Using A Level past papers effectively

2

Hello

, I just finished y12 and is currently on my summer break. I do Biology, Chemistry and Psychology, all AQA. I want to master using my past papers effectively before going into y13. I have tried memorising the mark scheme and it has worked for the AO1 content but I fumble on the application questions especially for Bio, no matter how many papers I have done. Is there anyway in which I could improve AO3 from doing past papers. Any tips will be greatly appreciated!! Thank you!!

Reply 1

YSJ_Alex

Official Rep

12

Original post

by BiyonaB

Hello

, I just finished y12 and is currently on my summer break. I do Biology, Chemistry and Psychology, all AQA. I want to master using my past papers effectively before going into y13. I have tried memorising the mark scheme and it has worked for the AO1 content but I fumble on the application questions especially for Bio, no matter how many papers I have done. Is there anyway in which I could improve AO3 from doing past papers. Any tips will be greatly appreciated!! Thank you!!

Hey!

I didn’t do Bio or Chem, but I did do Psych, and I managed to get an A*, and now I’m taking it at uni. I still have all my old revision and study materials so hopefully I can tell you about some study methods I used that will help you out!

Just for (my own) clarification, AO3 for AQA Psych is:

•

AO3: Analyse, interpret and evaluate scientific information, ideas and evidence, including in relation to issues, to:

•

make judgements and reach conclusions

•

develop and refine practical design and procedures.

Evaluation is always the hardest part but it brings in the most marks as it shows critical thinking rather than just being able to memorise descriptive content. It usually shines in those big essay questions (they were worth 12 marks when I did it) that will start with words like “outline and evaluate’. Sometimes you’ll also get the odd small question asking for a disadvantage for a certain theory or study.

My method for preparing for these types of questions would be to identify any possible topic which could come up on an essay question (sounds extensive, I know) and I’d make a “common essay questions” booklet for the topic - e.g., attachment. I would identify all the theories/studies, e.g., stages of attachment (Schaffer), animal attachment (Harlow & Lorenz) etc., and I’d write out two pros and two cons each as full PEEL paragraphs (point, evidence, explanation, link). I’d then reduce them as much as possible into bullet points and put them on flashcards. (If you have a windows device, download Anki - fantastic digital flashcards app). I’d then try and recall the bullet points and write them into full paragraphs. Unfortunately the hack is just repetition!

I’d then find past papers that I’ve never seen before and try them from scratch, allowing myself the same time that I would be given in an exam. Some people may suggest doing the essay questions first, but I found it most helpful to take a quick look at it, note down everything I can remember, then do the rest of the paper first. You’ll find that completing the rest of the paper first jogs your memory a bit and you’ll remember more evaluation points before you get to the end. If possible, always ask your teacher to mark them as they’ll have a more objective perspective on the mark scheme than you will!

Don’t underestimate the power of the link in the PEEL paragraph! The link implies what the problem/strength means for the study as a whole. For example, does the strength mean the research has had real-life benefits and applications? Does the weakness mean that the theory can be explained by other, simpler measures, and so doesn’t truly explain its original aim? I found I hardly got as many marks when I didn’t take that step back and explain the true impact of the strength or weakness.

It’ll help if you learn some basic evaluation points that can apply to most studies - external/internal validity, practical applications, ethical issues etc. as they’ll be useful to rely on if your brain goes blank during an exam. There’s a million types of validity to learn if you do a bit of research and one of them will apply to pretty much every study or theory.

Sorry this was so long! Hopefully you find something helpful in here, and if you have any more questions let me know :smile:

Best,
Alex
Student Ambassador

Reply 2

BiyonaB

OP

2

Thank you!! I use PESH which is really similar to PEEL. This helped a lot :smile:

Reply 3

mehet07

11

I did Bio and Psych and I’ve finished yr13. I did AQA and was predicted an A* in Psych and my best advice would be to know the content before you start doing past papers. Evaluation, memorise it and if that’s difficult, just know that you can always say stuff about validity, reliability, whether it was controlled or not etc, things critiquing the experiment. Also, do past questions on Research Methods, it will be in every single paper. For Biology, I did AQA and predicted A but it was definitely my weakest. Do as many past papers as you can, including AS papers. Miss estruch is good for learning content, maths practice is essential and the essay practice will help also :smile:

