A-Level Chemistry Week 3 Exam Preparation Tips

TLDR: putting all the hard the work you’ve done to the test with – you’ve guessed it – more past papers.

We’ve marked and reflected on weak spots that came up after the last round of papers and done some revision of the mistakes we made. If there are still topics you’d like to do more work on before you dive into more papers, keep reading for some ideas on how to iron out those really difficult areas.

- Work through problems step by step. All topics and exam questions are broken down into single steps – this is reflected in the specification and the mark scheme. This makes it easy to figure out exactly the point our understanding drops off and we start to lose marks. If there is a particular question or topic you just can’t seem to understand, start from the beginning. Work slowly through the steps and be really honest with yourself about where exactly you get lost. If asked what confuses you, it can be really easy to just say “the whole question” or “all of organic synthesis”, but I’m willing to bet there is a particular point in the specification or mark scheme that you struggle with the most, and once that is ironed out, the other stuff will fall into place. Identify this point and do some focused work on it.

- Find different ways of learning a concept. Most of the time, textbooks and notes are great. But sometimes, the explanation you have written down, and on your flashcards, just does not make sense. There are lots of ways of explaining problems, and so something to look for when you’re stuck is an alternative explanation. Have a look on online forums, youtube, a revision book – try and find the same concept explained in a different way. Sometimes that’s all you need to understand that pesky point. Allery Chemistry and Chemguide helped me out a lot with this.

- Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Teachers, older siblings, parents, classmates. These are just some examples of people who may be able to, and who will want to do everything they can to help. You’ll get the most out of asking for help if you are able to ask specific questions. Instead of asking for help on a whole topic, see above for figuring out exactly what it is you don’t understand – help them help you. It’s a lot more useful to explain ‘why a racemic mixture is not optically active’ than it is to go through the whole organic topic and possibly neglect explaining the point you really need help with.

Now it’s time repeat the whole process again for a new set of papers - exciting! As always, try to do the papers under exam conditions and pay special attention to questions on topics that you have struggled with before.

The whole past-paper, mark scheme, examiners report, specification, past paper again cycle might at this point be feeling a bit repetitive, and you may be struggling with some tunnel vision. If this is the case, it can be really helpful to switch up your routine. Try revising with friends, or in a new café, or your local library. Research has shown that novelty is a great way to heighten your focus and be more productive (read more here). Breaking up your revision sessions into shorter chunks with regular breaks (known as the Pomodoro Technique) will also help.

If a new café or more regular breaks doesn’t quite cut it for you and you’re starting to feel burnt out, take time to rest. Self-discipline is essential to doing well during an exam season, but a big part of self-discipline is being strict about having time to not do work and get back to things that make you happy.

With only a few weeks to go, it might also help to look back at how far you’ve come. Take a look at your most recent set of past papers – notice how many marks you got this time round that you would have missed a month ago, or even last week. Keep in mind that small bits of progress week to week will take you further than cramming everything and doing 20 past papers the week before. Trust the process – there really isn’t much that can go wrong if you’re doing and marking papers consistently. Exams aren’t trying to trick you; they really are trying to see how much you’ve learnt.

Have any questions about how to prepare for your A-Level exams? Having problems with any hard to understand content or tricky past exam questions? Then ask Martha. Martha will be hosting a series of Q&A webinars in the 2 weeks before final exams. Post your questions here, and Martha will answer them in these sessions.