A-Level Physics Week 3 Exam Preparation Tips

Hi there, Imogen here again.

I hope you are all keeping well in this stressful time of the year! Last week we discussed some important aspects of Physics to have nailed as strong foundations and not to forget in the midst of content specific revision. These included being clear with SI units, learning useful equations and understanding the command words in exam questions, as well as techniques for helping with all three. I hope covering those helped you and you have given them some due attention over the week.

Quite excitingly you are almost there now! Halfway through these blogs in fact, which means there is not long to go. This is great because it means you’ll soon be relaxing in the sunshine without an exam in mind, but it also means it’s the final push now. In order for that sunbathing session to feel the best it possibly can we want to make sure we are trying our hardest so we can do our best in these exams! But in these final weeks, full of so much stress, it is important to schedule in rest and recharging sessions - if anything to keep you from going completely insane!

Hopefully you are almost ready to sit the exam now. Imagine yourself doing it… it’s not too bad right? You’ve worked so hard; you know you got this. However if that is not the case and you cannot comfortably imagine yourself sitting any of the exams then let’s discuss some good practice paper revision strategies.

Understanding the paper structure

First things first, let’s get used to each paper layout. You may be lucky and similar layouts but just different subject matter for all of your physics exams, but if not, it is important to know the differences. Let’s follow the below checklist for understanding a paper:

1. How many different sections/ questions are there typically?

For example, how many multiple-choice questions are there? Is there a section specifically about experiments? How many long answer questions are there?

2. How are the marks distributed throughout the paper?

3. How long do you have to complete the paper?

4. Do you prefer working through the paper in chronological order or maybe doing all the longer questions first? (It’s totally up to what works best for you!)

Time trials

Working at your own pace, let’s complete a past paper, choose the paper that you are most scared about sitting. Have a stopwatch running but do not look at it. Don’t rush the questions, answer them fully and take as long as you need.

How long did it take? With absolutely no self-judgement take note of the stopwatch time and compare it to the time you are allowed in the exam hall.

Are you working at an appropriate pace to get everything done in time? Now (after a few days) let’s try another past paper with a timer running visibly. Try to complete the exam as if it was the real thing. As I’m sure you have heard a million times… aim for completing a mark a minute. This doesn’t mean rush as fast as you can but instead try to maximise your marks and also play to your strengths i.e. don’t fret on a tricky 4 marker you know you are not answering well and in turn trade it for a future 6 marks which you could have easily answered.

Working out the balance between skipping a question to return to at the end and immediately getting it done so you don’t run out of time before you can come back to it, is a tricky skill to acquire. I’m sure it has gotten easier to determine since your GCSEs and this is because it is mostly intuition, which unsurprisingly comes from practice. Ultimately, however, the purpose of this exercise is to get used to roughly the pace that works best for you. But this is quite intense work so make sure to take breaks and even give yourself a little reward after each exam paper.

What mindset should I have for Physics this week?

A growth mindset. This is always very important but I think especially this week when you’re doing hard and scary realistic exam practise. It can be quite intense but if you try not to see failure as a way to describe yourself but instead as a springboard for growth and developing your abilities then you cannot lose; you’re invincible!

Best of luck getting used to practise papers in exam conditions. Don’t forget to keep mulling over your flashcards, posters, notes and other revision materials, maintaining the necessary exposure to Physics content.

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 Imogen. Imogen will be hosting a series of Q&A webinars in the 2 weeks before final exams. Post your questions here, and Imogen will answer them in these sessions.