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Song of the year?

Album of the year?

Favorite musical artist / group you started listening to this year?

Movie of the year?

TV show of the year?

Episode of tv or webisode that defined the year for you?

Favorite actor of the year?

Game of the year?

Best month for you this year?

Something that made you cry this year?

Something you want to do again next year?

Talk about a new friend you made this year

How was your birthday this year?

Favorite book you read this year?

What’s a bad habit you picked up this year?

Post a picture from the beginning of the year

Post a picture from the end of the year

A memorable meal this year?

What’re you excited about for next year?

What’s something you learned this year?

What’s something new about your place of residence (room, home, or general location) now vs the start of the year?

Favorite place you visited this year?

If you could send a message to yourself back on the first day of the year, what would it be?

Did you keep any New Year’s Resolutions?

Hello! I did A level chemistry (the new OCR B Salter’s course) last year so I thought I’d share some advice/tips/help that I found useful or wish I’d had! 

Learning and writing notes:

chemguide is an amazing website with lots of detailed (yet really easy to understand) explanations for key topics - the website is a little old and weird to navigate but the info it amazing

a combination of CGP revision guides and my school’s textbook really helped me to get a broad understanding when writing notes. alone, neither were really up to standard so it’s best to use a mix of texts

It’s also important not to ignore your practicals. there are some that you only really need to do in order to pass the accreditation but others will be examined! ask your teachers which are crucial and make sure you memorise the methods!

look over your notes after/before class! I found it really helpful to read over any practical sheets I’d been given before we actually carried out the experiments. It’s also good to read ahead so you know what’s going on in class - this also means you’re testing your recall skills whilst everyone else is still trying to learn it for the first time!

top up your class notes - this is especially important if (like mine) your teachers are a bit lacking in actual teaching skills… use relevant websites and textbooks to add to your notes after class to make sure they’re all up to scratch. this is also a great way to go over what you’ve done and will help you to memorise it in the long run

learn key definitions!!! in multiple choice questions, short answer questions and long answer questions, you’ll be expected/required to know definitions for key words so make sure you learn them!! here’s how I did

learn necessary equations!!!! unfortunately, you’re not given all the equations you need on the sheet provided in exams. I’d recommend making a list of ALL the equations you’d ever need, then cross off the ones you’re given on the equation sheet. then make a nice poster will all the ones you need to learn and put it in a prominent place at home (or in your folder) - make sure it’s somewhere you see every day and make sure you memorise them!!!

Revision:

here’s a tag with all my posts featuring A level chemistry notes - hopefully you can find some inspiration!

PAST PAPERS!!!! I know this can be difficult when your specification is so new but really do try to do as many as you can! even ones from old specifications can still be helpful (maybe ask your teachers which they’d recommend)! lots of past papers can be found on physicsandmathstutor

MARK SCHEMES!! never ever neglect a mark scheme! they tell you EXACTLY what the examiner is looking for (e.g. preferred definitions and structures) so really try hard to study them in order to get into the examiner’s head and see how they’d mark your work.

flashcards are great for learning specific reactions (e.g. tests for identifying ions) - test yourself using them or ask a friend/relative! here’s an example of mine

I found these flashcards quite useful (make sure they’re the correct specification before you buy them!!)

I also found making really big posters to be quite helpful. I’d start by making smaller mindmaps for each little topic then once I’d learnt a lot of that, I’d make a big mindmap/poster with key information (and the stuff I found hard to remember) on it from all the little topics

test yourself!! draw out a neat copy of a diagram or reaction, try to memorise it, then test yourself by trying to draw/write down as much of it as possible without looking at the neat copy. then focus on learning the bits you didn’t remember. here’s a diagram I memorised for reactions of benzene

quizlet can have some great quizzes so have a google and see what you can find related to your specification. you can even make your own!

group revision sessions can also be a great help. there were only 4 people in my class in year 13 so near exam season we arranged a few times to meet and go through past papers together. It can really help to hear other people’s views and I found it easier to remember things when we’d discussed them. 