Reply 4

BiyonaB

OP

2

Thank you!!! I am predicted A* for all three of my subjects but I barely scraped that for Bio. Bio is my weakest as well.. the mark schemes are soo specific

Reply 5

Reality Check

22

Original post

by BiyonaB

Hello

, I just finished y12 and is currently on my summer break. I do Biology, Chemistry and Psychology, all AQA. I want to master using my past papers effectively before going into y13. I have tried memorising the mark scheme and it has worked for the AO1 content but I fumble on the application questions especially for Bio, no matter how many papers I have done. Is there anyway in which I could improve AO3 from doing past papers. Any tips will be greatly appreciated!! Thank you!!

Whenever I hear 'memorising the mark scheme' I sigh. This is not how to go about things.

Reply 6

BiyonaB

OP

2

Well what I meant by memorising mark scheme is about the question that come up repeatedly. For example, when talking about non competitive inhibitors you must talk about allosteric site and preventing the formation of enzyme-substrate complex. No matter how much one waffles, without these words it’s hard to get the marks and thats where the MS are harsh.

Reply 7

mehet07

11

Original post

by BiyonaB

Thank you!!! I am predicted A* for all three of my subjects but I barely scraped that for Bio. Bio is my weakest as well.. the mark schemes are soo specific

Ikr?? But it’s okay, it’s just something you have to practice 😭

Reply 8

Reality Check

22

Original post

by BiyonaB

Well what I meant by memorising mark scheme is about the question that come up repeatedly. For example, when talking about non competitive inhibitors you must talk about allosteric site and preventing the formation of enzyme-substrate complex. No matter how much one waffles, without these words it’s hard to get the marks and thats where the MS are harsh.

As an examiner, I would describe the MS as 'specific', rather than 'harsh'. MSs are supposed to be tight, with defined answers. Much work goes into ensuring that 'wooliness' (which I think some candidates would like) is progressively stripped out of them.

What you're saying in your example of enzymes is correct, but this should really be less about 'memorisation' and more about learning the right terminology and when to apply it. I suppose if you want to call that 'memorisation' then it doesn't really matter. The problem comes when candidates attempt to memorise whole MSs and then vomit them out in the exam in response to a trigger word - there is no surer way of 'not answering the question'.

Reply 9

Kingston Jenifer

Official Rep

11

Original post

by BiyonaB

Hello

, I just finished y12 and is currently on my summer break. I do Biology, Chemistry and Psychology, all AQA. I want to master using my past papers effectively before going into y13. I have tried memorising the mark scheme and it has worked for the AO1 content but I fumble on the application questions especially for Bio, no matter how many papers I have done. Is there anyway in which I could improve AO3 from doing past papers. Any tips will be greatly appreciated!! Thank you!!

Hi there,

I did my A-Levels in Biology and Chemistry and now have a Medical Biology degree. Anything career related, ask away!

The thing that sticks out to be the most in this post is how you have memorized the mark scheme. I personally have not heard of this revision method (did my A-Levels 2018/2020) and I would not advise doing this because during the actual exam, this revision method is not feasible and can cost you marks.

For application questions in Biology, you need to enhance your understanding. While memorizing can help you remember the steps of a process, it cannot tell you how to apply this process. You may need to do some wider reading around topics you are struggling with.

Kind regards, Jenifer (Kingston rep).

Reply 10

jcyw

3

I always emphasise to my peers the need to understand before you actually memorise.

Especially with bio, memorising the mark scheme isn't a great idea when you don't have sufficient understanding. It makes it so much easier to memorise as well! but I do agree that to some extent memorising the mark scheme can gain you a lit if marks.

What I do is I make sure I fully understand the content, then when it's time for me to memorise, I look at the question, answer it in my head (so I don't waste time by writing it down) then check the mark scheme. I make a mental note of it if I get it wrong and it usually works because especially for definitions they come up on past papers all the time. AQA is just stupid like that with an oddly specific mark scheme.

Using A Level past papers effectively

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