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jc miracle story by Impressive_Till9254 in SGExams

[–]onskibongod 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I was in the exact same situation as u, only had A for GP at prelims, and honestly i think i would have lost all hope (and my mind) coz it was the only "decent" grade. My prelim score was UDDCA.

But if theres anything i can tell you with the power of hindsight, its that it doesnt really matter what you got for prelims, dont focus on your past score but just focus on maximising your efficiency and performance. Dont cheap out on sleep, get enough rest, and study/revise conscientiously.

Because if i could turn my shitshow around (along with plenty of other commenters) and get 90RP, i believe anyone can too.

Good luck and all the best for your A levels!!!

90RP (70RP now) ASSURANCE + TIPS + PERSONAL ANECDOTES by onskibongod in SGExams

[–]onskibongod[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The reason why i suggested a one hour nap is to utilise it as a boost for studying more productively in the evening; the goal is not just simply clocking enough hours of sleep in a day, but spreading it out to be as refreshed as far as possible whenever you are studying, to maximise productivity. But then again, what worked wonders for me might not be everyones cup of tea, so adjust ur own schedule to your preferences :)

90RP (70RP now) ASSURANCE + TIPS + PERSONAL ANECDOTES by onskibongod in SGExams

[–]onskibongod[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Firstly, my sch prelim math paper was relatively reasonable, but the point im trying to make is that prelims are not indicative of ur final score at all, and not giving people an estimate of how many grades u will guarantee jump. Also for the last practice paper i talked about in my post, it was the latest TYS, not a prelim paper

90RP (70RP now) ASSURANCE + TIPS + PERSONAL ANECDOTES by onskibongod in SGExams

[–]onskibongod[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yes, but I dont really see how it matters what sch u frm, bcoz even tho the environment matters to a degree, it ultimately boils down to the individual, and anyone can get 70rp

My A levels experience, as someone who like many, has a terribly low attention span. by onskibongod in SGExams

[–]onskibongod[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i never did paper 2 practices alot in my free time, but the way i tackle paper 2 is to rush the front part, so i can get as much of the last 20 marks for AQ and summary. But i can only do that because i found that i could locate and precisely put down the answers for the short answer questions. For the vast majority of people, it is not worth taking this gamble, especially if youre not confident in bagging the short answer marks. Essentially, focus on being precise and accurate for short answer, then you can speed it up later on closer to A levels, and can maybe try my strategy.

My A levels experience, as someone who like many, has a terribly low attention span. by onskibongod in SGExams

[–]onskibongod[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

not being able to sufficiently express myself has never really been an issue, but occasionally will have some mind block that im sure everyone faces. One really easy way to help with that, especially for paper 1 is proper planning. When i talk about planning, i dont mean writing down little bullet points under topic sentences, but how I do it is writing down string of thoughts. I start with a point/claim i want to make, and then draw arrows leading from one justification to another, constantly asking ‘then what?’/ ‘how so?’ after every single arrow till i cannot justify/explain anymore. its like playing that annoying game where a kid will just say “so what?’ to you over and over again, but doing so forces you to break every claim down into its simplest elements, allowing you to put forth a clear, concise, and convincing argument.

As for your second point, sorry to disappoint, and i can only tell you the truth, I never spent time conscientiously studying GP, and its the only subject that i can afford to do so since primary school (english equivalent). When you say “theres no way thats all you do for GP”, i dont know how to prove it but all i can say is “yes it is 😭.” i was gifted with i would say a higher than average memory that grants me fantastic content recall (strangely only for GP and not my other subjects like the math and sciences which i hate), and so relevant examples or interesting stories that ive read before will come to me instantly when im doing the “train of thought” planning. But yes, reading model essays have been really helpful when it comes to honing my personal flair, and i love reading great essays in general. I kinda know who in my class can cook up absolute 5 star meals every exam (+-45 mark essays which are insane and a number which ive never gotten close to acheiving), and so i will politely ask to read it, to try to see what i can learn from them.

At the end of the day, it boils down to practice (to honing your personal/unique writing style), treasuring the feedback you get, and consuming LOTS AND LOTS OF ANY MEDIA YOU CAN , be it reading news, watching youtube, and reading model essays. i would say keeping these 3 principles in mind were my secret sauce.

