Students who got A*s at A-level explain study, learning and revision tips that everyone can follow

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What study techniques would A* students recommend that anyone could use?

The Student Room has plenty of members who have already sat their A-levels and walked out with at least one A* – and they've shared the habits that set them up for success.

Here are 58 tips from top students in our community that could help you get the grades you're after. 

1. Practice is key

"Getting your hands on past paper questions and answers is very important. You're able to make connections between different areas of the syllabus. That's what you need to be able to do to get the high grades.

"At least two weeks before exams, start concentrating on past papers. To give you a better idea of how to think through an exam question, check the mark scheme and make sure you understand everything."

– dmccririck

2. Get the examiners' reports

"I genuinely believe examiners' reports are the only reason I got my A* in English Language.

"Every year, exam boards release documents telling you what they want to see from you, as well as examples of not what to do. In terms of exam technique, this is the most useful and important resource you have.

"If you're doing an essay subject, you can walk into an exam knowing that examiners give high marks to pupils who offer criticisms to viewpoints or relate to personal research."

– thompsonic7

3. Relate your subjects to everyday life

"My best friend and I were both studying Tess of the d'Urbervilles in English Lit and had to learn as many quotes as possible from the book for the exam. To revise without revising, we would add quotes from the book.

"Try to make it funny. You're socialising, you're learning, you aren't bored. It's win-win."

– thompsonic7

4. Start early

"If you start revising weeks in advance you'll get a good pace and it means you can go to teachers for help on topics you don't quite get. I started gentle revision (making notes) around late March for my June exams."

– britchick

5. Practice as you go

"It's a good idea to do practice questions on topics as you go along, rather than waiting until the end of revision.

"You might have interpreted something wrong or not quite nailed exam technique, so save half of the papers for revision and half to test your knowledge by the end, so you know where to go back and what to revise more."

– britchick

6. Break down your subject into ordered sections

"Breaking down the exam into lots of little sections makes revision less daunting, and you'll know how much you've done.

"For my exams I separated a module into 20 sections or topics and so it didn't seem like much of a chore to start the next one. Before I knew it, I'd whizzed through the module."

– britchick

7. Track your revision

"I drew up a table in Excel and had columns for subject, date, topic, number of hours studied, cumulative number of hours studied for that subject and next topic to revise.

"The benefit was I could compare the number of hours I'd spent revising each subject, and see which ones I should spend longer on."

– britchick

8. Revise continually

"Revise things as you learn them, maybe with some flashcards and posters. That way, you already know most of it when you come to the exam period and it's just brushing up on final details."

– DavidMRoper

9. Flashcards are lifesavers

"Get a question wrong? Flashcard it, and then test yourself later on. This is useful for when you're forgetting definitions and stuff like that. This was my preferred choice at A-level."

– DavidMRoper

10. Enjoy yourself

"I went to the cinema and played sport when I was revising for my A-levels. I found that I remember revision better when something enjoyable happens around it.

"I remember how an MRI machine works because my cat fell down the stairs while I was learning it! Use colours, use music – experiment with it."

– DavidMRoper

11. Learn in layers

"Learn the principle behind something, not just the facts. Plan to cover all the material three times, adding slightly more detail as you go, and you'll pick it up in no time."

– DavidMRoper

12. Learn typical question formats

"It's no good memorising facts if you're not feeling confident about answering the question correctly. Exam boards use similar styles of questions every year – and past papers will get you best prepared."

– joshgoldman

13. Use repetition

"If you spend an evening learning something, don't leave it and come back to it in several weeks. Look over it again briefly the next day – then again in three days, a week, two weeks and so on."

– Alkain1607

14. Use colour

"Lots of colour helps liven up notes and makes them look more interesting."

– Alkain1607

15. Look after yourself

"Don't fret over the exam, make sure you get a normal amount of sleep – and eat healthily, too."

– Alkain1607

16. Keep at it

"I did science A-levels and I did as many past papers as I could get my hands on. If I'd finished them and still couldn't answer every question, I'd do them all again."

– E13

17. Revise everywhere

"I'm quite lazy and don't like writing revision notes. But for formulae I had to learn I'd write them on bits of paper and stick them on walls or the bathroom mirror."

– E13

18. Motivate yourself

"I stuck a picture of Trinity Hall (I'd got an offer from them) in front of my desk to motivate me to start doing some work."

– E13

19. Stay focused

"If I got fed up with one subject, I'd start studying something else – instead of doing nothing at all."

– E13

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20. Know your marker

"The strategy that helped me most was to check mark schemes. You become familiar with terms that examiners look for and can instantly remember key words when you come across a related question."

– thenumber2goose

21. Have clear aims

"I set grades I was aiming for – they pushed me to work harder than the school’s lower target grades."

– Mr. Macky

22. Create a timetable

"I wrote out every topic for every subject I needed to revise, then estimated how many 50 minute sessions I would need to revise them all. I put this into a timetable, so I would know exactly what area I was going to cover and when."

– strawberryjellybaby

23. Eat!

"Get snacks ready so you don't have the distraction of continually taking breaks in search of food."

– strawberryjellybaby

24. Take breaks

"Don't make yourself study all day. Take a short break every hour –  chat to family or watch TV. You'll have a clear head when you start your next session."

– strawberryjellybaby

25. Make it second nature

"For maths: practise, practise, practise and practise until you can factorise, integrate, differentiate in your sleep, until you become unconsciously competent."

