7 Tips to get A*s for A Levels in 2022
The average score for A Levels in 2021 was an A.
Surprised?
According to Gov.uk, this average score for A Levels had gone up in 2020 and 2021, since the grading system had taken the effects of the coronavirus pandemic into account.
However, this was a situational concession made by Cambridge in order to keep up the general stability and evenness in the outcome of the grades. This year, things are back to normal.
As you guess, the average score will surely lessen again this year since CIA isn't following the pandemic assessment arrangements, and so students can get back to the usual process of revising for sitting the A Level examinations.
While it may seem a little disorienting to go back to the original grading and examination arrangements, it might actually do you well to get organised and start revising and prepping the real way, instead of depending on predicited grades to get through this stage of your life.
Allow yourself to get into a state of mind that promotes productivity, and keep reading to find out how you can maximise your revision efforts to ensure you hit that A* you deserve.
Photo by Jacob Bentzinger / Unsplash
1) Plan your day
This might seem like a given, but hear me out. At the beginning of each day, regardless of whether you have school or whether you are free, work out a plan so you are able to see how many hours you are willing to put in for your revision and study per day, and when you will be doing it.
This is hugely helpful because you know exactly how your day is going to shape up, and how much time you will be investing outside of school hours, or if you need to. You need only do this for the last two months of your examination, but if you will like to plan ahead, this is a trick that always helps.
Try to note down what you will be doing for each hour, or each half-hour, even if you are spending it on your free time! Doing this makes you feel more proactive, and you will be able to engage more readily with study, if you know you have already divided up your day in a way that is satisfying for you.
2) The textbook is your friend
Textbooks can be quite dull to read intensively, and this is common knowledge. However, you can keep the textbooks aside for the majority of the time, and yet use them when you are looking to fill the gaps in your knowledge.
While you go through each topic and create notes, use the textbook to see if you are missing any points that are explicitly part of the theoretical content that you need. This is going to go a long way for you to be able to showcase important and necessary knowledge.
For the rest of your knowledge, you can always look to other methods of revision. But you need the fundamental understanding of the topics from your textbooks, since they have been specifically catered for the requirements of your subjects.
3) Setting goals
It is true that setting goals take up time that can be used for actual studying. But the fact remains that you will be able to eventually save more time if you put some time aside to create a plan, for you to cover all the topics you need to.
Also, having this strategy helps you to understand when any particular topic is a bit out of your depth, and it allows you to reach out for help while you still have plenty of time on your hands, rather than stressing out about these topics in your final weeks before the examination.
You can also set short term goals in addition to your main goals, such as a topic you need to cover per week. In my opinion, this is a very effective way of covering portions since you'll be able to have the time to properly analyse them.
Using this method of having a topic to cover each week pinpoints your attention, and you will be able to reflect on the topic as the week progresses, since it will be on the back of your mind. You can also use the week to note any questions you have, so you can clear them in class, or while you are getting any extra help - through friends or other external, expert sources.
4) Having enough notes
Resources are very essential for you to make sure you are completely prepared for facing your examinations. The textbooks are great on their own, and yet after you have used them to fill any gaps, it is time for you to do some extra research!
This is the important aspect of test preparation that many students miss out on. There are numerous resources available online, which may be a bit scattered regarding the more specific content you may be looking for, but you can always take the resources available from various sites and put them together yourself, in order to get those extra notes that are completely for your own use.
Or else, you can try your hand at reaching certain expert preparation platforms, who have resources that are already compiled and ready for your use. Our own platform helps students with resources and guides, as well as expert, subjective guidance, to give you guys the help you need to be fully prepared, and get that A* with ease.
5) Plan your Answer in the exam
Writing essay questions that are anywhere between 15 marks to 45 marks, need a plan to ensure that the essay has good structure, is concise and also very clear while it displays all of your knowledge.
It helps immensely with time management, since you will already have each essay tangibly planned out before you begin writing it! This is good since you need to cover all the points in a clear manner, and with good transitions between each topic, within the timeframe that you are given.
You can include your bullet pointed plan in your answer sheet, although most students will plan the answer in the question paper itself, using a pencil. The method you use depends on what your school is enforcing or discouraging, but make sure you create a plan somewhere!
It can be a tiny bullet point plan that contains all the main points you are going to cover in the essay, and it helps if you number them in the order in which you will like to mention them.
6) Practice Questions
Going through past questions is great because it allows you to see the requirements you need to meet while writing each paper. Also, it gives you the time you need to look the answers up and also find ways to make your own answer better. To get the great grades you are aiming for, you need to fully engage with the questions, instead of re-gurgitating a concept that you may have memorised or only half understood.
This is very important. Only after you've fully understood the topic, will you be able to answer questions in an intellectual manner. If you are having trouble understanding the concepts on your own, or your writing is not good enough to reach the benchmark you are targeting, it is never too late to get additional help to build your skills so you can tackle your unseen papers.
Everyone knows how the past two academic years have been lacking, on a worldwide scale, to deliver individual attention to students. You can get it for yourself, while discovering new questions as you revise.
7) Try to start early
Start making notes while the content you get from school is still fresh - divide each day's notes into sections, or a bunch of topics that fall under a category, so you can revise them later.
The thing about revision is that if you leave it too late, and you get to the revision time assigned to you by your school, you wouldn't actually be doing any 'revision'. You will be going through the content for the very first time, and you will find yourself spending all of the revision time just trying to understand the concepts - let alone planning for them.
Try to create revision resources for your future self so you can actually use your revision time to start memorising and analysing the main points you need for each subject. This can be as simple as underlining important sections of your textbook so you can divide them into essay plans later, or ideas that you think will come handy in the future, to questions that you need to resolve before revision actually begins.
These are the 7 main tips for you to hit those A*s, but remember to constantly analyse and reflect upon what you are learning, and have engaging, active dicussions with your friends, or elsewhere, so you can sharpen you skills. If you will like to sharpen your subject-specific skills, regarding any of your subjects, get in touch with us here, and prepare to approach your examination with complete confidence.
The Cambridge A Levels can be a very challenging curriculum and sometimes, you require the help of an expert tutor to help you score the best grade possible. Vidyalai provides live online one to one classes from the comfort of your home, with the best Cambridge teachers. We guarantee 100% satisfaction or your first lesson is completely free. Request a class in any subject you might require a little extra help with and take the next step towards academic excellence.
