A level Psychology tips

10

Hi, I’m a year 12 right now and I was wondering if anyone had any tips for revising for a level psychology (AQA) + any resources that are exam specific

Reply 1

t4kethis2urgrave

9

if you search up sutton academy + paper 1 or paper 2 topics there should be pdfs with loads of past exam questions. in general revision terms, i'd make rag sheets where you log every time you revise a topic with a rating (red = struggled, yellow = remembered around half, green = recalled everything) and just make sure you could plan every 16 marker that could come up!
i'm yr13 and predicted an A* in aqa psych so feel free to ask any more questions :smile:

Reply 2

Yirokii

OP

10

Original post

by t4kethis2urgrave

if you search up sutton academy + paper 1 or paper 2 topics there should be pdfs with loads of past exam questions. in general revision terms, i'd make rag sheets where you log every time you revise a topic with a rating (red = struggled, yellow = remembered around half, green = recalled everything) and just make sure you could plan every 16 marker that could come up!
i'm yr13 and predicted an A* in aqa psych so feel free to ask any more questions :smile:

Is there any particular way you memorise information, such as flashcards etc?

Reply 3

submerged-shed

6

Original post

by Yirokii

Hi, I’m a year 12 right now and I was wondering if anyone had any tips for revising for a level psychology (AQA) + any resources that are exam specific

General advice:

•

Honestly lots of repetition, doing little bits everyday is usually a lot better than cramming intensely unless you are able to grasp information quickly. This is good for paper 1 and 2 content as you will learn paper 3 last so by being consistent with revision it really helps! (and everything is applicable everywhere! approaches overlap in many topics and research methods appear in every paper)

•

Using the the specification is very useful too, aqa psychology has a broad range of content so lots of things can be credited. (so different resources use different A03's so pick ones you are confident with)

•

Use the specification to understand how topics are grouped, for example in memory there are explanations of forgetting (interference and retrieval failure) however they won't be specified

•

understand the difference between key words like discuss and evaluate

•

understand how marks are awarded into A01, A02 and A03 as this can influence the amount of marks you get

•

do lots of practice questions!! and look at mark scheme

•

practice writing essays and if possible get your teachers to mark them is possible with feedback, essays are important to practice are you will get better with time (practice your point and links back to the question as students lose marks not writing coherent essays)

Resources:

•

up learn is pretty good (there is a free trial for 3 days otherwise you need to pay)

•

psychboosttogo also does summaries good for revising and refreshing your mind

•

if possible do you have access to teachers lessons?

I'm also in yr 13. Also don't overwork or overwhelm yourself! Lots of people get so burnt out so make sure to take breaks. And best of luck for psychology!!! If you have any more questions I can try answer them!

Reply 4

t4kethis2urgrave

9

Original post

by Yirokii

Is there any particular way you memorise information, such as flashcards etc?

i use online flashcards on knowt, but i think anki might be better because i think you can rate how difficult you found each card? i made a flashcards set on each subtopic after the lesson as part of my revision - it helps to have them in ur own words so you really understand the content for future application and memorising.

Reply 5

Yirokii

OP

10

Original post

by t4kethis2urgrave

i use online flashcards on knowt, but i think anki might be better because i think you can rate how difficult you found each card? i made a flashcards set on each subtopic after the lesson as part of my revision - it helps to have them in ur own words so you really understand the content for future application and memorising.

Oo okay ill try anki out

Reply 6

Yirokii

OP

10

Original post

by submerged-shed

General advice:

•

Honestly lots of repetition, doing little bits everyday is usually a lot better than cramming intensely unless you are able to grasp information quickly. This is good for paper 1 and 2 content as you will learn paper 3 last so by being consistent with revision it really helps! (and everything is applicable everywhere! approaches overlap in many topics and research methods appear in every paper)

•

Using the the specification is very useful too, aqa psychology has a broad range of content so lots of things can be credited. (so different resources use different A03's so pick ones you are confident with)

•

Use the specification to understand how topics are grouped, for example in memory there are explanations of forgetting (interference and retrieval failure) however they won't be specified

•

understand the difference between key words like discuss and evaluate

•

understand how marks are awarded into A01, A02 and A03 as this can influence the amount of marks you get

•

do lots of practice questions!! and look at mark scheme

•

practice writing essays and if possible get your teachers to mark them is possible with feedback, essays are important to practice are you will get better with time (practice your point and links back to the question as students lose marks not writing coherent essays)

Resources:

•

up learn is pretty good (there is a free trial for 3 days otherwise you need to pay)

•

psychboosttogo also does summaries good for revising and refreshing your mind

•

if possible do you have access to teachers lessons?

I'm also in yr 13. Also don't overwork or overwhelm yourself! Lots of people get so burnt out so make sure to take breaks. And best of luck for psychology!!! If you have any more questions I can try answer them!

Thank you so much!
I was wondering for A03, how much research support do u think i should memorise e.g one per sub topic??

Reply 7

submerged-shed

6

Original post

by Yirokii

Thank you so much!
I was wondering for A03, how much research support do u think i should memorise e.g one per sub topic??

I don't know which textbook you use but in my psychology book A01 is on the left and A03 (Usually 5 paragraphs) is on the right page. For elaborate answers like when writing essays I think you should aim for 3/4. This is because most people learn a couple pro's and a couple cons to each page as they try to have a balanced argument for subtopics when writing essays (not always tho as there may be more negatives or more positives, or even neutral arguments to make). Although 3/4 sounds like a lot, when you get further into your psychology course, it becomes easier to produce your own evaluation points. In paper 3 where you learn issues and debates, those subtopics can be used as A03's if applied correctly. And with repetition it will stick! Pick A03's you are more likely to remember as well.
Also depending on how well you can elaborate a point, you can get away with writing less A03 paragraphs as you'd be writing more in depth about them, but still achieving a good amount of marks. I hope this helps and it isn't too convoluted. Ultimately it is down to you, and it depends on the mark band you want to aim for.
Again any more questions for psy and I'll try to answer them!

A level Psychology tips

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