the best way to revise for A Levels :D

hello fellow TSRers,
from monday 9th october, i am going to start revising for my A Levels (yay ) - like properly if that makes sense, and i need a bit of advice.

so the subjects i do are: psych, socio and spanish (all AQA )
current predicted grades: A in spanish, B in socio, B in psych
grades i would like to get: A*AA

i would like general revision & study tips please, but preferably for those who are predicted A*s/have achieved A*s in the past.

- i would also appreciate if there's anyone who's taking/had taken AQA Psychology, Sociology or Spanish and who again has either achieved A*s in the past or is predicted A* for UCAS.

- and i tend to suffer from lack of motivation & discipline, so any advice on that would also be very useful!

have a good day!

thanks,
emmanuella

Hi @emm4nuella,

I didn't do these a-levels, however I did get an A* in one of my a-levels (geography).

Some overall academics tips I would give would be:

1. Try and find out as soon as possible what the best way for you to revise is this may differ for the different subjects due to the content/knowledge that would be required - some examples are - revision cards, mind maps, practice papers/ questions to get you familiar with how they are structured, make sure you understand the tenses for Spanish and the basic vocab so you can use this whenever. Practice speaking Spanish, maybe engage and consume in Spanish media whether that is songs, films, social media as this will work your brain with trying to understand what is says and may introduce you to new words.

2. Create a plan of what you want to do and when, this doesn't have to exhaustive and you don't have to always stick to it but if it can give you an idea of where you 'should' be at that would be beneficial - also give yourself some emergency time for if you are struggling with something so it doesn't eat away at time which is scheduled for something else as that could cause a lot of stress.

3. Remind yourself you have time to do revise these exams are not next week. So don't stress too much if you can try and manage it well.

4. If you find stuff that doesn't work well that is fine it is better to learn this now rather than 2 weeks before your exam.

5. Reach out to your teachers for any guidance and tips they have in general or if you are struggling as they are there to help you and want you to succeed.

6. Make sure to chill! - You do not want to be burnt out as the exams start so make sure to make time for yourself, see friends, do your hobbies!

For the discipline and motivation hopefully some stuff above will help but some extra stuff would be:

One of my main things was remembering why I was working hard so to get into university and now its reminding myself I want a degree and to be able to get a job in the field I want. I think knowing your end goal can be a large motivator.

You could also slowly build yourself up to more and more work as time goes on so whether its for one week you do 15 mins of revision and the next 25 minutes it won't be such a shock to the system doing like 2hrs or more a week and that may build you up and give you that discipline.

Maybe make your revision materials first and then revise using them next as that can slowly build you up and show any things you need to improve on which could motivate you to start revising - I would definitely suggest getting your revision materials sorted as soon as you can as that saves a lot of your time in the future.

Revise with friends sometimes they can be a distraction but other times they could be a motivator or be the person who holds you accountable.

Hopefully some of that helped and good luck with your a-levels I am sure you will smash them!

Rebecca
3rd Year Geoenvironmental Hazards Student