A Level Exam Tips: How to Revise, Prepare and Perform on the Day

A level exams reward students who know exactly what the examiner is looking for and who have practised delivering it under time pressure. Effort matters, but where you direct that effort matters more. The A level exam tips that make the biggest difference are:

• Revise from your exam board's specification, not just your class notes.

• Learn how marks are awarded through assessment objectives, mark schemes and command words.

• Test yourself instead of rereading, and spread revision over several weeks.

• Practise full papers under timed conditions and mark them honestly.

• Know the exam rules so nothing on the day catches you out.

This guide explains each step, with real examples from exam board documents and a revision timeline you can adapt to your own subjects.

How A Level Exams Work Now

A levels in England are linear. You sit the exams for the whole course at the end of Year 13, not in modules across two years. The AS level is a separate qualification, and AS results do not count towards the A level.

Most subjects are assessed entirely or mainly by written exams. Some include non-exam assessment, such as coursework in English Literature and History. In Biology, Chemistry and Physics, practical skills are recorded in a practical endorsement reported separately from the grade.

Two things follow for revision:

• Topics you studied at the start of Year 12 can appear in your final exams, so revision has to cover the full course.

• Many papers include synoptic questions that link ideas from different topics, so you need to understand how topics connect, not just learn them one by one.

1. Build Your Revision Around the Specification

The specification sets out everything that can be examined in your subject, and every board publishes it free online. Check with your teacher which board you are taking. The same subject differs between AQA, OCR, Pearson Edexcel and WJEC Eduqas.

Turn the subject content section into a checklist and rate each topic:

• Green: you can explain it and answer exam questions on it confidently.

• Amber: you understand it but make mistakes under exam conditions.

• Red: you would struggle to answer a question on it today.

Spend most of your time on red and amber topics, and update the ratings every few weeks. It stops you revising comfortable topics you already know.

2. Understand How Marks Are Awarded

Knowing the content is only part of the task. You also need to know what earns marks.

Assessment objectives

Every A level specification lists assessment objectives (AOs) that describe the skills being tested. For example, the AQA A level Biology specification weights them as follows:

In this subject, most of the marks go to applying and analysing knowledge rather than recalling it. If your revision is mostly memorising facts, you are preparing for the smallest share of the paper. Check the weightings for each of your subjects, as they vary.

Mark schemes

Mark schemes show exactly how answers are credited. Short questions list the points that earn each mark. Longer answers are usually marked in levels, judged against descriptors. Reading mark schemes alongside questions teaches you what a complete answer looks like.

Examiner reports

After each exam series, boards publish reports on where students gained and lost marks. They describe real mistakes made by thousands of candidates, which makes them some of the most useful revision documents available. AQA's past papers and mark schemes finder lists them alongside question papers. The most recent papers may only be available through your teacher.

3. Learn the Command Words

The command word tells you what type of answer the examiner wants. Two students can know the same content, but the one who responds to the command word correctly is likely to score higher. These definitions come from AQA's published command words for A level Geography:

Definitions differ slightly between subjects and boards, so download the list for each subject. One habit helps in every exam: underline the command word and note the marks before you write. Evaluate, assess, discuss and to what extent all require a clear judgement. Answers without one rarely reach the top bands.

4. Use Revision Techniques That Are Proven to Work

Revision methods are not equally effective. A 2013 review of learning research by Dunlosky and colleagues in Psychological Science in the Public Interest rated ten study techniques. It found that practice testing and distributed practice had high utility, while rereading, highlighting and summarising had low utility.

In practice, this means:

• Test yourself. Use flashcards, answer past exam questions, or write out everything you remember on a topic and check what you missed. Retrieval strengthens memory more than rereading does.

• Space it out. Return to each topic several times over weeks, for example a day after learning it, again a week later, and again a month later.

• Mix topics in a session. Interleaving was rated moderate utility in the same review. It helps most in Maths and the sciences, where papers mix question types and you have to recognise which method applies.

Rereading and highlighting feel productive because the material looks familiar. Familiarity is not the same as being able to recall and apply it.

5. Practise Past Papers Under Real Conditions

Past papers are the closest you can get to the real exam. Use them in stages as the exams get closer:

1. By topic: answer questions on a topic you have just revised, with notes available if needed.

2. Timed sections: complete a section in the time you would have in the exam, without notes.

3. Full papers: sit a complete paper in one go, in exam conditions.

Mark every paper strictly against the official mark scheme. Record each lost mark under one of four headings: missing knowledge, misread question, poor exam technique, or running out of time. After a few papers the pattern tells you what to revise next. Our guides on using past papers properly and why mock exams matter cover this in more detail.

