1. Psychology Revision Guide.
What’s included:
Exam and assessment information.
Revision techniques.
Note-taking techniques.
Essay structure.
Wider reading.
Stress.
Procrastination prevention.
Quick link to your revision website:

2. What am I being assessed on?
Assessment Objectives (AO)
Assessment Objective
Formal specification language
Student friendly language
AO1
Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of scientific ideas, processes, techniques and procedures.
Basic descriptions of studies and theories. This includes figures and facts. (Aim, procedure, findings and conclusion)
AO2
Apply knowledge and understanding of scientific ideas, processes, techniques and procedures:
• in a theoretical context
• in a practical context
• when handling qualitative data
• when handling quantitative data.
Essentially, you’re becoming a psychologist and explaining how a situation works with your knowledge.
These can be single questions or several linking questions.
AO3
Analyse, interpret and evaluate scientific information, ideas and evidence, including in relation to issues, to:
• make judgements and reach conclusions
• develop and refine practical design and procedures.
The evaluation of your essay. The positive/negative aspects of the theory, supporting or opposing evidence, links to any psychological debates.
This is the course you are taking:
Know these and you’ll be at an advantage in the exam.

3. What am I being assessed on?
What and how you write.
Knowledge (AO1/2)
Is your knowledge limited or accurate and well-detailed?
Evaluation
(AO3)
Is your evaluation effective? Does it include several points that support/oppose each other?
Structure
Is it coherent and clearly structured.
Clarity
Does it make sense and flow nicely?
Terminology
Are key terms used correctly?
Questions are marked on levels. Higher levels = higher marks.
You need to successfully achieve all of the above to reach the higher levels.

4. COMMAND WORDS.
Start to recognise the command words and think about what AO it’s asking you to do.
This will help you structure your answers and understand fully what’s being asked of you.
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5. How can I mark myself?
Use this as a guide to mark your own essay questions (12 for AS, 16 for A-Level)
Stretch this out to see it bigger.

6. How to structure essays
in the textbook will help!

7. P.E.E.L – How to structure a single point.
[P]oint • State the factor or main point.
[E]xplanation • Elaborate what the factor is about. Imagine you’re explaining it to someone who has not studied it. Make it as clear as possible to help him/her to understand.
[E]vidence • Provide evidence to support your point.
[L]ink • Connect your answer back to what the question is asking for. You should start your link by clearly stating how it answers the question.
Burger worksheet with example (free from Tutor2u) 1) 2)
Example essay questions:

8. Structuring your essays
There are two main ways you can structure an essay:
Explain/Describe all of your AO1 points first, then evaluate (AO3) with 3-5 points. OR
2. Explain/describe ONE AO1 point, then evaluate (AO3) straight after. Repeat and then conclude.
Questions like “Describe and evaluate research….” will usually require structure 1 as it specifies what it wants you to talk about.
Questions like “Discuss one or more explanations….” will usually follow structure 2 as it’s usually more than one point to explain, thus this structure will ensure you don’t ‘forget’ to evaluate certain areas.

9. A suggested writing frame.
Plan your entire essay out before you write it with a few key terms.
Ideally, you should do this in the box underneath the essay question.

10. evaluation cheat sheets
GRAVEE
This acronym can help you remember general evaluation points if you can’t remember any points specific to the theory/study.
This is ideal for AS and A-Level essays.

11. Evaluation cheat sheet
At A-Level, essays will increase to 16 marks as you’re expected to include and discuss debates within your answers.
Issues and debates is a whole topic in Year 2 – however, if you’re feeling confident at AS, you can include them (if you can explain it fully).

12. HOW TO WRITE ONE EVALUATION POINT (Ideal for 12M).
You’re about to evaluate, follow this structure to ensure your point is clear and coherent.
Top bun: The first sentence of your evaluation. (strength/limitation introduced)
The meat: Explain your strength/limitation with evidence (theory, research, methodology).
Bottom bun:
The final statement/conclusion of your one point. Apply it back to the question (This matters because…)

13. HOW TO WRITE ONE EVALUATION POINT (Advanced at AS/16 marks)
You’re about to evaluate, follow this structure to ensure your point is clear and coherent.
Top bun: The first sentence of your evaluation. (strength/limitation introduced)
The meat: Explain your strength/limitation with evidence.
Meat 2 – not always necessary for Y12.
The counter-argument (We should be cautious when using this…). This could be an issue or debate (covered in Year 2)
Bottom bun:
The final statement/conclusion of your one point. Apply it back to the question (This matters because…)

14. Describe and evaluate two studies of social influence. [12]
Step 1: Identify your command words (describe and evaluate). Step 2: What are they asking me to do? Describe wants me to include the methods, findings and conclusion of TWO studies (AO1) Evaluate wants me to evaluate those TWO studies. (AO3) Step 3: Plan your answer. Note that there is no AO2 needed for this answer!
How to separate marks.

