 4 hours straight.

Reply 9

aphilpotts

Don't take on too much, the recommended 4 ASs and 3 A2s is probably a good idea, you don't need a fourth, and it won't increase your chances of getting As as you'll just do worse across the board, as you'll be overworked, tired and generally less effective :smile:

Reply 10

MattyC93

Vanny17

I worked very hard for my As level exams but came out with very bad grades. I read during every break/ lunch and sometimes 4 hours straight. I worked through EVERY past papers, made revision notes, cut out on social life and always read before every new chapter. My teachers and students said i had potential to get AAAB grades. How come i messed up? Please tell me what i did wrong. Share your revision tips as well! Please. Thanks.

Definitely use a specification so you aren't learning garbage you don't need to know, I find writing notes in lesson and looking over/rewriting is great.
Also using post-its to test yourself is handy & very quick, make sure to mix them up though you want to make sure you know the stuff and not just in one order!

Also plenty of past papers. Make sure you don't revise for ages, take breaks.. have a kitkat :holmes:

Reply 11

Hedgehunter

Wardy23

Yeah, many trees have died to give me my results.

Reply 12

neillya1

Short bursts, DON'T OVER DO IT!

Go through the syllabus and make a powerpoint slide on each and every point in it, explaining that point in detail. This really helped me! My teachers even asked me to show them to the class :o:

Do lots of past papers, these really help!!

Main thing is not to over do it or you get demotivated, and just cannot be bothered anymore :yep:

Also, most people will disagree but I feel A Levels are almost designed to be "crammed".... an hour a day for say a month before exams, then literally 6/7 hours a day the day before the exam (with breaks of course!) is what really helped me..... Be warned though, cramming only works if you have a good short term memory and bad long term like me :p:

and from what I've heard it certainly won't help you at uni!

lol, revision.

It'd be helpful to know what subjects you do, OP :smile:

EDIT: For the people giving me neg rep for this post, the OP hadn't actually told us what subjects she did until she edited her post.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 15

snowshine

Vanny17

I worked very hard for my As level exams but came out with very bad grades. I read during every break/ lunch and sometimes 4 hours straight. I worked through EVERY past papers, made revision notes, cut out on social life and always read before every new chapter. My teachers and students said i had potential to get AAAB grades. How come i messed up? Please tell me what i did wrong. Share your revision tips as well! Please. Thanks.

Which subjects were you doing?

Reply 16

such_a_lady

Find your teachers if stuck! Vary your revision so maybe do things in groups :smile:

or teach someone else to see if you get it.

Reply 17

Wesssty

Don't expect the teachers to teach you, anything.

Reply 18

Kulpio

I got an A*, A* and an A, and dont mean to be arrogant, but i didnt do past papers or read 4 hours a day. I even managed to squeeze in a ridiculous amount of days on cod6. I have mastered revising using revision cards! Like writing key notes from your class notes and text book on the cards, and with some reading of them combined with a good memory, it does the trick.

Reply 19

DPLSK

I've updated this piece of advice to make it more useful. Feedback is appreciated.

1) Do plenty of past papers.

Initially past papers should be done to identify skill gaps to be plugged with revision. Later on past papers should be done to simulate actual test conditions.

2) Hold yourself accountable.

Measure your progress not by hours spent, but by tasks accomplished. Make a list of the things you've done each day as it will spur you to do things in the next day. I kept a track of how many past papers I'd completed.

3) Create peer coaching sessions.

Take the initiative to arrange peer coaching sessions, where you each discuss an approach to a problem you're struggling with and take it in turns to ask meaningful questions to help solve the problem.

4) Revise independently.

You cannot work together during an exam, so it follows that you should spend most of your time preparing independently as well. If you are going to work together, I'd use the peer coaching model for a couple of hours.

5) Invest in good stationery.

You will lose time in an exam if you don't have stationery that you can use easily and effectively. Having comfortable pens, pencils, rulers, rubbers, sharpeners, and calculators will save you time that you cannot afford to lose.

6) Invest in good revision guides.

This makes it easy to access important information you need. The Internet has far too much information, and most people's notes aren't comprehensive enough. I'd go into Waterstones to find guides, and buy them off Amazon.

7) Ask for help.

Your teachers and peers should be the first port of call if you get stuck. If they cannot help you then forums like The Student Room are quite useful. Remember that it is too late to get help when you're in the exam hall.

I hope this has helped.

(edited 7 years ago)