6. Manage Your Time in the Exam

Work out how many minutes each mark is worth. Taking the AQA A level Biology specification as an example, Papers 1 and 2 carry 91 marks in 2 hours, and Paper 3 carries 78 marks in 2 hours, including a 25-mark essay.

Do the same for each of your papers before exam season. In the exam, keep a rough check of time against marks and move on when you are well over on one question. Leave space after an unfinished answer so you can return to it, and use any time left to check calculations, units and missed parts.

7. Write Answers the Way Examiners Mark Them

Good exam technique turns knowledge into marks. These habits apply across most subjects:

• Plan extended answers. Note your main points and conclusion first. Structured answers are easier to credit.

• Stay on the question. Link each paragraph back to it instead of writing everything you know.

• Reach a judgement whenever the command word asks for one, and support it with evidence.

• Show your working. Method marks are often available even when the final answer is wrong.

• Use precise terminology. Vague wording costs marks even when the idea is right.

• Know what is provided. Maths and Physics supply a formula or data booklet. Practise with the same one, so you know what to memorise and what you can look up.

Tips by Type of Subject

The core approach works for every A level, but each type of subject has its own priorities.

If your subjects are a mix, plan each week so every one gets the kind of practice it needs.

8. Plan Your Revision Across Year 13

Because everything is examined at the end, steady preparation across Year 13 beats a late rush. Adapt this timeline with your teachers.

Protect your routine alongside the plan. Keep regular sleep times, take short breaks between sessions, and keep time for exercise and meals. Revising late into the night before an exam usually costs more in tiredness than it gains. If exam stress starts to affect your sleep, eating or concentration, talk to a teacher, your school's pastoral team or your GP.

Exam Day Checklist

Exam rules are set by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) and are the same across the main boards. Key points from the JCQ information for candidates:

• Arrive at least ten minutes before the start of the exam.

• Do not take notes, a phone, earphones or any watch into the exam room, analogue watches included. Having them breaks the rules even if you do not use them.

• Use a see-through pencil case.

• Write clearly in black ink.

• Check your calculator works, clear its memory, put it in exam mode and remove any lid with printed instructions.

• Read the instructions on the front of the paper carefully and follow them.

• If you leave the room without an invigilator before the exam ends, you cannot come back in.

Breaking the rules can lead to disqualification. JCQ updates the guidance annually, so read your school's copy for your exam year.

If Something Goes Wrong

If you are ill or affected by circumstances outside your control, tell your school's exams officer straight away so they can apply for special consideration. As AQA explains, this usually means a small adjustment to the mark. It only partly compensates for the disadvantage, so it is not a substitute for preparation.

If results are lower than expected, your school can advise on post-results services such as a review of marking. You can also resit in a later series. Because A levels are linear, that normally means sitting all the written papers again, though some subjects allow non-exam assessment marks to be carried forward.

If you have left school, you can usually resit as a private candidate at a centre that accepts external entries. In East London, Exam Centre London, a partner of Merit Tutors, enters private candidates for GCSE and A level. Register early, as deadlines fall several months before the exams.

How Merit Tutors Can Help

At our centres in Forest Gate, Ilford and Plaistow, and online, our A level tuition is planned around each student's exam board and specification, with revision courses in Maths, Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Psychology. Sessions cover what this guide describes: finding weak topics, working through past paper questions, and building technique for longer answers. Every student starts with a free assessment, so support goes where it makes the most difference.

Final Thoughts

The most useful A level exam tips point the same way: strong results come from a clear process, not last-minute effort. Revise from the specification, learn how marks are awarded, test yourself regularly, practise under timed conditions, and learn from every mistake on past papers. Start early, keep a steady routine, and check your board's own documents whenever you are unsure.

Frequently Asked Questions

When should I start revising for A level exams?

There is no single right date. Because A levels are linear, it helps to review Year 12 topics early in Year 13 instead of waiting until spring. Regular self-testing from the autumn term makes exam season far more manageable.

How many hours a day should I revise for A levels?

No single number of hours suits everyone, and quality and spacing matter more than total time. Short focused sessions of self-testing, spread across weeks, beat long sessions of rereading.

Are A levels harder than GCSEs?

A levels cover each subject in far greater depth, and most papers reward applying and analysing knowledge more than recalling it. Students take three subjects instead of eight or more, so each needs much more independent study.

Can I resit an A level?

Yes, in a later exam series. Because A levels are linear, you would normally sit all the written papers again. Some subjects allow non-exam assessment marks to be carried forward, so check with your exam board.

Where can I find A level past papers and mark schemes?

Exam boards publish past papers, mark schemes and examiner reports on their websites. The most recent papers are sometimes held back for teachers, so ask yours if you cannot find one.