youtube!! there are lots of great youtube videos made by companies, teachers and students so have a look what you can find! 

try printing out key diagrams and annotating them with information! this really worked for me - here’s an example

Exam tips:

READ THE QUESTION!!!! I cannot say this enough!! You MUST answer the exact question on the page; not something you misread it as or even a question that you’d prefer!

use KEY WORDS!! often these are what get you the marks which can be really annoying as science isn’t always that weirdly specific but anyway, it’s very important!

be PRECISE! marks are mostly given for using specific and precise language/information so it’s vital to avoid waffle and be as precise and accurate as possible

here are my top tips for succeeding in exams

last-minute revision tips

More tips:

here are some tips from the student room

the medic portal’s top 5 tips

tips from oxford learning college

snap revise’s top tips

chemistry tips from @joolshallie

how to turn your grades around in a few months

hello and congratulations to all you people who got into uni this year!! with september fast approaching, I thought I’d make a quick list of things that I’ve found a lot of freshers forget to pack for uni :)

spare charger leads - most people bring one but it’s great to bring a spare to keep in your bag for emergencies between lectures or in the library!

weighing scales, a sieve, a large mixing bowl, measuring jug, a whisk, etc. - these are essentials for baking, making pancakes, and loads of other things but can often be overlooked; I was the only person out of 10 in my flat who bought them to uni and we used them all the time! (especially for late-night cookies!!)

a small measuring cup - this is great for measuring out spirits for pre-drinks and also for baking/cooking.

a drying rack/clothes horse - washing your clothes at uni is expensive enough so bringing a clothes drying rack is a great way to save money by avoiding paying for the tumble drier!

AN EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE!!!!!!!!!! - please, please, please bring one of these and back up your work onto it regularly!!! I know people who have had their laptops with all their work on stolen, people who have lost or broken their laptops just before major deadlines, and people who have just accidentally deleted all their work!! it’s seriously worth paying £40 or so to buy a hard drive - it’s worth it compared to the £200+ that companies charge to recover lost data!!!! 

a door stop - very handy for propping open your bedroom door or the kitchen door to make your flat feel more open! they’re also very useful when you’re moving in.

plenty of towels - if you’re lazy like me and only want to do a towel wash every few weeks, it’s best to make sure you have at least 3 large towels to keep you going between washes!

a washing basket - you can just use a big bag for life but it can be handy to have a washing basket for dirty clothes - you can also just use it to carry clothes directly to and from the laundry room.

blu tac and push pins - very useful for decorating your room!

hole punch and stapler - these are just really useful to have, especially in exams season when you’re sorting out practice papers and notes!

a keyring - you’ll often be given tonnes of free keyrings in freshers week but so will your flatmates! therefore it’s great to bring a unique keyring to help distinguish your keys from others

gaffa tape - again this is very useful for decorating your room and the kitchen - we used a lot of gaffa tape to help stick up things like posters, tinsel and wall tapestries in our living area.

a black sharpie - these come in handy a lot so are great to have lying around!

alcohol, mixers, plastic shot glasses, paper straws, etc. - if you’re into drinking and going out, these are a must for freshers week!! I bought alcohol with me but managed to forget mixers so had to use tap water and lime cordial with my vodka on the first night as my new flatmates only had cola (which I hate) - so make sure to bring your fave mixers with you! 

photos from home - pictures of your family, pets, friends, etc. are great to decorate your room with so make sure you chose your favourites and print them off before you come to uni! 

passport and other important documents!!! - it’s really important to have your passport in case you apply for any jobs, and also to have things like your bank details, NHS and national insurance numbers to hand in case you need them for the mountain of paperwork you’ll do in freshers week!

medicines - make sure you get a small first aid kit but also bring things like paracetamol, cold and flu tablets, berocca, cough sweets, etc. - these will save your life when you fall victim to freshers flu (it is real and you will get it!!!), also berocca is great for hangovers!