applications, a levels and oxford, oh my: a year 13 grow your grades

Scroll to see replies

i'm literally the opposite, people who do english amaze me, english was my nemesis at gcse

it's so cool how different things come naturally to different people!! also very relieving when you're past gcses and can drop the nemesis subjects

Reply 21

scar-the-queen

Study Forum Helper

Original post by cabaret

it's so cool how different things come naturally to different people!! also very relieving when you're past gcses and can drop the nemesis subjects

yes agreed!!

Reply 22

cabaret

Study Forum Helper

Original post by scar-the-queen

good luck for tomorrow!

thank you!!

Reply 23

thrivingfrog

Volunteer Team

Good luck with everything!

Reply 24

MysteryyyGirl86

hi, nice to meet you!

Reply 25

cabaret

Study Forum Helper

Original post by MysteryyyGirl86

hi, nice to meet you!

you too!!

Reply 26

cabaret

Study Forum Helper

first day!!! i am Exhausted and nothing even happened today (got my timetable – we were off timetable this morning and in the afternoon i have two frees)

Reply 27

HSK.

Original post by cabaret

hey, everyone!!!
forgot to update after france oops... finished my coursework draft!! my email isn't working however so i can't send it off, but we move!!
going back to school for the last time ever in two days which is crazy... my body's acting like it's the end of term (fatigue and a cold) so wish me luck lol
i have a pretty solid plan for my personal statement which is great!! gonna spend an hour starting to write it tomorrow, then it'll be easy to just keep working on it until the deadline for the first draft (which is um. next week. but i have frees and a weekend it's Fine)! most of what i have to do to prepare now is just admin stuff (finish sorting out my files, bag ready, etc.)
in terms of extended reading, i finished Le Ventre de Paris (original and translated) on holiday, and am now reading Au Bonheur des Dames as well as Because Internet! i'm enjoying it but i haven't read something for myself in a Long Time lmao (my fault for doing English Literature tbh). feeling more on top of my extended work for the personal statement than my actual homework i fear... there was a podcast episode for english language that i just Haven't listened to yet, but that's a job for tomorrow.
here is my current list of things to do in frees:
relevant homework (ew)
personal statement writing
extended reading/podcast listening for the personal statement (and note thoughts)
work on a bit of coursework (english lit, english lang nea, french irp)
do Not touch my phone!!!
because i've dropped philosophy, i'll have more frees than i did last year, even though we get one more lesson of each subject a week in y13 so that's a win! god knows i need the time lol
feeling: vaguely organised? (win) but also in need of a holiday. let's hope i survive coming back to school!

Hi
I am year 12 student and doing English Lit, Psychology, Business studies.
Can you please please guide me re English lit Books/study material/ exam tips etc

Many thanks

Reply 28

erin11

Debate & Current Affairs Helper, Study Forum Helper

hope you’ve had a great first couple of days starting year 13!

Reply 29

cabaret

Study Forum Helper

Original post by HSK.

Hi
I am year 12 student and doing English Lit, Psychology, Business studies.
Can you please please guide me re English lit Books/study material/ exam tips etc
Many thanks

hi!! what texts are you studying for english lit? i might be able to help more specifically :smile:

for general stuff i'd say if the exam/question involves context, read at least one other work by that author. it doesn't have to be long, it might be a short story, but it's really good to mention and it helps you have a stronger sense of their common themes. i also recommend if you're doing something that involves critics, keep a word document or something and every time you find a good quote write it down there. this also applies to the work actually!! split it by theme, even if you'll get given documents with quotes closer to revision time then actually having done it yourself is just a better way to get it into your head!!
if it's comparative, think of the key themes that are crossovers and have a few points/quotes ready to go. make them BROAD so that you can apply it to more questions. for example, i can normally fit something in about the role of women for my comparative (the age of innocence and the great gatsby). this also works with single text questions, but the comparative is in my experience where the questions tend to be broader.
this is something FAR more relevant later on, i don't think it'll be as useful at the start of year 12 when you're probably not writing essays but one thing that really helped me revising for end of years and i think is a good thing anyway is looking over the past paper questions for the essays. you can group them into themes so you see the common ones like for me it's normally women, power, money, change, morality, consumerism? stuff like that. then you can have a few critic quotes or context things and quotes that you Know (again this depends on course, i'm thinking quite specifically, but more broadly even just points that you can make or key bits to keep in mind) and when you get that in an exam you can go oh this question is about this i can use these things here as examples rather than having to run through the entire course.
i'd bear in mind that some parts of a level are quite different to gcse, you'll get stuff where you don't necessarily have to do close analysis at all, but you get used to it! you'll improve over the year and of course into year 13! i found my first essay homework quite daunting because it was comparative and focused on context and critics, which i wasn't used to at all! it's also a lot less structured than the paragraphs in gcse, but i've found setting myself goals like 3-4 paragraphs, a certain number of points overall, a certain amount of context points per text, a certain amount of critics and references etc. really helped me to feel like i knew what i was doing. there should be exemplar essays on your course's website for you to get an idea of those numbers and hopefully your teacher will give you some too!
sorry this is such a huge block of text, enjoy sixth form!!

