How I went from D’s to A*AAA in A levels (The Full Guide)

The speaker, Ali, a recent graduate from the London School of Economics and Political Science, introduces the video aimed at helping students transition from GCSEs to A-Levels. He shares his personal journey from struggling with GCSEs to achieving top grades in A-Levels and outlines five key tips for academic success. The first tip is to understand the breadth of content required for A-Levels, which is generally less dense than university material but still requires careful study. Ali emphasizes the importance of consulting with teachers about study guides and additional resources, using his own experience with the AQA core guide for sociology as an example. He also shares a humorous anecdote about his teacher's lack of credentials in politics, highlighting the need for self-reliance in learning.

Ali continues with his second tip, which is to create a study plan to manage the fast-paced nature of A-Levels. He recounts his personal method of using a large whiteboard to schedule study sessions according to his class timetable. This approach helped him stay ahead of the coursework and allowed for sufficient time to understand complex concepts and memorize necessary information. The third tip is about setting the right intention, acknowledging the difficulty of A-Levels and the importance of self-motivation. Ali shares his personal strategies, such as switching to a basic phone to minimize distractions and engaging in self-talk to reinforce the significance of doing well in A-Levels for his future and family situation.

In the third paragraph, Ali discusses the importance of finding a study method that works for the individual, as the wrong approach can waste valuable time. He provides a detailed account of his own study process, which includes summarizing textbook chapters into concise, revisable notes, and using color-coding to aid memorization. Ali then explains the fourth tip: creating essay plans based on past papers and mark schemes to prepare for exams. He suggests that planning for every possible question can be an effective revision strategy, as it helps in understanding the content deeply and being ready to adapt to different exam questions.

The final paragraph focuses on memorization techniques, where Ali emphasizes the importance of memorizing essay plans thoroughly. He also advises reading around the topics to maintain flexibility during exams. Ali shares a personal anecdote about a sociology exam where an unlikely question appeared, and his preparedness paid off. He also touches on the importance of finding the right study environment, which can change over time due to psychological factors. Ali encourages viewers to experiment with different study settings to find what works best for them and to engage in discussions about effective study environments.