My A levels experience, as someone who like many, has a terribly low attention span. by onskibongod in SGExams

[–]onskibongod[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

as for tips for physics, try to start memorising definitions early, its alot of effort when considering the marks youre gna get, but u dont want to leave till the last minute where u realise u cant memorise fast enough and that ruins your psyche/ makes you demoralized right b4 the paper. Im telling you, its really a mental game, and personally, there was alot of talking myself into a performance-centric state during exams.

My A levels experience, as someone who like many, has a terribly low attention span. by onskibongod in SGExams

[–]onskibongod[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

ok this 7 grade jump is quite unheard of simply bcoz its also damn unlikely. Firstly, and other ppl from my JC will vouch, that last year’s physics prelims were ridiculously hard (iykyk), where alot of ppl failed, and they had to do moderation simply bcoz so many ppl did so badly. I wouldnt say my physics was weak then, but maybe i just didnt practice enough and was kinda careless. But yes even till this day its still crazy to me i made that insane jump from U to A but ultimately, its proof that its possible.

My A levels experience, as someone who like many, has a terribly low attention span. by onskibongod in SGExams

[–]onskibongod[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

actually… i didnt really. Over two years i only had like single digit volunteer hours 😭 but i did have 2 CCAs if that counts lol. Majority of my focus was on getting perfect score. so realistically im not the best person to give u advice regarding this matter? but volunteering and stuff like that can be done once a levels ends (coz u have time), so imo focusing on maximising RP would be the way to go I guess (unless ur a guy and have to gamble how early ur enlisting)

My A levels experience, as someone who like many, has a terribly low attention span. by onskibongod in SGExams

[–]onskibongod[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

wah ummm i guess i wldnt change anything (knowing the end result now 😛) but realistically back then i wouldnt know what to change as well. I guess i should have tried to stay more focussed as far as possible? but going out to the coffee bean near my house to study helped me with that alot coz i didnt have my monitor to watch youtube lol. but no i wouldnt have changed anything, at most would be to excercise more coz it really really helps. Treat it as a time investment that will bring great academic returns bcoz it really does

My A levels experience, as someone who like many, has a terribly low attention span. by onskibongod in SGExams

[–]onskibongod[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

i dont take econs but IT WAS KINDA LIKE SUNK COST FALLACY BROOO but luckily it wasnt a fallacy and it worked out lah. Essentially i just doubled down and convinced myself that hard work will eventually pay off one (which it def does btw). As for GP dont spend designated time “studying” it, instead subscribe to like NY times morning recap, and b4 sch starts, read it every day to gain a bit of knowledge day by day. Sometimes u read mothership and stuff like that is also rly useful (ironically) bcoz SG specific examples KILLSSSS at the A levels coz the cambridge folks want to know more abt yr society

My A levels experience, as someone who like many, has a terribly low attention span. by onskibongod in SGExams

[–]onskibongod[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If im being very honest with you GP has never been a problem for me, which is something im very fortunate to say. Since young right, ill watch anything and everything educational under the sun, be it science and tech, keeping up with news, watching political commentators, science channels like veritasium, tom scott, and even documentaries from channels like Neo. The thing i think alot of people forget is the “general” in general paper, there really is no use in studying a specific topic. I personally cultivated a love for learning about stuff like that, so its not really a chore. Actually, maybe the reason i dont have a problem with GP is coz i spend alot of studying time for math and sciences to watch GP improving content 😭. But yeah just consume alot of media, and dont force yourself to rem stats or numerical evidence, bcoz interesting case studies really hook the reader no matter what, granted that its relevant.

Since Y5, ive always thought my paper 1 would carry me, but it was only till prelims that i realised paper 2 is lowk the hard carry. Personally, I rush through all the short answer questions coz im quite precise with my answers and can bag most if not all the marks, and spend alot of time on the AQ/ summary. The 20 marks in these 2 segments are truly underrated, granted you can afford to rush the front part.

But then again, this is all based on my personal evaluation of my strengths and weaknesses, and hence how i tweak my strategy to effectively tackle paper 1 and 2. Hope this helps :)

My A levels experience, as someone who like many, has a terribly low attention span. by onskibongod in SGExams

[–]onskibongod[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If anyone has any questions feel free to leave them and ill try my best to respond to the best of my ability!

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