Chemistry is around us everywhere in all forms ranging from the food we eat to the clothes we wear. Hence chemistry is one of the subjects that is the main pre-requisite to many courses in the university. It is a versatile subject and acts as an interconnecting bridge that connects various areas in the field of science. In today’s day and age, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and & Mathematics) is a phenomenon that is being highly focused on as there is increased demand for it since industries and the economy is looking towards progress in various aspects.
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The general opinion among students is that chemistry is a very challenging subject, especially at the standard of A levels. This is true to a certain extent. The transition from doing pure chemistry in secondary school to doing A level chemistry in junior college is a huge one; it’s a steep learning curve. Out of a sudden, students may feel suffocated with a large amount of content required for memorisation and concepts may seem way too abstract for understanding.
The initial stages of grasping concepts and getting into the groove of the subject can be extremely challenging. More often than not, students would feel intimidated and begin to avoid the subject and remain in denial due to lack of proper assistance or guidance.
So, here are top 5 ways to prepare well for A level chemistry exam to conquer it fearlessly!
#1: A-LEVEL CHEMISTRY TUITION
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This the best way to receive proper attention. The biggest advantage of A level chemistry tuition is customised teaching and personalised approach, which altogether results in the rapid improvement in results. With the help of A level chemistry tutors, students can conveniently revisit a topic as many times they want until they have fully understood it. Moreover, students can clarify their doubt comfortably, which is in contrast to the atmosphere of asking questions during tutorials in class. This is because, in a classroom environment, there are many students and clarifying all personal doubts during the tutorial session may cause inconvenience and in fact junior college tutors do not have all that time in a day to answer those questions as well; in most cases, it’s a race against time to cover the syllabus.
#2: MASTER THE CONTENT
Excelling in A-level chemistry is certainly challenging and the first step to overcome this challenge it to be familiar with the content in the lecture notes. Students have to have a thorough understanding of the concepts in order to proceed to the more advanced stages of learning like analysation and application.
The most prominent issue that students deal with the fact that A-level chemistry is content-dense, with lots of depth and details, causing them to feel overwhelmed and confused. Mastering the content using a single method or strategy is not possible, rather it’s achievable through the conflation of various strategies which helps with understanding, retention of information and recalling them during exam conditions.
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It’s a cliché advice but yes, practice is essential to succeed in anything in life, and A-level chemistry is no exception. There is certainly more to the meaning of ‘practice’ than to just complete practice papers one after another. With every practice paper or assessment paper that students have completed, they have to do their due diligence and asses and realise where and why they have made the mistakes they made. Practicing with purpose is extremely important because that will pave the path for knowledge.
#4: DEVISE A PLAN
Study schedules are exhausting to make (it may feel like a total waste of time as well) and could be difficult to stick to; however, this first step is crucial. Study schedules should be made a month or so in advance before the examination. For example, if exam starts on the first of July, your study schedule should be made at the end of May and your schedule would be detailed planning of what you will study during the month of June.
#5: EXAM TECHNIQUES
The two most important exam techniques that A-level chemistry students have to master is being able to simplify large texts without missing the details, and the other is paying attention to questions requirements.
Students often make careless mistakes when they miss out important details in the question. It is important to use a pencil during the exam to annotate or draw small diagrams to channel attention to only important pieces of information which will guide in answering the questions. Simplifying pre-ambles will also save lots of time because students do not have to read and re-read the text to answer essay questions.
BOTTOM LINE:
Though A-level chemistry is known to be challenging, it is not impossible to excel in it. Students need to be patient and be persistent, as well as to seek help from A-level chemistry tutors as soon as possible without letting doubts and problems snowball.