Hard work is essential to reach your goals in your A Level exams.
But it’s not just about the quantity of revision you do. Rather, you’ll want to make sure you’re using the most effective A Level revision techniques to maximise your productivity.
Luckily, you’re in the right place!
Here, we’ll show you some of the best ways to revise for A Levels so that you can find the methods that click for you and level up your revision before exam day.
What are the best ways to revise for A Levels?
Every learner is different.
So, the best revision techniques for your friends or siblings might not be the best revision techniques for you.
Instead, when you’re picking out revision methods for A Level, spend some time thinking about your learning style – as well as your skill set and what subject you’re revising for.
- Visual learners often learn best using visual cues – like mind maps, diagrams or colour-coded revision notes
- Auditory learners generally learn through listening – this might include recording your revision notes and listening to them back, or talking through topics out loud
- Reading/writing learners tend to remember information best by reading it to themselves, or writing out their notes
- Kinesthetic learners learn best by doing – they often thrive when turning revision into fun activities and games, and enjoy being tested regularly
Once you have a good understanding of how you learn best, you can try a range of different revision techniques for A Level, to find those you click with.
Which brings us onto…
Best revision techniques for A Levels: tried and tested methods
Here are some of the best ways to revise for A Levels, as recommended by our team of experts and tutors.
Remember, you might not click with all of them – and that’s to be expected.
Instead, look through these revision ideas for A Level and try a selection to find the ones that suit you best. You can then use a combination of those to maximise your productivity when you’re revising!
Top tip: You don’t need to choose just one or two A Level revision techniques. Mixing up the ways you revise for your A Levels can help to keep your revision engaging!
1. Regularly complete past papers
No matter what your learning style, we’d always recommend completing past papers on a regular basis.
Not only will completing them under timed conditions allow you to practise things like time management and exam technique. But they’ll also give you a clear idea of where you’re at in your learning.
After completing a past paper, always comb through it to identify your strengths and weaknesses.
Then, tweak your revision timetable to focus on those areas where there’s the most room for improvement.
That way, you can maximise your remaining time and make the biggest difference before exam day.
Top tip: You can download tons of past papers for each subject and exam board right here on the Tutorful website!
2. Make flash cards
Flash cards can be a great way to improve your recall when it comes to key pieces of information – like formulae, dates, stats or facts.
You can write the topic and sub-topic on the front of the card, and summarise the key points you need to know on the back.
Or, you can even write a short question on the front (eg. from an exam paper) and the answer on the back.
This way, you can easily test yourself or hand them over to a friend or family member to test you instead.
Top tip: Although you can find flashcards online, we always recommend creating your own. The process of creating them can be a fantastic revision exercise in itself!
3. Stick post-it notes around your home
Post-it notes can be a powerful revision tool for A Level!
Write key bits of info – like subject terminology or formulae – on post-its, and then stick these all around your home.
For instance, put one on your bathroom mirror so that you see it every time you wash your hands or brush your teeth.
By seeing that snippet of info again and again, this can help it to stick.
Top tip: If you’re a visual learner, consider colour coding your post-it notes so you have a clear visual reference for them in the exam room.
4. Record your notes
This is a great one for auditory learners, or busy students who need a way to revise on the go.
Simply record yourself reading out your revision notes.
Then, you can listen to them back when you’re doing other things – whether that’s driving in the car, going out for a run, or simply doing the washing up!
Repeatedly listening to the information you need to remember can really help to cement it in your mind.
5. Create mind maps
Mind maps can be a super useful revision tool, especially if you’re a visual learner.
There are lots of different ways that mind maps can help you during your revision.
- Draw a mind map at the beginning of each revision session. This will help you to see what you already know, and what you still need to revise.
- Once you’ve finished learning content about a topic, make a mind map to summarise everything you’ve just learned. If you leave anything off, that’s a sign you need to spend a bit more time on it!
- For essay subjects like history or English literature, make mind maps to practise developing robust arguments. Write a theory in the centre, and add supporting evidence around the edge.
Top tip: Again, colour coding your mind map can help you to visualise information more easily.
6. Draw diagrams
Drawing diagrams can be a fantastic form of active revision – great for kinesthetic learners.
As an example, if you’re revising for A Level Biology, you could draw a diagram of the human heart and label it to show the different chambers and the flow of oxygenated versus deoxygenated blood.
Or, if you’re revising for A Level Philosophy, you could draw out a Venn diagram to compare the similarities and differences between various theories and arguments.
Not only will the process of drawing diagrams be a valuable revision exercise. But you’ll also have another helpful revision tool that you can stick on the wall and refer to in the lead-up to your exams.
7. Make use of different revision resources
Keeping your revision fun and engaging is key to helping you maintain concentration.
Luckily, if your A Level textbooks and revision notes aren’t quite cutting it, there are lots of additional tools you can lean on.
