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Psychology help

Currently in year 13 studying AQA psychology and I'm failing.
Ive been failing all throughout year 12 and just failed an exam last week, got told imma have to rethink taking mpharm at uni as well as taking psychology a lvls if I dont get a B.

I'm so lost as to why im failing since in bio and chem I've been getting As and Bs.

I've tried every revision method i could get my hands on, from:
- psychboost
- simply psychology
- illuminate aqa green and pink girl textbook
- oxford aqa psych textbook
- Mrs Harris blog

To:
- making mind maps
- writing notes
- flashcards
- memorising content

Nothing seems to work!
I've realised its a combo of both not knowing my content as well as not understanding the qs.
Since when idk the content, i leave the qs and when i do know the content I don't understand the qs (somehow) cuz my teach says watever i write is irrelevant.

Ive tried asking for her ppts since they got me a C when i used them but she doesn't want me to have access to them and i cant keep up with her pace during lesson.

Ive asked my friend and he said to use the textbook she provided, which is the 5th edition, psych a lvl complete companion student book.
IMO tht book is hella waffle but if anyone has gone thru tht book, does it have all the content i need?

Any revision tips are useful. Currently need to focus on paper 2 and paper 3 since my mocks will be on those.

Ik ppl say 'do qs' but how can i do qs if idk my content.

Reply 1

Sorry you've not had any responses about this. :frown: Are you sure you've posted in the right place? :smile: Here's a link to our subject forum which should help get you more responses if you post there. :redface:

Reply 2

that book is the one everybody in my school uses & a large amount of us are getting As & A*s. if you've 'tried everything' then your methods aren't working like you think they are. i'd really reccommend completing practice questions - in your textbook, there should be a double page spread of each topic and then 3-4 example exam questions for it. i would make notes/flashcards/mindmaps of the topic and then practice the exam questions & mark them using the mark scheme. there are also exam question guides in the book that gives you the step-by-step process of answering every type of question (2, 4, 8, 16, etc.)

Reply 3

don’t lose hope - getting a C means you’re on the right track and that was the last mock grade I got before my actual A Level exams where I ended up being a couple marks off an A*! You need to cross reference the specification for what you need to know and try to summarise from memory what each point on the spec covers. Honestly, the resources available for psych are very limited and it all comes down to your approach and understanding of the content. Nothing is remotely difficult in the course that you need to learn, but there is a lot to remember. Keep on top of research methods to get the most marks possible

Reply 4

Original post
by t4kethis2urgrave
that book is the one everybody in my school uses & a large amount of us are getting As & A*s. if you've 'tried everything' then your methods aren't working like you think they are. i'd really reccommend completing practice questions - in your textbook, there should be a double page spread of each topic and then 3-4 example exam questions for it. i would make notes/flashcards/mindmaps of the topic and then practice the exam questions & mark them using the mark scheme. there are also exam question guides in the book that gives you the step-by-step process of answering every type of question (2, 4, 8, 16, etc.)

hey, i started using the textbook properly and it's AMAZING! Maybe not the evaluations, i learn them off of the green haired AQA book but for content it's amazing

Reply 5

Original post
by 123dz
don’t lose hope - getting a C means you’re on the right track and that was the last mock grade I got before my actual A Level exams where I ended up being a couple marks off an A*! You need to cross reference the specification for what you need to know and try to summarise from memory what each point on the spec covers. Honestly, the resources available for psych are very limited and it all comes down to your approach and understanding of the content. Nothing is remotely difficult in the course that you need to learn, but there is a lot to remember. Keep on top of research methods to get the most marks possible

hiya thanks for the advice, ive started actually taking watever resources i have near me srsly and it has helped me so much! Also realised i can learn so much content from the actual questions themselves

Reply 6

Original post
by limbobimbo
Currently in year 13 studying AQA psychology and I'm failing.
Ive been failing all throughout year 12 and just failed an exam last week, got told imma have to rethink taking mpharm at uni as well as taking psychology a lvls if I dont get a B.
I'm so lost as to why im failing since in bio and chem I've been getting As and Bs.
I've tried every revision method i could get my hands on, from:
- psychboost
- simply psychology
- illuminate aqa green and pink girl textbook
- oxford aqa psych textbook
- Mrs Harris blog
To:
- making mind maps
- writing notes
- flashcards
- memorising content
Nothing seems to work!
I've realised its a combo of both not knowing my content as well as not understanding the qs.
Since when idk the content, i leave the qs and when i do know the content I don't understand the qs (somehow) cuz my teach says watever i write is irrelevant.
Ive tried asking for her ppts since they got me a C when i used them but she doesn't want me to have access to them and i cant keep up with her pace during lesson.
Ive asked my friend and he said to use the textbook she provided, which is the 5th edition, psych a lvl complete companion student book.
IMO tht book is hella waffle but if anyone has gone thru tht book, does it have all the content i need?
Any revision tips are useful. Currently need to focus on paper 2 and paper 3 since my mocks will be on those.
Ik ppl say 'do qs' but how can i do qs if idk my content.
SMCartledge on youtube! he goes through lesson slides, exam questions/ past papers and predictions for questions!

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