Psychology

rachywoo2004

How is everyone revising for AQA psychology?

(edited 11 months ago)

Deffo practice papers
I like to do mind maps and "blurt" all the info i know then go back over what i missed
and flash cards for key terms

I'm in Y12 so thats all I have for now

Hope this helps x

Reply 2

emma543

Original post by rachywoo2004

How is everyone revising for AQA psychology?

Hey,

So, I did my A-Levels a good few years ago now and have worked as an A-Level tutor for well over a year now so I'll talk you through my approach:

Each revision session should consist of the following: a recap of what you learned in your last session, new content and exam questions.

Let's say you were revising the topic of attachment.

Day 1:

1) Learn caregiver-infant interactions
Create flashcards on the AO1
Create flashcards on 4 x AO3 points

2) Close your notes and 'blurt' everything you can remember

3) Any gaps- write it out again and again until you can do it without looking

4) Try an exam question- if you get the question wrong, add it to your flashcard set

Day 2:

1) Go through the flashcards on caregiver-infant interactions. If you get something wrong, don't just read the answer- you need to do something with the knowledge to make sure you don't forget it again. I suggest you read it then turn your flashcard back over and try and write it out again without looking.

2) New topic: Stages of attachment

3) Repeat the process so flash cards, exam questions

Hopefully you can see the key is active recall :smile:

Good luck!

Reply 3

Acetylcholinefan

I think its a matter of finding out for yourself what works, but the key is testing yourself every so often to stop it from decaying (and active recall). However, this is what I have done in the last three-ish months for psych and I'm predicted an A:

1. Make mind maps for every topic with reference to notes only when needed (this whole process was done over several months)
2. Later in the day open a word document with essay headings and make a detailed plan without looking. Add anything missed in red.
3. Repeat doing essay plans or mind maps every 1-2 weeks to keep it fresh.

For any areas I feel unsure about, what I do is create a 'topic focus' document where its just one document as simply as possible and I'll use all sources I can to try and condense it as much as possible.

(edited 11 months ago)

Reply 4

Lancaster Student Ambassador

Official Rep

Hi!
I'm currently a 3rd year Psychology student at Lancaster, and I did AQA A-Level Psychology when I was in college, so I can share how I revised (and still do!).

Similar to what other people have mentioned, I first read the section that I am focusing on first a couple of times, and then either create a mindmap or just write down everything I can remember. I then go back to my notes and add anything I missed in a different colour, and repeat this until I've recalled everything from that section. I then go onto the next section, and do the same. Once I've done the next section, I go back to the section before, and try and recall everything, and I continue to do this after every section. I also try to dedicate the most recall sessions to the things that I am struggling with.

In terms of revising to write essays/short answer responses, practice questions are definitely one of the resources that I have found the most helpful. Even when practicing writing a full answer can seem daunting, just planning how you would answer the question, be it in bullet points/mindmap form, etc., can be a really helpful way of testing your ability to recall and put together the relevant information in the best manner to answer the question.

I hope this is helpful!

Cathryn (Lancaster University Student Ambassador)