Past papers and mark schemes are super useful resources that you should be using throughout your A level course, not just in the run up to mocks and exams.
You might have noticed that the practice questions in your text book bear very little resemblance to the horrors the examiners think up in the real exams!
We can use past paper questions at the end of every topic to double check we really do understand the content.
For example, maybe we’ve just finished a topic on shapes of molecules. Before we move on we should have a scroll through the 2017, 2018 and 2019 past papers (AS and A level) to find all the questions on shapes of molecules.
- answer a question either with your notes if you need to build your confidence or from memory
- mark it paying close attention to the marking points in the mark scheme, especially wording and the ‘Do not allow’ guidance
- make your corrections in another colour
If you’ve got the gist of the answer but your wording is incorrect, make a flashcard or post-it to annotate your notes with the phrase or terminology the examiner is expecting to see in your answer.
| Move on to answering a second and third question from another paper on shapes of molecules (without your notes) and mark in the same wayCompleting several questions on the same topic one after another not only cements your understanding of the topic but you are also mastering the key exam language from the very start! |
| A* students are proactive – just completing assigned homework is not enough to get you the top grades at A level. Take ownership, figure out where your weaknesses are and put aside time to deal with them 😊. You’ll thank yourself later on! |
If this has been useful then please forward it on and thank you very much for reading,
