There is a general opinion that chemistry is a boring subject and that particularly A level Chemistry is way too challenging for it to be any enthusiastic since it deals with topics in depth. Chemistry is a subject that is an absolutely essential pre-requisite for various science-related workspace out there and it’s always looked at with seriousness. It is a fundamental discipline which requires lots of patience, perseverance, and persistence. Besides it being an interesting subject, it is one of the tough subjects to score well in because there are technicalities involved, when it comes to the way the subject should be studied and how questions should be tackled during examinations.
So, let’s take a look at the effective strategies needed to improve A level chemistry skills...
#1: MASTER THE CONTENT
When it comes to excelling in chemistry, students have to be clear about the content in their textbooks or lecture notes. The problem is that A-level chemistry is content-dense, with lots of depth and details which causes students to feel overwhelmed and confused. Several strategies need to be used in order to get hold of the content in order to further apply the knowledge to answer questions.
There’s a wide range of methods one could use:
(i) Rewriting notes helps some people to refresh their memory on what their lecturers had gone through during lecture session. Crafting notes in a way that that only you can comprehend is effective because every individual’s neural pathway is different and the way information is being stored varies from one person to another.
(ii) Watching content-related videos is extremely helpful for visual learners. This way, complicated mechanisms and processes can be easily understood and students can confidently recall them during examinations.
(iii) Creating mind maps helps you look at the bigger picture, link concepts and simplify the big topics. This makes everything easy for understanding and it will definitely come in handy during your examinations when you have to figure out the concepts being tested by in questions (since questions these days are never direct and they interlink various concepts).
(iv) Teaching somebody is another way to test how well you know the content of a topic. When you are able to explain a concept to someone with all the details, it then means that you have a good understanding. If you find yourself getting stuck at any point while explaining, it goes to show that there are some learning gaps which need to be filled immediately.
#2: PRACTICE
It’s useless to simply finish off one practice paper after another blindly. Completing your assessment books and finishing all your practice papers does not necessarily guarantee you an ‘A’ grade. There is more to it. With each practice paper or assessment paper, you have done, you have to realise where you have gone wrong. Practice with a purpose and study smart; that will be the key to progress.
#3: A-LEVEL CHEMISTRY TUITION
In Singapore, A-level chemistry tuition has always been the top choice as a solution to excelling in the subject; and there valid, practical reasons for this. A-level chemistry is much different from O-level chemistry; there are many more topics, much more to memorise, and application of content to answer exam questions is much more complicated for A-levels.
For most students, lectures, tutorials and one-to-one consultations with school tutors will be insufficient to clarify your doubts and seek clarifications. With a private chemistry tutor, everything gets solved with convenience and ease. With the extra help from your tutor who will be right beside you to guide, will be able to understand abstract concepts with ease. Your A-level chemistry tutor will use different strategies to teach and explain concepts in an engaging way and automatically the subject that once seemed challenging would start to seem simple and enjoyable to learn.
#4: SIMPLIFY IT
Essay questions in chemistry papers come with a pre-amble, which consists of 4-5 lines of background information that guides students to answer the related questions. These pre-ambles could be overwhelming for students as it contains lots of information. Simplifying these pre-ambles by drawing them out like pictures or writing out abbreviations will help students understand easily and it saves lots of time since students do not have to keep reading and re-reading. Simplifying something that seems complex will also get rid of unnecessary fear and stress!
#5: YOUR MINDSET
When you have gotten back your marked papers, you have to look through the paper and figure where you have gone wrong; it does not matter whether you feel happy or sad about the marks. Even if you had topped your class in that examination, you would have made mistakes in that paper and what you have to do next is to take the necessary steps to ensure you don’t make those mistakes again. Identify your learning gaps, understand why you made the mistakes you made. Sit down with your A-level chemistry tutors and discuss about how you can rectify the errors.
BOTTOM LINE
Study with an open mind and use various strategies and methods to keep things interesting. With A-level chemistry tuition’s help and by following various study tips, things will certainly be much easier as you will not feel lonely and helpless. Take your time and get in tune with the subject and always be persistent because getting that ‘A’ grade for A level chemistry is certainly not easy (but it's definitely possible!).
