Any Advice For Achieving A-level Grades At A And A*?

any advice for achieving a-level grades at A and A*?

the usual A* tips:

make your revision resources as you go

use apt and different study methods for each subject

do your homework as soon as it's set

make in depth plans for coursework before starting the main project (dissertation plans, to do lists etc.)

have a reliable and efficient organisation system

have a morning, after-school, night and weekend routine

studyquill: how to be a straight A student by @studyquill (who inspired me to make this blog in 2017, haha)

advice for stem subjects:

how to study maths (1) (2)

how to memorise formulae

unjaded jade: A* in a-level maths

unjaded jade: A* in a-level biology

unjaded jade: A* in a-level chemistry

fayefilms: Cs to 4 A*s at a-level (physics, biology, maths, economics)

aymara anahi: a-level A* step-by-step guides (physics, biology, chemistry)

ibz mo: A*/A psychology a-level advice

mariana’s corner: 15 study tips for science students

advice for humanities subjects:

studying history at a-level

speaking exams tip for modern foreign languages

detailed single word analysis made simple

how to structure essays

substitutes for ‘shows’

jack edwards: A*A*A* at a-level (history, english, politics)

ibz mo: A*/A english literature a-level advice

immie sophie: a-level languages IRP advice

life with blessy: A/A* a-level french (1) (2)

further advice:

you are a student before anything else: schedule social outings and extra curriculars around your studies, not the other way around.

always have an ongoing to-do list; don't let it get empty: it might seem overwhelming at first, but you'll come to realise that there is always something you can be doing towards your grades.

use the specification and teaching documents from the exam board! stem subjects especially have a plethora of online documents detailing exactly what you need to know, whether it be content, maths skills and formulae, vocabulary or exam technique. print them off and go through as many as you can find!

perhaps don't bother with the EPQ: if the entry requirements of the university course you're aiming for cannot be lowered by the EPQ, it might be better to spend your time focusing on your courses, as many find that the EPQ takes just as much time as another subject.

ask for 1-to-1 sessions: if there's a topic you're struggling with, mention it to your teachers and be willing to sacrifice your free time (lunches, free periods, after schools etc.) to run through it with them 1-to-1.

fight for teachers that meet your needs: if you have a teacher who isn't helping you to excel and whose teaching methods possibly aren't the strongest, bring it up to your institution's director. it's their job to make sure that you're recieving the best standard of education possible.

talk to your tutors and teachers about your workload if it's becoming overwhelming at all.

evaluate your priorities, study methods and organisation system after each half-term.

complete your university research and application (including your reading for and writing your personal statement) before year 13 starts: it will save you so much time, as many feel that the UCAS process is like picking up another subject as well.

start preparing for university admissions exams over the summer, before year 13: UCAS gives a run down on which courses require admissions tests, here.

other masterposts:

how to get started studying - a neurodivergent’s guide

how to deal with a lack of motivation

how to study when everything sucks

study tips for different learning styles

how to take notes from a textbook

habits of successful students

how to do well in a class taught by a crappy teacher

how to avoid education burnout

how to revise big subjects

how to get good grades and still have a life

ive been using opera but ive been interested in switching to firefox. wrt your tag what extensions do you use for privacy?

YAHOO cracking my fucking knuckles get ready to be fucking inundated. prepare for a torrent. a flood. a deluge, if you will

for privacy specifically:

ublock origin: works right out of the box but its got a bunch of extra shit u can enable in the settings

https everywhere: forces https encryption anywhere its supported

decentraleyes: blocks tracking from anything that shows u Curated content like google etc

facebook container: if u use fb (which i do unfortunately coz im pinoy and all the funny pinoy shit is on there) it isolates it into its own tab separate from the rest of firefox so it cant track what ur doing in the rest of the browser

dont track me google: does exactly what it says it does

cookie autodelete: exactly what it sounds like. just whitelist any sites u wanna stay logged in to coz this shit flushes fcking everything when u close a tab

adnauseam: pollutes ur search history with random searches so whoevers tracking u cant actually learn shit abt u And gives fake clicks to the ads it blocks

privacybadger & privacypossum: the former blocks invisible trackers and the latter scrambles and falsifies data gathered by trackers

ik u asked 4 privacy specificaly but these r some that i just use in everyday life that i Need to shill for orelse i will Die

multi account containers: OH MY FUCKING GOD. it lets u open tabs isolated from the rest of ur normal firefox so u can log into multiple accs on the same site on the same browser w out having to open incognito etc etc its such a fucking lifechanger if u have 30 emails like me

auto tab discard: after a set amount of time (default is like 5 mins but u can customize it!) it pauses background tabs so theyre not constantly eating up memory and processing power like they would be in chrome. this shit is such a fucking lifesaver as someone whos stupid and has so many unnecessary tabs that i forget abt. the tabs r immediately resumed when u click back to it!

