A Level resits mature student advice

Dear all I hope you're well. I wanted some advice regarding A Level resits for both AQA English Literature and Psychology. It's been five years since I sat my original papers but I have been meaning to retake both as I know I deserve better grades than what I got. As for that, I wanted to ask how I could revise since the specifications change every year-do correct me if I'm wrong. Any advice would do thank you! Please be kind, as everyone has different circumstances to why they couldn't resit sooner, or do better :smile:

Original post by caramella77e

Dear all I hope you're well. I wanted some advice regarding A Level resits for both AQA English Literature and Psychology. It's been five years since I sat my original papers but I have been meaning to retake both as I know I deserve better grades than what I got. As for that, I wanted to ask how I could revise since the specifications change every year-do correct me if I'm wrong. Any advice would do thank you! Please be kind, as everyone has different circumstances to why they couldn't resit sooner, or do better :smile:

Hi there,

It's great to hear you're taking steps to improve on your grades! Well done to you.

I found that having a revision timetable would keep me in check, I would do 30mins-1hour in each A-Level as not to get burnt out. There are useful free resources online you can look into as well. For Psychology, I would often enjoy reading the actual paper studies, which you can find online by just googling the name of the study (Milgram, for example). Reading through them, like they're a book, just helps solidify everything. Then you can create revision cards with key facts like participants, etc.

As for English Literature, I would ask your current teacher/resource provider for advice on what websites are good, otherwise googling the name of the book you're looking at would also be helpful to do.

Good luck with all your studies!
Ethan

Reply 2

loulai_

6

hey! Spark notes and Litcharts are two great websites for english literature! if you want revision guides there’s also York Notes i think there called, you can get them cheaper by buying secondhand off things like ebay too.

there’s also an app called Knowunity where people upload their notes/annotations/example essays/flash cards, there’s groupchats specific to you exam boards where you can get help with the subject when your stuck it’s pretty active !!

Reply 3

caramella77e

OP

7

Original post by Yipiyap_EthanP

Hi there,
It's great to hear you're taking steps to improve on your grades! Well done to you.
I found that having a revision timetable would keep me in check, I would do 30mins-1hour in each A-Level as not to get burnt out. There are useful free resources online you can look into as well. For Psychology, I would often enjoy reading the actual paper studies, which you can find online by just googling the name of the study (Milgram, for example). Reading through them, like they're a book, just helps solidify everything. Then you can create revision cards with key facts like participants, etc.
As for English Literature, I would ask your current teacher/resource provider for advice on what websites are good, otherwise googling the name of the book you're looking at would also be helpful to do.
Good luck with all your studies!
Ethan

This is so kind of you Ethan, thank you for taking the time to write and share this; I will definitely make use of these tips! All the best!

Reply 4

caramella77e

OP

7

Original post by loulai_

hey! Spark notes and Litcharts are two great websites for english literature! if you want revision guides there’s also York Notes i think there called, you can get them cheaper by buying secondhand off things like ebay too.
there’s also an app called Knowunity where people upload their notes/annotations/example essays/flash cards, there’s groupchats specific to you exam boards where you can get help with the subject when your stuck it’s pretty active !!

This is such a kind and helpful comment thank you so much for taking the time to curate this, I will definitely give these tips a try and hope to make the most out of it! All the best! :h:

Reply 5

lilybyee

8

Out of curiosity, what English books will you be studying? Hope the self-studying goes well!!

Reply 6

Muttley79

20

Original post by caramella77e

Dear all I hope you're well. I wanted some advice regarding A Level resits for both AQA English Literature and Psychology. It's been five years since I sat my original papers but I have been meaning to retake both as I know I deserve better grades than what I got. As for that, I wanted to ask how I could revise since the specifications change every year-do correct me if I'm wrong. Any advice would do thank you! Please be kind, as everyone has different circumstances to why they couldn't resit sooner, or do better :smile:

Check the current specifications as to what books you can choose from for English.
All the details and past papers etc will be on there:

AQA: https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/english/as-and-a-level/english-literature-a-7711-7712

https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/psychology/as-and-a-level/psychology-7181-7182

Reply 7

caramella77e

OP

7

Original post by lilybyee

Out of curiosity, what English books will you be studying? Hope the self-studying goes well!!

Hi thank you so much for your kind wishes!! :smile:

Okay so I'll be doing:

•

For paper one: Aspects of Tragedy: Othello, Keats and Death of a Salesman (or The Great Gatsby, unfortunately I do not have much knowledge on that novel, but for D.o.a.S I know the play inside out).

•

Then for paper two: Texts and Genres: Elements of political and social protest writing: unseen poetry, William Blake songs of innocence and experience, A doll's house and The Kite Runner or A Handmaid's Tale (same as before, I am unfamiliar with this text but know the kite runner inside out).