These will vary from subject to subject, but you can often find…
- Revision guides (like those provided by CGP or your exam board)
- YouTube channels
- Podcasts
- Revision apps
- Revision websites
An A Level tutor will also be able to point you towards the best revision resources for your learning style – which brings us onto…
8. Book revision sessions with a tutor
Although you have to sit your exams on your own, that doesn’t mean you can’t get a helping hand with your revision.
An A Level tutor is an expert who’ll know exactly how to bring their subject to life and help you reach your full potential.
So, if you’re struggling with something, there’s no need to struggle alone.
Whether you need help demystifying a complex topic, marking your past papers, or boosting your motivation, a tutor can be the perfect cross between a teacher and a mentor.
They’ll be able to cheer you on and help you turn weaknesses into strengths – whether you choose to book a one-off session or to schedule in regular touch-points throughout exam season.
Browse expert, vetted tutors, message free, and book instantly.
9. Look, say, cover, write, check
Sometimes, it can be helpful to combine a few different ways of learning to really help information to stick.
The ‘look, say, cover, write, check’ technique is great for this, as it includes elements that should appeal to both reading/writing learners and auditory learners.
- Learn a key piece of information from your textbook or revision notes
- Cover it over
- Say it out loud
- Write it down
- Check it
Top tip: Don’t stop there – repeat the process until you’ve got it spot on!
10. Paraphrase what you’ve learned
Lots of learners memorise content from textbooks or revision notes by repeating it back – whether that’s speaking it aloud or writing it down.
However, it’s important to make sure you fully understand it.
After all, regurgitating content word-for-word in the exam room just won’t cut it.
Speaking – or writing down – the content you’ve just learned in your own words is a great way to check that you really do get it.
11. Create sorting and organising activities
Sorting or organising tasks can be a great way to learn more actively, or to test yourself.
For instance, if you’re revising for A Level History, you could place events on different cards and jumble them up – before trying to put them in the right order to create a timeline.
Likewise, if you’re revising for A Level French, you could print out key nouns from your vocab list without the articles (le or la) – and sort them into feminine and masculine, to practise getting the right gender.
Ultimately, you can adapt this concept to apply to most subjects and it can be a fun way to gamify your learning.
12. Stick up questions from past papers
This one is a good trick to help you develop arguments for longer essay-style questions.
Stick up questions from past papers around the room, in large print. Then, each time your glance settles on one, take some time to think about possible arguments.
You could even add post-it notes with examples and quotes that support your arguments to each one.
13. Teach someone else
We know, we know, you’re the one that’s sitting the exams. But hear us out.
Teaching someone else the content you need to revise for A Levels can help to boost your confidence on a topic.
Plus, it’s a great way to test how well you understand the material.
After all, if you can’t get your student to understand the concept you’re teaching them, you probably don’t know it well enough yourself yet!
14. Make up songs, rhymes and mnemonics
There are no rules about how you should revise for your A Levels – whatever helps the information to stick is fair game!
Mnemonics, rhymes and songs might seem silly but they can be clever short-cuts to jogging your memory in the exam room.
For instance, if you’re an A Level Biology student, you could use the mnemonic ‘Keep Ponds Clean Or Frogs Get Sick’ to remember the levels of biological classification:
- Keep – Kingdom
- Ponds – Phylum
- Clean – Class
- Or – Order
- Frogs – Family
- Get – Genus
- Sick – Species
Top tip: Making up your own mnemonics can help the info to stick even better!
15. Reimagine your favourite boardgames
If you need to add some fun to your revision timetable, you could learn while sitting down to play one of your favourite boardgames.
It could take a little bit of work to adapt, but as an example, you could swap out the original cards for questions about the subject you’re revising that day.
Play it with friends who are also studying for their A Levels for a lively study group activity! On which note…
16. Form a study group
Revising can be lonely. So, why not arrange some sessions where you can revise for your A Levels together with your peers?
Study groups can be a great way to gain some accountability – especially if your motivation is slipping.
Plus, if there are areas you’re struggling with, you may be able to help each other out.
In particular, study groups can work really well for subjects where there isn’t always one right answer – like A Level English literature.
By discussing potential responses to various exam questions, you can gain different perspectives and ideas to use in your essay answers.
Top tip: Choose your study mates wisely – the last thing you need is someone who’ll distract you!
17. Keep a checklist
Last but not least, we always recommend keeping a log of what you feel you’ve achieved.
It can be as simple as just ticking topics off a checklist.
This will help to make sure you cover everything you need to before exam day.
Plus, you’ll be able to easily see how much you’ve achieved, which can be a great motivation booster!
Head over to our guide on how to revise for A Levels for lots more tips and tricks to help you start your revision off on the right foot.
Get an expert’s help revising for your A Levels
Revision is key if you want to improve your A Level grades and reach your full potential in the exams.
But you don’t have to do it alone!
An A Level tutor will have the tools, knowledge and experience needed to motivate you, boost your confidence and help you achieve the grades you’re after.
From tailor-made plans to practice exams, they’ll give you the one-to-one attention you won’t usually get at sixth form or college, to ensure you can revise for your A Levels productively and get the grades you’re aiming for!