dont accept image/webp: KILLS THAT STUPID FUCKING EXTENSION!!! LET IT DIE!!!!! it tells the website that firefox doesnt accept webp so the website sends it as png jpg or gif instead! fuck that stupid fcking file format for real i hope whoever created it is eaten alive i have never wanted to kill a file format before .

Three ways to speak better English

Sometimes people talk about learning a language as if it’s a complicated and mysterious thing. There’s a lot of discussion about the best ways to teach and learn English. However, I think there are just three basic things you have to do if you want to speak better English. Keep reading to find out what they are.

1. Learn more words How often do you get stuck when you’re speaking because you realise you don’t know the right words to use? Recently, a lot of students have told me that they want to widen their vocabulary and I think this is an important thing to do. The more words you know, the more topics you can talk about, right?

So how do you learn more words? I think the best thing you can do is read. Try to find something to read that’s a good level for you - not too easy and not too difficult. You need some new words but not too many all at once. You could try graded readers. These are books written in simplified English at different levels. Go to a bookshop or search online. Alternatively, you could find something to read online for free. There is so much useful material on the Internet.

I know a lot of learners say they don’t like reading and prefer to watch TV shows and films instead. If that works for you then that’s great but it doesn’t work for everyone (including me when I watch something in French). It’s too easy to just get lost in the story and forget about the vocabulary. Movies are great for listening practice but reading is better for vocabulary because you can take your time and write new words down.

2. Learn more grammar Don’t panic and run away when you hear the word “grammar”! This is just learning how to put all those lovely new words together to make good sentences. If you use the right word order and the right tenses, you will communicate your meaning more clearly. Also, you will feel more confident and relaxed and that will help you to become more fluent so keep working on your grammar skills. 

On the other hand, I don’t want you to worry too much about making mistakes. People will usually understand you even if your grammar is not perfect and mistakes can even help you to learn, so there is no reason to be afraid of them. Most people are kind and won’t laugh at you! 

3. Practise Just learning the vocabulary and the grammar is not enough. You have to practise using them! You need to find a teacher, a class, a study partner or a friend that you can practise your English with and you should speak as often as you can. If you can’t find anyone to talk to, talk to yourself or even talk to the dog! Another idea is to write it down instead of speaking. 

Conclusion It doesn’t matter what your level is. If you want to speak better English, you need to do these three things: keep learning new words, keep learning the grammar rules and practice, practise, practise! 

Useful links: Get my FREE "English Speaking challenge" e-book here. Don’t know what to read? Click here for some suggestions. For tips on learning vocabulary check out this post. Find out about graded readers here: penguinreaders.co.uk. Read this for some advice on learning grammar. Are you afraid of making mistakes? Have a look at this post.

(for @cadernodaju) coucou tout le monde!  Basically this is an outline of what basic grammar/vocabulary you should know at each CEFR level, but as a disclaimer I would like to note that I am not fluent in the French language. Everything from C1-C2 is what I’ve heard speakers say they study at that level, it is not from experience since I am only at around a B2 myself. Also, this is but a brief outline for REVIEW, if you are studying any of these French levels for the first time I reccommend you visit my more in depth french posts here (x) (x) or my posts/french tag

basic user

A1 breakthrough 

basic greetings and goodbyes

can introduce yourself and others

talk about things you like/like to do

discuss where you live

tell what things you have

describe yourself and others with traits

order food

review for A1-

100 most common french verbs

basic sentence structure in french

greetings and goodbyes

basic phrases

personality vocab

A2 waystage 

describe the environment around you

talk about daily routine

basic details about your past and family

talk about school/employment

review for A2-

daily routine vocab

passé composé or imparfait?

