!"# %" &'% () * "+ ( ,-+.

%

lf you are looklng Lo geL Lhe besL grade posslble, Lhen you have Lo be worklng conslsLenLly aL a level
/-&/'+ Lhan Lhe exam ls plLched aL.

?ou cannoL afford Lo do mlnlmal work LhroughouL Lhe year and Lhen make an efforL for a few weeks
before Lhe exam. 1he chances are LhaL you can sLlll do well buL you won'L geL Lhe mark LhaL you could
have. And Lhe furLher you go, for example, on Lo unlverslLy Lhen posslbly a MasLers, aL some polnL you
wlll geL found ouL.

1he flrsL Lhlng ls Lo geL Lhe undersLandlng and maln concepLs sorLed ouL as soon as posslble. 1hls has Lo
be done monLhs before Lhe exam. So don'L slL back and relax ln SepLember when school or unlverslLy
beglns, use Lhls Llme wlsely.

lf you are looklng for Lop marks, lL has Lo be assumed LhaL you can undersLand everyLhlng and have
mlnlmal problems. lL ls golng Lo come down Lo how many mlsLakes you make or don'L make. An A* aL A2,
for example, doesn'L allow much room for error.

lf you are sLruggllng wlLh someLhlng, you need Lo sorL lL ouL as qulckly as posslble. Ask your Leacher or
whoever, [usL don'L leave lL Lll laLer. ?ou musL be on Lop of everyLhlng all Lhe Llme.

1he alm ls Lo be able Lo use Lhe revlslon perlod so LhaL you can focus almosL solely on deLall, geL a loL of
exam pracLlse and Lo do exLenslon" work LhaL wlll sLreLch you.

1he dlfference beLween Lwo grades ls noLhlng Lo do wlLh belng more lnLelllgenL, lL's [usL dolng Lhe exam
sllghLly beLLer and havlng sLudled sllghLly beLLer or sllghLly more ofLen. 1haL ls lL.


0'%(-1.

We have spoken a loL abouL maln concepLs and havlng a good grasp of Lhe baslcs. lf you don'L have Lhls
Lhen lL's a non-sLarLer. ?ou won'L geL anywhere near an A aL school, or a 1
sL
aL unlverslLy. 8uL once you
have Lhe maln concepLs nalled, exams come down Lo how well you know Lhe deLalls.

1he dlfference beLween an A and an A* or a 2:1 and a llrsL comes down Lo .2(11 3'%(-1.. 1he number of
marks dlfference beLween grades over a year ls Llny.

lL can Lake qulLe a blL of exLra efforL Lo geL [usL a few exLra marks LhaL wlll geL you Lhe hlghesL grade
avallable. 8uL LhaL's whaL lL Lakes.

Colng back Lo Lhe sLudy skllls we have looked aL, you should be LesLlng and challenglng yourself a loL.
Make lL dlfflculL for yourself, really LesL yourself and keep summarlslng.

lf you have a LesL or homework Lo do, Lake lL serlously and Lry Lo geL hlgh marks ln lL. 1he more ofLen you
geL really hlgh marks Lhen you wlll become used Lo lL and come Lo expecL lL.

l would also recommend readlng around" a Loplc when you feel llke you are on Lop of lL all or feel LhaL
you need Lo do someLhlng dlfferenL. 8emember lL ls all abouL deLalls. lck a Loplc or a small secLlon LhaL
maybe you don'L undersLand 100. CeL a dlfferenL book and read lL.

lf lL Lakes 2 hours Lo learn one llLLle facL or lL somehow alds you Lo undersLand someLhlng a blL beLLer, lL
could save you a mark. And LhaL's whaL lL ls golng Lo come down, Lhe odd mark here and Lhere.


4/' 56(2

1o geL Lhe besL grades you have Lo be aL a level where you acLually flnd Lhe exam easy. ?ou should noL be
sLruggllng wlLh many quesLlons.

When you do Lhe exam, you should be able Lo do lL qulckly. lf you are sLruggllng for Llme, Lhen you are
noL golng Lo geL Lhe hlghesL grade posslble as for some reason you are Laklng Loo long Lo do Lhe
quesLlons.

?ou should be recognlslng how Lo do Lhe quesLlons very qulckly and of course Lhere wlll sLlll be Llmes LhaL
you need Lo problem solve, so you need Lo be ready for LhaL.

Agaln Lhe alm ls Lo glve yourself Llme Lo check over Lhlngs Lo save yourself marks by hunLlng down any
small mlsLakes. lL's noL [usL Lhe mlsLakes. lf you have Llme, you wlll probably be able Lo lmprove answers.
!usL a couple of exLra or dlfferenL words here and Lhere can make all Lhe dlfference.

8uL you can only geL Lo Lhls sLage lf you know your sub[ecL lnslde ouL and have pracLlsed everyLhlng Lo
such an exLenL LhaL you are as ready as you wlll ever be.


56(2 7-)3.'%

1he flnal polnL ls Lo do wlLh your mlndseL. l have sald many Llmes LhaL Lhe exam ls almosL a formallLy lf
you prepare well, whlch lL ls. 8uL lf you are looklng Lo maxlmlse your mark, Lhen you need Lo perform on
Lhe day. l mean really perform.

An off day" can'L happen. ?ou mlghL sLlll geL an A buL you won'L geL an A*. 1hls means LhaL your aLLlLude
and menLal approach Lo Lhe exam has Lo be very good.

l am assumlng LhaL you are noL one of Lhose people who hopes" Lhe exam goes well. lf you are Lhen you
won'L geL an A*. ?ou need Lo expecL Lo geL an A*. noL ln an arroganL klnd of way buL a l really belleve
Lhls" klnd of way.

l would Lell myself LhaL l am golng Lo uLS18C? Lhe exam. ?ou cannoL have Lhls hope" or luck" aLLlLude.

1hls mlghL sound crazy, buL lmaglne LhaL you're a world class boxer abouL Lo enLer Lhe rlng. 1hlnk of whaL
Lhe boxer looks llke, Lhe klnd of LhoughLs LhaL he wlll be havlng, Lhe concenLraLlon, Lhe slngle
mlndedness, Lhe deLermlnaLlon and Lhe deslre Lo geL sLarLed. Above all, an lnLenslLy, almosL feedlng of
Lhe nervous energy, mlghL even be a Louch of exclLemenL.
1haL's how you need Lo feel when dolng Lhe exam Lo geL Lop marks. WlLh Lhls klnd of menLal approach
you can over perform, lnsLead of under performlng llke mosL people.

AfLer Lhe exam you should be menLally knackered. ?ou should leave lL all ln Lhere. lf you can'L do a
quesLlon and you have Lrled everyLhlng, remlnd yourself of whaL ls aL sLake, LhaL Lhls ls lL, lL's [usL a few
more mlnuLes lefL ouL of Lhe whole year. And somehow dlg deep Lo work ouL how Lo do lL.