15. 12 Marks AO1 = 6 AO3 = 6
Study one EG, Milgram Worth 6 marks in total.
Describe Milgram. Method, Findings, Conclusion Worth 3 marks. AO1 = 3
Evaluate Milgram PEEL
Worth 3 marks. AO3 = 3
Study two EG, Asch Worth 6 marks in total
Describe Asch. Method, Findings, Conclusion Worth 3 marks. AO1 = 3
Evaluate Asch Use PEEL Worth 3 marks. AO3 = 3
Even though questions are marked holistically, you can use a structure like this to help you plan your essay.
This shows how the marks are split down, which can give you a guide of how much you should be writing.

16. “I don’t know how to use a mark scheme.”
Marks broken down per AO.
Your answers are banded by levels and capped at how many marks you can get. Essays are marked level first, then marks.
It’s useful to look at mark schemes so you can see WHAT examiners are looking for & HOW to get there.
Guidance on what to include but not limited to.

17. AQA PSYCHOLOGY (APPROX.) GRADE DESCRIPTORS. Equivalent grade (Approx.)
Mark scheme level
Equivalent grade (Approx.)
What do I need to do? 4
10 – 12 marks A
Accurate and detailed AO1. Effective AO3. Clear and coherent structure. Key terms correctly used. Minor errors allowed. 3
7 – 9 marks
C/B
Evidence of AO1 with some focus to the question. Occasional errors. Some effective AO3. Mostly clear and structured. Key terms sometimes correctly used. 2
4 – 6 marks
E/D
AO1 is evident but limited and it’s not focused to the question. AO3 is not effective. Answer is not clear, lacks accuracy and organisation. Key terms are used inappropriately. 1
1 – 3 marks
U/E
AO1 and AO3 are limited, poorly focused or absent. The answer lacks clarity, has many inaccuracies and little structure. Key terms are absent or inaccurately used.
Things you need to know:
AQA marks holistically. The whole answer is considered within the whole paper. Eg, you could answer one question and receive an ‘A’ but another question receives a ‘C’ – it will then be averaged on the quality of the whole paper.
Grade boundaries change every year depending on previous results.
An ‘A’ (highest grade) is 80% of the paper/question. Eg, To achieve an A in a 12 mark essay, you must achieve a minimum of 9 marks (level 3).
An ‘E’ (lowest grade) is 40% of the paper/question. Eg. 40% of 12 is 4 marks (level 2)
If you consistently wrote a level 1 answer in every question you would achieve a U.
If you consistently wrote a level 4 answer, you’re highly likely to achieve an A.

18. Handy words to create a flow
Connectives are important and make it obvious to examiners that you’re leading onto an evaluation or linking your points together.

19. PEEL sentence starters
Point
Example
Explain
Link to Question
One problem is…
One weakness is…
One positive feature is…
One appraisal of the theory is…
One criticism is…
One issue is…
It can be argued that….
For example…
For instance…
One example of this…
This was shown by…
This can be seen in…
This was criticised by…
This was supported by…
Firstly…
Furthermore…
However…
Alternatively…
But….
This shows that…
This would suggest that…
From this, it can be seen…
These findings show…
This is a problem because…
One explanation of this is…
One reason for this could be…
This supports/disproves X because…
As a result…
So…
Consequently…
Subsequently…
In summary…
The implication of this is…
This raises the issue of…
If this is the case then…
If this is correct then…
If this is incorrect then…
This strengthens…
This weakens…
It’s clear that…
In conclusion…

20. [E]conomic Implications:
GRAVEE
Point – Introduce your point. Explain – describe/explain.
Evidence – Provide evidence to support/refute.
Link – how does it link to the question?
APPROACHES
Biological – Behaviour is a result of genetics, hormones, evolution and neurological structures. Our biology is similar to animals.
Behaviourism – All behaviour is learnt via conditioning with no genetic influence. Animals and humans learn in the same way.
Cognitive – Humans process information similar to a computer which are studied indirectly.
(A-Level) Psychodynamic – Behaviour has unconscious causes and early childhood is important.
(A-Level) Humanism – The whole person should be studied, everyone is unique and desires to self-actualise.
[G]eneralisablity:
Can we generalise these findings to different groups of people?
[R]eliability:
Can the research be replicated?
[A]pplication:
Can the findings be applied to the real world? [V]alidity:
Did the study measure what it intended to? (internal validity).
Does it apply to the real world? (ecological validity).
[E]thics:
Were any ethical guidelines broken? Were these justified?
[E]conomic Implications:
Do the findings impact the economy?
PSYCH CHEAT SHEET.
Gender bias Reductionism Vs Holism Ethical issues vs Socially sensitivity.
Nature Vs Nurture Idiographic Vs Nomothetic
Determinism Vs Freewill Ethnocentrism.
ISSUES & DEBATES
AO1 – Facts & figures of studies. Outlines of theories (Description).
AO2 – Apply your knowledge to scenario questions (reference!).
AO3 – Evaluate, Analyse, Judge…  and  (GRAVE/GRENADE).
Environmental reductionism.
Biological determinism.
(machine) reductionism.
Collectivist vs Individualist.
Unconscious.
Reinforcement
Unethical
KEY TERMS
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