University students I need your help

10

Can you guys give a tip on how to get A* on all my A-levels
Hi, I am year 12 studying Edexcel A - level history ( russian lenin to Yeltsin 1917-91, Mao's china 1945-76 & American civil war), OCR A - level Ethics + Theology + Philosophy and AQA AS/A - level psychology.
• How do I revise ? ( Methods)
• How do maximise how many marks I get ?
• How do I structure an essay for RS and history ? ( Could you give me a precise structure)
• How do I make sure that whilst I'm writing an essay I don't have a writer's block ?

Reply 1

ariSyd

4

Original post

by missknowitall1

Can you guys give a tip on how to get A* on all my A-levels
Hi, I am year 12 studying Edexcel A - level history ( russian lenin to Yeltsin 1917-91, Mao's china 1945-76 & American civil war), OCR A - level Ethics + Theology + Philosophy and AQA AS/A - level psychology.
• How do I revise ? ( Methods)
• How do maximise how many marks I get ?
• How do I structure an essay for RS and history ? ( Could you give me a precise structure)
• How do I make sure that whilst I'm writing an essay I don't have a writer's block ?

hey missknowitall1!

So i am a uni student i am currently doing BA hons criminology and its my last year now. my A-levels include crim and sociology, i know not history philosophy or psychology but one thing i know is common in psychology, sociology and crim is that you have to be very good in essays, specially if you wanna do a social science in uni. for essay based subjects specially in A levels you have to have very good understanding of your content,

>Revise using mind maps, flash cards and past papers. the more you practise writing essays the better you will get. pick a random topic and write whatever you can about it like a mind map for example a theory, write whatever comes to your mind when you see the name of that theory write it down on paper it can be words, phrases etc, this will help in making connection, also it will help you not getting stuck in the middle of an essay. flash cards can help you remember concepts on a basic level, make sure you make them properly in a question and answer format keep them short and simple.

>Now to maximise your grades in essay based subjects you need to understand the structure of essays, use past papers, when i did sociology we were told to print out past papers and time ourselves, this really helps you figure out where you stand when it comes to managing time in a timed setting like exams. you have limited time in an exam and practising through past papers and timing yourself gives you good practise and prepares you to make better choices while you are in an exam so you don't waste time writing about irrelevant stuff. So maximise marks by looking at past paper, learn structure and format of exam, practise on them so you have a clear understanding of it all when you're in an exam.

> History is not my subject so i am sorry i cant give you a structure for that, however generally in an essay you have to have a good introduction, body of the essay where you make point use evidence to back your point ,and at the end a clear conclusion summing up what you say.

> To avoid writing block, before starting an essay plan that essay. for example i get a question about classical criminology, i will take 5 minutes to plan, i will write down the main points of the essay quickly or just write down words related to the topic like: "free will" ''punishment" "pain and pleasure principle" etc so i remember what direction i will take my essay in, remember to focus on keywords like, explain, analyse, examine etc these words guide your essay.

for the history related question i hope someone who did history can answer you.

even though i did not do same A-levels as you i hope these points can help you a little bit. best of luck for your A-levels!😊

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 2

aslanelif97

1

Original post

by missknowitall1

Can you guys give a tip on how to get A* on all my A-levels
Hi, I am year 12 studying Edexcel A - level history ( russian lenin to Yeltsin 1917-91, Mao's china 1945-76 & American civil war), OCR A - level Ethics + Theology + Philosophy and AQA AS/A - level psychology.
• How do I revise ? ( Methods)
• How do maximise how many marks I get ?
• How do I structure an essay for RS and history ? ( Could you give me a precise structure)
• How do I make sure that whilst I'm writing an essay I don't have a writer's block ?

Hiya I also did the same history course but i did britain instead of american civil war. My tips for you would be ask your teacher for all the possible essay questions and make a plan for each of them you don’t have to write it out but have key examples that you can use if it comes up. Also when revising make short context questions for example for china this can be “what were the aims of the cultural revolution?” etc as this helps you use active recall. If you nail the structure for the essays the rest is easy. For example, for Russia if it asks for the whole timeline don’t go in chronological order with each leader because you’ll lose focus and not answer the question. Make sure to talk about why and how. For example if they ask a question like “was media the most effective in controlling the people in the years ….” you can separate this into the different types of media such as propaganda, newspapers such as the pravda and radio stations and make sure to include an intermediate conclusion at the end of each paragraphs and compare it to other methods to controlling the people. I hope this helps and i wish you all the best in your studies!

Reply 3

Uni of Southampton Students

Official Rep

16

Original post

by missknowitall1

Can you guys give a tip on how to get A* on all my A-levels
Hi, I am year 12 studying Edexcel A - level history ( russian lenin to Yeltsin 1917-91, Mao's china 1945-76 & American civil war), OCR A - level Ethics + Theology + Philosophy and AQA AS/A - level psychology.
• How do I revise ? ( Methods)
• How do maximise how many marks I get ?
• How do I structure an essay for RS and history ? ( Could you give me a precise structure)
• How do I make sure that whilst I'm writing an essay I don't have a writer's block ?

Hello @missknowitall1!

Well done for setting this goal!

Like others have said, practice testing, mind maps, flashcards and past exam papers are all really good revision methods. Organising your time is also key when studying for A-levels, which can be done with a revision timetable. If you are interested, I recently made a post discussing revision techniques based on psychology, which may be helpful for you.

Don't forget to set aside time for yourself to relax with friends and do things that you enjoy, as it's easy to get burnt out without a proper work-life balance.

Good luck with your exams and let me know if you have any questions!

Poppy, 2nd Year Psychology Student. 😀

Reply 4

FairyPeriapt

13

Original post

by missknowitall1

Can you guys give a tip on how to get A* on all my A-levels
Hi, I am year 12 studying Edexcel A - level history ( russian lenin to Yeltsin 1917-91, Mao's china 1945-76 & American civil war), OCR A - level Ethics + Theology + Philosophy and AQA AS/A - level psychology.
• How do I revise ? ( Methods)
• How do maximise how many marks I get ?
• How do I structure an essay for RS and history ? ( Could you give me a precise structure)
• How do I make sure that whilst I'm writing an essay I don't have a writer's block ?

Hey I wrote an article about A-Level history covering exam techniques and revision techniques. https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/hive-articles/history-a-level-examnea-structure-help-revision-techniques

The only thing I don't think I cover is writer's block - the best way to avoid this is plan ahead before you start answering. A quick but detailed ish 5 minute plan before you start writing helps you keep writing and not stray, keeping your marks high

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