it'll be worth it

hiya, sorry for the late reply!

the jump from AS to A2 isn’t as big as the jump for GCSE to AS, but it’s still reasonably big - generally, more detail is required across most subjects in A2. I don’t do psych or history but a few of my friends do and they’ve commented on this too. higher mark questions are usually more common, like for example I do geography and all the smaller/easier questions have gone, to be replaced with short essay questions that are 7 marks+, so most papers tend to be longer time-wise

I’d say AQA biology definitely gets harder at A2 - questions are somehow even more vague and there are more “how science works” questions :( but improving revision technique from AS to A2 makes it easier - making flash cards/mind maps/posters/etc. with all the important processes (e.g. photosynthesis + respiration in BIOL4 - diagrams help a LOT with this) and doing loads of past papers (esp HSW questions if these aren’t your strength) is really helpful. in BIOL5 you’ve got to write an essay on any topic they give you - you get 2 choices e.g. “cycles in biology” or “carbon dioxide may affect organisms directly or indirectly, explain these effects.” I’d advise starting to practice this early, say January-February ish, as I started doing some 2 months ago and I’m still not as knowledgeable/confident as I’d like to be for my exam in 2 weeks!! but it depends how fast you pick it up really

I also do english lit & lang and tbh I haven’t found there to be much of a jump at all from AS to A2, I think because the exam questions are essays/analysis there’s not much they can do to make it harder apart from maybe giving you extracts that are more difficult to interpret. this may be different for lit specifically though!

and finally, I’d say the most important thing is to keep on top of revision from day one - honestly I did hardly anything in AS and it showed in my grades, so in A2 if you want to improve grades or keep doing well than I’d advise to review and maybe rewrite/condense all your class notes + handouts at least every week, say at the weekend just make sure you understand all that was covered (I tried to do this every night at the start but I got too tired haha). keep your notes organised so they’re easily accessible, and start “properly” revising (like flash cards, mind maps, past papers etc.) a good couple of months before the A2 exams so you’re not rushing + panicking - I started in late March and I’m so glad I did!! revision timetables also help loads; I made one with the topics I wanted to cover on a particular day but didn’t set a specific time to do them, I find this is easier to stick to if you prefer choosing when to work