– hotheadhacker

26. Learn model answers

"For biology, practise past years after you have a good grasp of the course content. Learn from the model answers to see what examiners want. If you're lucky, you might get a repeat."

– hotheadhacker

27. Master answering techniques

"For physics, practise past papers as well – and learn the answering techniques for them. The calculations required for physics are simple, just be careful."

– hotheadhacker

28. Practice makes perfect

"At A-level, you get A*s on your ability to answer the exam questions perfectly, rather than just your knowledge. Do all the past papers and exam style questions from previous years a few times each."

– foolscap

29. Check the syllabus

"If you're unsure what will come up in an exam, get a copy of the syllabus off the internet and tick off every single thing on the list."

– foolscap

30. Use distillation

"I got A*s in two essay subjects. I wrote very detailed plans, and every time I rewrote them I reduced the amount of detail.

"Eventually it was just basic prompts. Then I'd write the essays from memory and check it against my plans."

– TitchTheAntiHero

31. Make mind-maps

"I found it helpful to create a large number of massive posters and colourful mind-maps – I'd plaster them all over my study area so I was surrounded by my work."

– robynm93

32. Break it down into bite-sized chunks

"I found it useful to stick small pieces of information all over my room so I would read small snippets of information as I was going about daily tasks."

– robynm93

33. Change your focus

"I tried to break up my work by listening to podcasts. I found the 'In Our Time' program useful for my classics paper on Augustus."

– robynm93

34. Revise smart

"Read revision guides, then close the book and recall the information; write down notes, use memory techniques and – most importantly – do past papers."

– RobertWhite

35. Learn by topic

"I don't recommend timing yourself. Instead, set yourself a specific topic or subject to learn, and to finish once you've done it.

"Timetables work for some people, but I personally hate them."

– RobertWhite

36. Create a Grow your Grades blog on TSR

“I created [a Grow your Grades] blog because I wanted to keep a track of my progress and sharing it with the community here was a good idea because I could get awesome advice from some of the nerdy people here!"

 y.u.mad.bro?

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37. Take your time

"Set yourself plenty of time to revise. Stress causes some people to work harder, but for others it can make them work less and get distracted."

– RobertWhite

38. Cram! 

"This doesn't mean you shouldn't revise properly, but cram as much as you can when it gets near the exam – write down the information without looking at a book."

– RobertWhite

39. Make sure you're actually revising

"If you've stopped concentrating, no problem. Get up, have a drink and a bite to eat or do some exercise and then get back to revision – it should help you refresh."

– RobertWhite

40. Wake up early

"Waking up early means you'll  have lots of the day to look forward to. You might find you learn and concentrate for longer periods in the morning, so give it a try!"

– RobertWhite

41. Find a quiet place to study

"Make sure you have a peaceful setting. It could be your room, garden, the library or anywhere you feel comfortable."

– RobertWhite

42. Don't revise with music

"Classical or ambient music is fine, but if you listen to music you're familiar with you might not learn as much, even if it helps you stay concentrated."

– RobertWhite

43. Get a good night's sleep!

"You will not be able to revise as effectively without this."

– RobertWhite

44. Predict the questions!

"Don't limit yourself to revising for those questions, but it is likely at least one of them will come up. All of my predictions came up for one of my exams!"

– RobertWhite

45. Become a memory champ

"Use the loci method – memory champions use this technique in competitions! It will be especially useful for exams where you need to remember loads of names and research."

– RobertWhite

46. Take it in

"Read a paragraph and write it out from memory after. I never moved on until I memorised everything."

– 05kubann

47. Relax

"A chilled-out revision atmosphere helped me. I started revising a month before the exam, doing a small amount each day. I would do a 30-minute session then listen to music or watch TV for about 15 minutes. Then I got back to work."

– 05kubann

48. Find what helps you

"I typed all my notes on the computer as I can't revise from my own handwriting. It doesn't seem real and I can't remember the information."

– 05kubann

49. Use graphs

"Diagrams could help you remember your work – you might be able to visualise it in the exam."

– 05kubann

50. Don't panic! 

"Don't let any university status put you down – everywhere is good. You just need to put in the effort to succeed."

– 05kubann

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51. Picture your goal

"Imagine how you will feel if you work hard and get the grades to go to your firm university."

– tehforum

52. Keep motivated

"Think of the long term gains (high grades and impressing employers) that could come from your short term sacrifices (getting up and working for eight hours a day)."

– tehforum

53. Re-read your notes to remember everything

"Even if you think you know it, re-read it again."

– tehforum

54. Practise specifics

"For Spanish, I did lots of grammar practice online and with books. I learned vocab and made notes of what I would say for certain questions in my speaking exam."

– S_123

55. Reread your old essays

"For English, I wrote quotes on note cards and tried to learn as many as possible. I practised essays, as well as reading my previous ones. I also revised general themes."

– S_123

56. Take note(s)

"I don't think there's any versatility with geography revision – I just made notes and memorised them as much as possible."

– S_123

57. Take an interest

"Study subjects you are genuinely interested in. What helped me get A*s in maths, physics and biology was that I thought the topics we discussed were fascinating. That made me pay attention in class and remember the material."

– theandyguthrie

58. Understand

"The key to learning is understanding, not cramming. I didn't do loads of intense revision, but I would often make links in my head to help me solve problems in the future."

– theandyguthrie


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