Reply 30

cabaret

Study Forum Helper

Original post by erin11

hope you’ve had a great first couple of days starting year 13!

thank you!!

Reply 31

cabaret

Study Forum Helper

almost done a whole week back in total!! i had no homework until yesterday where i got some in EVERY lesson?? including two presentations?? it's fine. we move.
i think my motivation for uni this summer has helped me a lot. the personal statement is supposed to be quite independent, but i'm solidly into my first draft now, and will hopefully send it to teachers by the end of this week. i know for a fact that if i hadn't started it before school went back, i would be procrastinating and panicking so hard right now. i keep feeling like i should be doing more, even though i'm largely on top of things? need to let myself RELAX!! however i have a session after school for oxbridge humanities applicants, so the relaxation may have to wait until i've submitted my application.
feeling: tired but not behind!

Reply 32

emm4nuella

Debate & Current Affairs Helper, Study Forum Helper

Original post by cabaret

hello, everyone! long time no see! i'm edie, some of you may remember me from my year 12 gyg: https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7478082 . i'm starting this new gyg as my focus moves to year 13 and beyond; it may be summer, but the work is Not Over....
my subjects: eng lit, eng lang, and french
predicted grades: a*a*a*
dream course: linguistics and french
dream uni: oxford (somerville college)
other unis: lancaster, edinburgh and manchester
extra: i have adhd and struggle with procrastination sometimes. this gyg is an attempt to get out of that (lol). i also have two cats who i love a lot!!!

yayyyy linguistics :biggrin:

! how's the uni stuff going? :smile:

Reply 33

cabaret

Study Forum Helper

Original post by emm4nuella

yayyyy linguistics :biggrin:

! how's the uni stuff going? :smile:

LINGUISTICS!!! it’s going alright, i’m keeping at it! planning to get the first draft of my personal statement in by the end of the week :smile:

Reply 34

cabaret

Study Forum Helper

little update!! (11/09/2024) (forgot to do dates before... oops)
uni related stuff:
got confirmation for when i'm doing the mlat (oxford languages entrance test)! it took a while because i had to send in extra stuff for accomodation bc i have adhd but at least it's confirmed! it is unfortunately at 8 am... and i have to get there 15 mins early... wish me luck (date will be 22nd october)
had a discussion group after school yesterday for people doing competitive applications which was very interesting! unfortunately preparing for uni apps takes time... like bro why do they make me work at school?? just a bit inconsiderate of them </3
gave up one of my frees for mlat prep too, was very useful in just pointing out grammar bits to work on. i am, however, exhausted.
the school wifi will do ANYTHING but work, so the personal statement has been a challenge. having to sacrifice data with my hotspot (i have like... one bar maximum at school. praying they fix it)
school work:
staying on top of it!! would be nice if they stopped giving us hour long podcasts that take ages to do, but i am surviving.
feeling: TIRED, man! just want a quick easy task that i can sit down and do rather than loads of things that i just have to keep doing.
at least i'll be done with applications soon ish. there's a whole month free between the mlat and interviews, which is also november, which is also when my 18th is! so i'll be able to maybe half relax or yk experience the usual levels of work.
i'm not burned out or behind or anything, and i know when i'm going to do my work, i just think they should invent a version
of year 13 where you don't have to do things.
ANYWAY seeing my partner (new development!!) this saturday, if i have work to do then i do Not care. i will simply do that on sunday

Reply 35

cabaret

Study Forum Helper

realised this reads a teeny bit like i'm on the brink of losing it, i'm not!! just have to keep organising Every Single Thing I Have To Do bc otherwise i'll forget lol

Reply 36

guessimlink

Original post by cabaret

realised this reads a teeny bit like i'm on the brink of losing it, i'm not!! just have to keep organising Every Single Thing I Have To Do bc otherwise i'll forget lol

this is so incredibly real of you but this sounds very exciting. and terrifying. i fear that they have designed yr13 in a way that maximises suffering

Reply 37

cabaret

Study Forum Helper

Original post by guessimlink

this is so incredibly real of you but this sounds very exciting. and terrifying. i fear that they have designed yr13 in a way that maximises suffering