school vocab

futur proche

directions in french

the imperative

reflexive verbs

demonstrative pronouns

independent user

B1 threshold 

deal with most situations that arise when traveling

talk in detail about personal interests

discuss dreams, ambitions, and opinions with brief explanations

discuss plans

tell short stories

review for B1 -

the conditional 

the future

job vocabulary

discussing plans

y and en

story vocabulary

object pronouns

useful argument/opinion phrases

idioms

future perfect

present participle

B2 vantage 

give the advantages and disadvantages of an opinion/viewpoint

talk about abstract concepts

discuss a variety of topics 

can interect with a native speaker while experiencing little strain

review for B2-

essay writing vocab

more essay writing

the subjunctive (x) (x) (x)

science vocabulary (x) (x) (x)

math vocabulary

political vocabulary (x) (x)

arts vocabulary

plus que parfait

past conditional

proficient user

C1 effective operational efficiency 

can express yourself fluently without having to notably pause or look for the right word

use the language flexibly for social, academic, and professional purposes

talk about complex topics with fluidity and organisation

review for C1 -

active and passive voice

passé antérieur

passé simple

past imperative

relative pronouns 

conjuctions 

C2 mastery

can summarise information from other sources

reconstruct arguments and accounts

understand underlying meanings in conversation

express yourself fluenty

review for C2 -

pluperfect subjunctive

DALF C2 review

sample DALF test

personal review of DALF c1 and c2

how to prepare for DALF

Links to Free French Grammar Books

(retrieved from www.archive.org)

A French Grammar by W. H. Fraser

French Grammar Made Clear: For Use in American Schools by Ernest Dimnet

The All-In French Course by E. B. Crampton

French Grammar Simplified by Hugo’s Language Institute

Elementary French: the Essentials of French Grammar by Fred Davis Aldrich

The French Language by Alfred Ewert

french music ideas

I saw a few masterposts like this going around in the langblr community, but some genres are left out sometimes, and also I wanted to give my own perspective on it so here’s a little list of some french artists that I like (and that sing in French) by genre, with a link to one of their songs on Youtube. I left the most famous french artists out cause I don’t want to repeat what you have already seen, some here are quite well-know, some not, and also some are pretty old but idc. And also some are nsfw, especially in the rap and punk section.

PS : Imma add a metal/hardcore section but I’m gonna ask some friends first because I personnally don’t know of any bands that sing in french in this category

indie pop/rock

Requin Chagrin

Vendredi sur Mer

Baden Baden

Éléphant

Feu! Chatterton

La Femme

Odezenne (ps : this song is totally nsfw)

Isaac Delusion

Jean-Baptiste Maunier

Merci Beaucoup

variété

(it’s what we call kind of pop or folky songs with an emphasis on lyrics)

Yépa (you’ve gotta watch this music video)

Arman Méliès

Da Silva

Laurie Darmon

Laurent Lamarca

Ridan (I linked this music video cause so french)

Clarika (my mom loves her)

Renan Luce

Autour de Lucie

Émilie Simon

punk

Justin(e)

No one is innocent

Guerilla Poubelle

Bérurier noir

Les Sheriff

pop rock

Al.Hy

Eiffel

Alcest

Dolly

Louise Attaque

Noir Désir (keep in mind : it is seen as controversial for some people in France to listen to them since the frontman killed his girlfriend by beating her up in the head (yeah…). I think liking music is detached from that, but if you don’t well I warned you)

rap

Lucio Bukowski (gosh this song has probably the meanest lyrics in all french rap but it’s soooo good)

Deen Burbigo

Virus

Damso

Fixpen Still

Luni (trap)

Columbine (I don’t really like them but lots of people do so)

other genres/miscellaneous

Odeurs (80′s upbeat synthpop)

Camille (I would say vocal pop but she has her very own style really)

Christophe (70′s psychedelic rock)

Essaie Pas (weird electro artsy shit + I think they’re french canadians)

Sylvain Chauveau (classical)

Ibrahim Maalouf (also classical/jazz)

Zoufris Maracas (”world music” I guess ? though I dislike this name of genre)

Fatals Picards (it’s parodical music with funny/ridiculous lyrics)

Marc Antoine (2000′s R’n’B if you feel like it lol kinda shitty but it’s really an era)